Standard, Cut to Size or Bespoke Doors? Which one is the best for you?

When it comes to garage doors there are a few differences in the way the sizes are expressed, and what they mean compared to the structural opening they are fitting into. In this article, we will explain the three types of popular door sizes which may help you understand better before you buy a door. 

When is it important? 
When you are fitting a garage door within a structural opening (reveal fitting), precise measurements are quite important, especially now that many people use steel subframes. Unlike timber frames, you can’t easily adjust the steel subframes if the fit is too tight, it either fits or it doesn’t. You should always allow some tolerance for fitting. 

On the other hand, when installing behind the opening (return fitting), for internal fits like roller, sectional, or round-the-corner doors, the measurements are not as important. The door panels don’t pass through the structural opening during operation, giving you more flexibility to experiment with standard or non-standard sizes. 

So what is the standard size? 
Standard garage door sizes are typically referred to in rounded feet and inches. For example, a standard door can be 7’x7” or 7’x6’6” in width and height. Ordering widths usually increase by 6” increments up to around 10’ wide, after which they go up in feet increments , but we also have some exceptions where we offer say  a 7’1” wide door as a standard size because the overall door and frame size still fits in a lot of standard brick openings as a replacement door.

You will see some weird-looking standard sizes, but the reason is they are normally fitting many replacement door sizes on older garage door openings around the UK.
    
Meanwhile, the height follows a similar system but with fewer options and some irregularities. Many garage door manufacturers, such as those from Germany, the Netherlands or Italy, offer European metric standard sizes. For example, Hormann provides metric-sized sectional doors in 125mm increments for both widths and heights. If you choose a width of 2250mm, the next standard sizes available would be 2375mm and 2500mm. 

Check some our standard door sizes here.

What is cut to order size? 
‘’Cut to order size’’ is the term applied to sectional garage doors only. You can normally choose a standard size sectional garage door and then have the panel cut down in width and/or height to fit a smaller space. However, this cutting is limited by the weight and design of the panels. There are only small adjustments that can be made to ensure the entire door fits within a specific opening size. This customisation is only feasible for double-skinned steel sectional doors where the panel design allows for sections to be removed without affecting the integrity of the door panel. 

Check out some double-skinned steel sectional doors ranges here.

So what is the solution? Purpose made sizes? 
It sounds simple as that is, these doors are custom made to fit the specific opening, ensuring a well-balanced design with evenly spaced panels, especially in the case of sectional doors.

While most roller doors are purpose made as standard, side hinged and up & over doors can also be customised for a perfect fit, especially when standard sizes do not match the required dimensions. While not all doors can be customised to any size, it is always possible for sectional and roller doors. If you want to maximise your opening or have a door installed precisely, you should consider purpose-made sizes, which usually do not cost much more than standard sizes. 

The purpose made sizes doors are specific in sizes, therefore it will require a leading time from 6-8 weeks. We do have some purpose made size doors which can be supplied within 7-10 working days from order. Click here for further information.  To avoid any delays in your installation, check out our purpose made sizes doors ranges here and contact us if you have any questions contact us here.