Garage door styles: up and over, roller or sectional

The four types do not occupy the same space

This is the thing worth knowing before anything about how it looks, and it is what people find out after the door is fitted.

Up and over. The cheapest and by far the commonest. The leaf swings out through an arc, roughly half its own height, before it rises. If a car parks tight to the garage door it cannot be opened.
Roller. A curtain of narrow slats rolling into a box above the opening. Takes no space in front and none inside, which is what makes it right for a short drive. The box costs you a little height.
Sectional. Deep horizontal panels that rise and run back along the ceiling. Nothing swings out and it keeps the full drive-through width, at the cost of needing clear ceiling.
Side hinged. A pair on hinges, and the only type you can walk through without opening the whole thing. It needs the most space in front of any of them.

The tool reports the swing-out space for whichever type you pick, in millimetres, so you can hold it against the actual distance from your door to where a car sits.

The clear drive-through is narrower than the opening

A 2,400mm structural opening is not a 2,400mm gap to drive through, because the frame takes part of it on each side.

The tool gives you the clear drive-through rather than the opening, because that is the number that decides whether a wider car gets in with the mirrors out. It is a small difference and it is the one people measure wrongly.

The look comes from the panel count

A roller is many narrow slats. A sectional is four deep panels. An up-and-over is one leaf with shallow ribs pressed into it. That count is most of what makes each type recognisable at a glance, and it is why the drawing here works from the real panel arrangement rather than from a stock photograph of somebody else's garage.

A row of lights in the top panel changes the character considerably and is worth trying, particularly on a sectional where the top panel sits at eye level from the street.

Insulation, and when it matters

An insulated door does very little on a detached unheated garage, whatever the sales material says: you are insulating a cold box from the outside.

On an integral garage, particularly one with a habitable room above it, the door is a large area of the thermal envelope and the difference is genuine. If that is your situation, the heat loss tool will tell you what that area is costing, and it is usually more than people expect because a garage door is a big surface with a poor U-value.

What to check before ordering

The headroom. A roller needs space above the opening for the box; a sectional needs clear ceiling running back. Measure both before falling for either.

Whether the opening is square. Garage openings frequently are not, particularly on older detached garages that have moved. A supplier surveying properly will pick that up; one quoting off a phone call will not, and the difference appears on fitting day.

Your photo is opened and drawn inside your browser and the picture you download is put together on your own device. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account.

Common questions

Which garage door needs the least space in front?

A roller or a sectional, because neither swings out at all. An up-and-over swings out through an arc roughly half its own height before it rises, so if you park tight to the garage it cannot be opened. Side hinged needs the most space of the lot. This is the difference people discover after buying, so the tool states the swing-out space each type actually needs.

What is the difference between a roller and a sectional door?

A roller is a curtain of narrow slats that rolls up into a box above the opening, so it takes no space in front or inside, and the box eats a little of your height. A sectional is a few deep horizontal panels that rise and then run back along the ceiling, so it needs the ceiling space but keeps the full drive-through width.

Why is the drive-through narrower than the opening?

Because the frame takes up part of it on each side. The tool reports the clear drive-through rather than the structural opening, since that is the figure that matters when you are working out whether the car actually fits through with the mirrors out.

Do I need planning permission for a new garage door?

Usually not for a like-for-like replacement on a house, though it is worth checking if you are in a conservation area or the property is listed. If you are widening the opening you are into structural work and a lintel, which is a different job with a different set of approvals.

Is an insulated door worth it?

It depends entirely on whether the garage is heated or attached to the house. On a detached unheated garage it does very little. On an integral garage with a room above it, the door is a large area of the thermal envelope and the difference is real. The heat loss tool will tell you how much that area is costing you.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. Everything is drawn inside your browser and the picture you download is put together on your own machine, so the photograph of the front of your house stays on it. That also means no queue when the tool is busy and no cap on how large the photo can be, because there is no server sitting between you and the result.