Garage Home Office or Studio: What It Means for the Door

A corner of the garage can make a handy workspace. It might be a desk for working from home a few days a week, a painting studio, a sewing table or a spot to record music away from the rest of the house. It’s a sensible use of space, but the door is still a big, heavy piece of moving equipment. A bit of planning at the start keeps the door working properly and keeps the new room comfortable to use.

Start with how the door will be used from now on

The first question is simple. Will the door still open and close every day, or will it become something you only use now and then? If the car still parks in the other half of the garage, the door is going to run as often as it did before, and your workspace has to live around that. If the car is moving out to the driveway for good, the door might only open for deliveries, bikes or bins.

It’s also worth thinking about who else uses the door. If a partner leaves for work early while you’re already at the desk, the opener will be running a few metres from where you sit.

If you’re tempted to do away with the door and build a wall in its place, that’s building work rather than a garage door job, so check with your local council before you plan anything around it.

Know where the door goes when it opens

This is the part that’s easy to miss. Each door type takes up space in a different way, and furniture, shelving and lighting all have to stay out of its path.

• A sectional door is made of horizontal panels that travel up and slide along tracks into the ceiling space. Anything hung from the ceiling under those tracks, such as a new light fitting, a shelf or a lowered ceiling, can get in the way.
• A roller door rolls into a compact drum above the opening and is guided by tracks on either side. Keep the area around the drum and the side tracks clear, so tall cabinets hard up against the opening are a poor idea.
• A tilt door is a single panel that lifts outward and upward on pivoting arms. Leave room for the door and arms to move, and ask us if you’re unsure how much.

Think about the opener too. Check its manual for where the manual release is, and don’t block access to it with anything you add. If your opener has safety beams near the floor, keep desks, rugs, storage tubs and pot plants well clear of them. Don’t try to move or realign beams yourself to suit a new layout. That’s a job for a technician, so mention it when you book.

If you aren’t sure where the moving parts travel, watch the door open from well back. Don’t reach toward the door, tracks or arms while it’s moving, and don’t stand under it.

Comfort, noise and security

Garages weren’t built as offices, so a few things change once you’re sitting in one for hours.

Draughts and dust tend to come in around the edges of the door. If you notice light showing under the bottom of a closed door, or leaves and grit blowing in along the floor, that can be a sign of wear, though only a technician can say for sure. If you book a garage door service before you set up, mention the seals along with anything else you’ve noticed about how the door runs.

Listen to the door as well. If a squeal, grind or rattle seems louder than it used to be, treat it as something to mention to a technician rather than something to fix with a spray can.

Security matters more once you’ve got a laptop, tools or art supplies in there. It’s tempting to leave the door partly open for fresh air on a warm day in Blackburn or Mitcham. A half-open door is an easy invitation, and a hazard for kids and pets. Use a window or a ventilated internal door for air instead, and keep the garage door either fully closed or fully open while you’re there to keep an eye on it.

If the car still shares the space, never run the engine inside with the door closed. Fumes in a room you’re working in are a serious risk.

If you’re replacing the door as part of the project

Sometimes the workspace is the push to replace a tired old door. If that’s where you’re at, bring the new layout into the conversation from the start. Tell us where the desk, shelving and ceiling lights are going and whether the car will still park inside. Those details help when looking at which door type makes sense for your new garage door, especially where ceiling space or headroom is tight.

Any new power points, lighting or heating for the workspace are a job for a licensed electrician. Please don’t unplug, move or share the opener’s power supply to make room for office equipment.

Set the workspace up around the door rather than on top of it, and have a professional look at anything that doesn’t sound or move the way it should.

Planning a garage workspace and want the door checked first, or thinking about a replacement? Get in touch with Eastern Garage Doors and we’ll talk through your setup.