Single vs double garage door: what the extra width really costs
A double garage door costs more than a single mainly because of width, not the opener — here's what actually changes in the price.
A single garage door typically costs £1,750 fitted, against £2,800 for a double. The gap isn't really about electric openers or fancy finishes — it's the width of the panel itself, and what that does to the door, the track, the opener motor and the opening in your wall.
Width is the real cost driver
Compare like with like and the pattern is clear. A single steel up-and-over or sectional door, manual, with the opening already there, comes in around £1,750. Fit the same type of door but double width and you're looking at roughly £2,800 — a jump that's much bigger than swapping from manual to an electric opener on a single door.
That's because a double door isn't just "a single door, scaled up":
- Heavier panel, stronger track — a double-width leaf needs a beefier frame and reinforced running gear to stay rigid, especially for up-and-over doors.
- Bigger opener, if electric — a motor sized for a single door won't reliably lift a double leaf; openers for double doors are rated higher and cost more.
- More structural opening — on an older garage, widening the opening to take a double door can mean new lintels or steelwork, which isn't included in the door price itself.
- More material, full stop — roughly double the steel, timber or GRP panel, double the insulation if it's an insulated sectional door.
None of this shows up if you only look at a single headline figure for "garage door cost" — it only becomes obvious once you price a single and a double side by side.
Door type still matters as much as width
Whichever width you need, the type of door changes the price on top.
| Material | Typical | Usual range | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel up-and-over | £1,550 | £1,200 – £2,050 | – |
| Insulated aluminium roller | £1,750 | £1,350 – £2,300 | – |
| GRP up-and-over | £2,100 | £1,650 – £2,750 | – |
| Timber up-and-over | £2,200 | £1,750 – £2,900 | – |
| Steel side-hinged | £2,200 | £1,750 – £2,900 | – |
| Insulated sectional | £2,300 | £1,800 – £3,000 | – |
| Timber side-hinged | £2,800 | £2,200 – £3,650 | – |
A steel sectional or roller door insulates better and tends to last longer than a basic up-and-over, which matters more on a double door simply because there's more surface losing heat if the garage is used as a workshop or utility space. Timber side-hinged and up-and-over doors sit at the premium end and that premium roughly doubles in cash terms once you're buying two leaves' worth of timber.
Opener and electrics
A manual double door is the cheapest way to get the extra width. Adding an electric opener is a smaller increment than the width jump itself, but on a double door it's worth budgeting for the heavier-duty motor rather than assuming it's the same unit as a single-door installation.
If the opener needs a new electrical circuit rather than just plugging into an existing socket, that work is notifiable under Part P in England and Wales: it has to be carried out by a registered electrician, or notified to building control, rather than treated as a DIY job. It's a detail worth raising with your installer before they quote, so the electrical work is priced in rather than discovered afterwards.
When a double door is actually worth it
The honest answer: only when you actually need double-width access. If you've got a double garage but only ever park one car in it and use the rest for storage, a single door (or two separate single doors) can be cheaper to buy and run, and easier to insulate well, than one wide double leaf. Where a double door earns its keep is when both bays are genuinely used for vehicles, or when wider access is needed for a van, trailer or mobility vehicle.
If you're removing an old double door to replace it, factor in disposal too — that's a modest add-on against either width, not a reason on its own to downsize.
Getting a fair quote
Because so much of the single-vs-double gap comes from structural and electrical extras rather than the door panel, quotes for "the same" door can vary a lot depending on what's included. We build our figures from labour hours at local rates plus materials, checked against market prices and real quotes, which is why the gap above shows up consistently once width is isolated from everything else. If you've had a quote in and the number looks out of step with that, it's worth running it past our "is my quote fair" tool before you sign off.
For the full breakdown by door type, width and opener, see our Garage door guide. If you're widening the drive to match a new double door, our New driveway guide covers what that adds, and our House rewire guide is worth a look if the garage needs a new circuit rather than a spur off an existing one.