Getting a garage door for an unusual or non-standard opening
Bespoke garage doors: when a stock size will not fit
Plenty of garages in Northern Ireland were built before today's stock door sizes existed. Older houses, farm buildings and conversions often have openings a few centimetres off standard, out of square, or simply wider than anything on a shelf.
Where stock sizes will not suit, we fabricate bespoke widths. That is not automatically the expensive route, and it is not always necessary. This page explains how to tell which you need.
- Bespoke widths
- Fabricated where stock won't suit
- Standard lead time
- About 7 to 14 working days
- Bespoke lead time
- Can run to several weeks
- Survey
- Free, no obligation
Signs your opening is non-standard
You cannot always tell by eye. A few centimetres either way looks like nothing from the drive, but it is the difference between a door that seals and one that leaves a draughty gap down one side.
- The garage predates the house extension or estate around it.
- The existing door has timber packing strips or a sub-frame built out to fill the gap.
- The opening is noticeably wider than a single car, or narrower than a double.
- Diagonals measured corner to corner differ, meaning the opening is out of square.
- The lintel is unusually low, or there is a beam or pipe run close above it.
Bespoke, or stock with a sub-frame?
Sometimes the honest answer is a stock size fitted into a neatly built-out opening. That can be quicker and works well where the difference is small and the surround will be finished anyway.
Where the gap is larger, or packing would look poor on a visible frontage, a door made to the actual width is the better job. It also avoids relying on packing that can move or rot over time. On a wide opening that falls outside common sizes, it is also worth checking whether a slightly narrower door on a trimmed opening changes the options.
Which door types adapt best
Roller doors are the most flexible for width, because the curtain is made of slats cut to length and the box sits above the opening. Sectional doors are made to measure too, with the panels and tracks built around the size and the headroom available. Side-hinged doors suit openings where headroom is too tight for anything overhead.
Up and over doors are more tied to standard sizes, so a very unusual opening often points towards one of the other types.
Why bespoke doors take longer
Our usual lead time for made-to-size doors is about 7 to 14 working days. Genuinely bespoke sizes, made-to-measure sectionals and some premium colours can take several weeks. If you have a completion date, a sale or a building project to hit, tell us early so the order goes in with time to spare.
Measure it yourself first
Before anyone visits, take the width at the top, middle and bottom of the opening, the height at both sides and the middle, both diagonals, and the headroom above the lintel. Our measuring guide shows where to put the tape. We still measure on site before ordering, because a bespoke door is built to one set of numbers only.
Questions we get asked
- Do bespoke garage doors cost a lot more?
- Not always. Price depends on size, door type, finish and automation. Sometimes a stock door on a built-out opening is the cheaper route, and we will say so.
- Can you fit a door to a very old or out-of-square garage?
- Yes. We measure the opening properly, including diagonals, and either make the door to it or correct the opening so the door seals.
- How long does a bespoke door take?
- Standard made-to-size doors are typically 7 to 14 working days. Genuinely bespoke sizes can take several weeks, so order early if you have a deadline.
- Which door type is easiest to make to an odd width?
- Roller doors are the most flexible, with sectional doors also made to measure. Up and over doors are more tied to standard sizes.
Got an opening nobody seems to have a door for?
Send the rough sizes and a photo, including the lintel and both sides, and we will tell you whether stock, a built-out opening or a made-to-width door is the sensible route.
Based at 31 Mount Street, Dromore (BT25) · covering Northern Ireland · 24/7 emergency repairs