Measuring for a garage door

Four numbers decide the door

Measure the finished opening from inside the garage, not the old door. You need its width and height, the headroom above it and the side room on each side. Write everything down in millimetres and take a photograph of the opening from inside and out.

Width

Measure across the opening between the finished faces of the walls at the top, the middle and the bottom, and keep the smallest figure. Openings are rarely perfectly square, and the smallest width is the one a door must clear.

Our catalogue lists sectional doors from 2.25 m to 6 m wide¹. In the manufacturer’s data, UniPro is made from 1,500 mm up to 6,000 mm wide². Wider openings, such as loading bays, belong to the industrial range, where sectional doors reach 8,000 mm³.

Height

Measure from the finished floor to the underside of the lintel, on both sides and in the middle. If the floor or the drive slopes, note which way and by how much: the bottom seal of the door has to meet it.

The listed sectional door sizes run from 2 m to 2.5 m high¹. The manufacturer’s data for UniPro goes up to 3,500 mm². If you would like a wicket door, a pedestrian door within the garage door, note that on UniPro it needs a door of at least 2,000 by 2,000 mm⁴.

Headroom

Headroom is the height between the top of the opening and the ceiling, or the lowest beam, pipe or light above it. It decides how the tracks and springs of a sectional door can be arranged, and door data usually calls it the minimum lintel.

Renovation versions of UniPro need from 90 mm when operated by hand and from 100 mm with a drive, depending on the spring system². A low-headroom version with rear torsion springs fits a motorised door under a lintel of only 80 mm². Where there is no lintel at all, a self-supporting frame stands in for the missing masonry².

A roller door needs no ceiling space: its curtain winds onto a shaft just behind the lintel⁵.

Side room

Side room is the wall beside the opening, where the frame and vertical tracks are fixed. Measure from each edge of the opening to the nearest wall, pier or obstruction, and note anything fixed to the wall there, such as a switch, a pipe or a window.

In the manufacturer’s data, UniPro’s renovation and low-headroom versions need a side clearance of 110 mm², and the self-supporting frame needs none².

Depth

A sectional or up-and-over door parks under the ceiling when it is open⁶, so the depth of the garage matters too. Measure from the inside face of the opening to the back wall, and note beams, lights, shelves and anything stored overhead.

A roller door leaves the ceiling free for storage or a lift¹. A side-hinged door opens outwards only⁷, so it needs clear space on the drive instead.

What the survey confirms

Catalogue sizes are a starting point. Where measurements, access or the condition of the opening need checking, a survey visit is arranged before anything is made⁸. Dimensions, finish availability, thermal performance and security ratings for your configuration are confirmed at survey, and every quotation is accompanied by a written specification¹.

We bring physical panel samples to the survey, so you can choose a finish on your own house, in your own light¹.