A lot of barndominium door trouble starts before the door ever shows up. The opening gets framed, the walls get skinned, and only then does someone ask what door is going in it.
If you're building a barndo, shop or equipment barn in Dallas-Fort Worth or North Texas, here are the door decisions worth making while your plans are still on paper.
Why door planning comes before framing
Overhead doors are built to fit specific openings. The width, the height, the header and the space above and beside each opening all affect which doors and tracks will work.
Once the framing is up and the panels are on, changing an opening means cutting steel or wood and re-hanging wall sheets. That is slow, messy work nobody plans for.
When the doors are chosen first, your builder can frame each opening to the right size, add a solid mounting surface and keep clear space for the track and opener.
A good time to talk doors is when your floor plan is close to final, not after the walls are closed in.
Size each door for what you'll park
Start with the biggest thing that will ever pass through each opening. Then measure that actual vehicle or machine, not the number in a brochure.
Cars and pickups
For bays that hold cars and pickups, doors 9 or 10 feet wide and 8 feet tall per bay are common. A 10-foot width gives more room for side mirrors and makes it easier to pull a full-size truck in at a slight angle.
If your truck has a lift kit, a ladder rack, a light bar or a tall antenna, an 8-foot door may be too short.
RVs, boats on trailers and tractors
RV bays and equipment barns need much taller doors. Doors 12 to 14 feet tall are often used for motorhomes, travel trailers, boats on trailers and tractors with cabs or loaders.
Measure the tallest point of each one, including:
- Roof air conditioners, vents, ladders and satellite domes on an RV
- Towers, bimini tops, antennas and the trailer itself on a boat
- Cabs, roll bars, exhaust stacks and loader arms on a tractor
- Racks and anything strapped to the roof of a truck or trailer
Then leave clearance above that number. Suspension can shift, the driveway may slope up toward the door, and you want room to pull in without a spotter every time. Leave room on both sides for mirrors and wide tires, too.
Plan for the vehicle you'll own next
A barndo usually outlasts the truck parked in it. Think about what you might add over the next ten or twenty years: a bigger camper, a boat, a skid steer or a taller tractor.
Making a door a foot taller at the planning stage is usually a simple change. Making it a foot taller after the building is finished is a construction project. If you're on the fence, plan for the bigger door.
One wide door or two single doors
For a two-car bay, you can use one wide door or two single doors with a post between them. Both work.
One wide door gives you a clear opening with no center post to clip. It's easier to pull in at an angle, back in a wide trailer or move equipment around.
Two single doors let you open only the bay you need, which keeps more heated or cooled air inside. If one door or opener needs service, the other bay still works.
On shops, many owners mix the two: a tall or wide door for equipment and a standard door for the daily driver. A walk door nearby saves you from cycling a big door every time you step outside.
Leave room around the opening
An overhead door needs clear space around the opening for tracks, springs, the opener and the door itself when it's open.
- Headroom is the space between the top of the opening and the ceiling or lowest obstruction above it. Springs, the curve of the track and the top of the door need this space.
- Sideroom is the wall space on each side of the opening. The vertical tracks and brackets mount here, so it needs to be clear and solid.
- Backroom is the depth from the door back into the building. The open door travels back along the ceiling, and the opener needs room behind that.
How much space a door needs depends on the door, the track type, the spring setup and the opener. That's why it helps to choose the door before the framing is final.
Watch for things that tend to end up in the way: lights, ceiling fans, ductwork, mini-split units, purlins, trusses and storage lofts. A loft over the door area can block a standard track completely.
Mark each door's travel path on your plans so the builder, electrician and HVAC installer all keep it clear.
Framing openings on steel-frame and post-frame buildings
Barndos are commonly built with either a steel frame or a post frame. Both can carry overhead doors well, but each opening has to be framed with its door in mind.
Steel-frame buildings
On a steel building, door openings are framed with steel jambs and a header. Door hardware needs a solid, flat surface to fasten to, so wood boards are often attached to the steel to give it one. Ask your builder how they plan to handle that.
