Guide
What size garage door do you need for two cars?
The honest answer depends on what you drive, not on how many cars you own. Two compacts and two full-size pickups are four feet apart in what they need.
A 16x7, drawn to scale. Two normal cars side by side. The most common double door in America.
The part that surprises people
A bigger opening barely changes the door price. On a working contractor's current list a 10x7 and a 16x7 in the same model are the same money, and an 18x8 is about $200 more. What moves the number is the model — panel style, insulation and overlay — where the same 16x8 opening runs $1,368 in basic steel, $5,163 in steel overlay and $13,428 in wood overlay.
Framing
Rough opening and clearances
For a sectional door the rough opening equals the door size exactly. A 16x7 door needs a 16'0" wide by 7'0" high finished opening.
| Clearance | Minimum | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Headroom, standard torsion | 12" | Between the top of the opening and the ceiling. |
| Headroom, low-clearance kit | 4.5" | Costs more and needs a different spring assembly. |
| Sideroom, each side | 3.75" | For the vertical track. 5.5" if the opener rail is side-mounted. |
| Backroom | door height + 18" | Add another 24" for a ceiling-mounted opener. |
Exact price
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The range above is a guide. Tell us what you need and somebody who works your area will price it properly.
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