Get your door sizes to your builder or supplier before the steel is ordered, since openings are often set in the building drawings.
Post-frame buildings
On a post-frame building, door openings are usually framed with wood posts, jambs and a header. The jambs need to be plumb, straight and solid from top to bottom.
Wide or tall openings may need heavier headers or extra posts. Your builder or the building's designer should size those parts.
What a well-framed opening looks like
Whatever the building type, a door installer is looking for:
- Jambs that are plumb, solid and the same height on both sides
- A level header with a solid mounting surface above the opening
- A floor that's level across the opening, so the bottom seal can close evenly
- A planned power location for each opener
Track and opener choices for tall ceilings
Barndos and shops often have walls much taller than the doors. The track you choose decides where the door sits when it's open.
Standard track runs the door straight back along the ceiling, just above the opening. It works well when the ceiling isn't much higher than the door.
High-lift track runs up the wall above the opening before turning back along the ceiling. The open door sits closer to the roof, leaving more clear height for a car lift or tall equipment. It needs more headroom than standard track.
Vertical track runs the door straight up the wall, so it never travels back along the ceiling. It needs a lot of clear wall height above the door, but it keeps the ceiling open.
Wall-mount openers
A traditional opener hangs from the ceiling behind the door and pulls it along a rail. With high-lift or vertical track, that rail often doesn't fit.
A wall-mount opener sits on the wall beside the door and drives the shaft above the door directly. It frees up the ceiling and is a common pick for tall shops, but it needs the right door and spring setup, so plan for it up front.
Automatic garage door openers sold in the U.S. since 1993 must have entrapment protection, such as photo eyes and auto-reverse, under the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission rule 16 CFR Part 1211. Plan where the photo eyes will go so shelves and equipment don't end up in the way.
If you're weighing door types for a shop, our post on rolling steel vs. sectional doors compares the two.
Insulation when the shop shares a wall with living space
Many barndos put the living quarters and the shop under one roof. If the shop shares a wall with the house side, or you plan to heat or cool it, an insulated door is worth serious thought.
A single-layer steel door is a big sheet of metal facing the sun. In a North Texas summer, it can soak up heat and pass it into the shop and the rooms next to it.
Insulated doors usually have steel on both faces with insulation between them. Compare the insulation ratings of the doors you're considering, and ask how each rating was figured so you're comparing like with like.
Seals matter too. Weatherstripping along the sides and top, a good bottom seal and tight joints between sections help keep out heat, dust and insects.
Windows and daylight
Windows in overhead doors bring daylight into a shop without opening the door. A common setup is a row of windows across the top section.
Frosted or obscure glass lets light in while keeping tools and vehicles out of view from the road.
Door styles and finishes that suit a barndo
The overhead doors take up a lot of the front view, so pick a style that suits the rest of the building.
- Raised panel: a traditional look with pressed rectangles that blends well with ranch-style homes.
- Flush panel: a smooth, flat face with a clean, modern look.
- Carriage house: designed to look like old swing-out barn doors, often with decorative handles and hinges. A natural fit for the house side of a barndo.
- Ribbed: horizontal ribs that echo metal wall panels. It suits shops, RV bays and equipment barns.
Doors are commonly offered in colors like white, almond, brown, sandstone, gray and black, and some lines include wood-look finishes. Colors vary by door line, so ask what's available before you settle on trim and wainscot colors.
Wind load, permits and subdivision rules
North Texas sees strong winds and severe storms. A large overhead door catches a lot of wind, and some cities and counties have wind-load requirements for overhead doors.
Requirements vary from place to place and can change. Before you order doors, confirm wind-load, permit and setback requirements with your city or county building department.
If you're building in a rural subdivision, check the deed restrictions and any HOA rules too. These can cover things like building size, which way doors face, colors and materials.
Dust, heat and North Texas weather
Shops and barns here deal with dust from gravel roads, summer sun that bakes the door and quick temperature swings when a front comes through. A few simple habits help:
- Keep the tracks clean and free of debris. Don't pack grease into them; the rollers should roll, not slide.
- Watch and listen to the door each month. Grinding, jerking or a door that hangs crooked are signs something needs attention.
- Check the weatherstripping and bottom seal for cracks or gaps.
- Keep the photo eye lenses clean, and test the safety reverse the way your opener's manual describes.
- Wash the door face now and then with mild soap and water.
Springs, cables and the brackets at the bottom of the door are under high tension. Never try to adjust, release or replace them yourself.
If a spring breaks or a cable comes loose, stop using the door and call a trained technician. Our post on broken garage door springs explains what to look for.
Security for doors on rural property
A barndo on acreage may sit far from the nearest neighbor, and shops often hold tools, equipment and vehicles.
- Choose openers with rolling code remotes, and don't leave spare remotes in vehicles parked outside.
- Consider an opener you can check from your phone, so you know the doors are closed when you're away.
- Add a manual lock to doors you rarely open, like an RV bay. Never run the opener while a manual lock is engaged.
- Put motion lights over each door, and use frosted glass so equipment isn't easy to see from the road.
Many rural properties also have a drive gate at the entrance. We build and repair metal drive gates, gate operators and telephone entry systems, and it's easier to plan power for a gate while site work is still going on.
Working with your builder: when to call a door company
Doors touch several trades: framing, concrete, electrical, HVAC and insulation. Here's a rough order that works on many builds:
- Design stage: choose door sizes, the number of bays and the track type, and share them with your builder.
- Before the building is ordered or framed: confirm opening sizes, header heights and the space needed around each door.
- Before the slab is poured: plan a level floor across each door opening.
- Before electrical rough-in: mark where each opener, wall button and photo eye will go.
- Before interior finish: make sure nothing will block the track path, springs or opener.
- Once the building is dried in: the doors go in after the openings are finished.
Doors in less common sizes, colors or styles may need to be ordered ahead, so ask about lead times early. We're glad to talk with your builder directly about opening sizes and framing.
Barndo door planning checklist
- Measure the tallest and widest item for each door, including mirrors, racks, ladders and antennas
- Add clearance, and plan for vehicles you may own later
- Decide between one wide door or two single doors
- Choose a track type and a ceiling-mount or wall-mount opener
- Plan headroom, sideroom and backroom, and keep lights, ducts and lofts out of the door's path
- Frame solid jambs and a header with a mounting surface at each opening
- Ask for a level slab across each opening, and plan power for each opener
- Decide on insulation, and compare insulation ratings between doors
- Pick windows, style and color
- Confirm wind-load, permit and setback requirements with your city or county
- Check deed restrictions and HOA rules with your subdivision
- Call a door company before framing is finished
What to send us
The more we know up front, the easier it is to help you size each door. Send whatever you have:
- Your floor plan or building drawings, with door locations marked
- The planned or framed width and height of each opening
- Ceiling height, and what's above each door, such as trusses, lofts, lights or ducts
- The building type and what you plan to park in each bay
- Photos of each opening from inside and outside, if the building is already up
- Your city or county, and any style or color ideas
Rough plans are enough to start the conversation.
Plan your barndo doors with us
Pro Doors and Gates is a family-owned door and gate company based in Bells, Texas. We size, supply and install overhead doors and openers for barndominiums, shops, RV bays and equipment barns across Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas, including Sherman, Denison, Anna, McKinney, Allen, Princeton, Farmersville, Frisco, Forney and Dallas.
Call us at (903) 294-1846, Monday to Saturday from 7 AM to 5 PM, or send a request with your plans and opening sizes. You can also reach us through our contact page or read more about our barndominium garage doors.
Please note: This article is general information for homeowners and business owners. It is not professional, legal or building code advice. Codes, permit rules and HOA requirements vary by city and county, so check with your local building department or HOA before you start work, and have a trained technician look at your specific door or gate. Never try to adjust or replace garage door springs or cables yourself.
