12 feet wide · 7 feet high · single
12x7 garage door
One wide vehicle, or one car plus a workbench along the wall.
Where it comes from
Why an opening is 12x7
An unusual size, and almost always a purpose-built one. Twelve by seven is too wide for a car and too short for a shop vehicle, so it turns up on workshops, single bays built for a work van, and garages where the width was for a bench rather than a second car.
One wide vehicle with room around it, or one car plus a workbench down the side wall. The seven-foot height keeps it in ordinary-vehicle territory — this is width without height, which is a specific thing to want.
Fitting one
What changes at 12x7
Twelve feet wants a strut on the top section even though it is nominally a single, and the spring sizing is not the standard single chart. Otherwise a normal seven-foot job.
The opener. A half-horsepower unit will manage a bare steel door at this width. The width, not the height, is what argues for stepping up.
Getting hold of one. Ordered. It is a catalogue size rather than a shelf size, and the lead time surprises people who assumed a seven-foot door was a seven-foot door.
The mistake
What people get wrong about a 12x7
Ordering twelve feet wide hoping two small cars will fit. They will not, in any useful way — two cars need sixteen feet before anybody can open a door.
What it costs
A 12x7 door, installed
| Material | Typical, installed | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Sectional steel | $3,170 | The baseline, and most of the doors on most streets. |
| Insulated steel | $3,920 | Worth it on an attached garage or one with a room above it. |
| Steel overlay, carriage look | $6,720 | The swing-door look on a sectional door. Where the price starts climbing. |
| Wood overlay | $14,570 | Real wood over an insulated core. Beautiful, and it needs refinishing. |
| Aluminium and glass | $8,320 | Modern, lots of daylight, lower insulation value. |
The gap between the cheapest and dearest 12x7 is $16,570, and not one dollar of it is the size. Same opening, same fitting, same morning — what moves the number is the model: panel style, insulation and overlay. Why a door costs what it does →
National guide ranges, checked September 2026, not a quote — what moves the number.
That is the door, the tracks, the springs, fitting it and taking the old one away. An opener, a keypad and any work on the opening itself are separate — what is in a quote and what is not.
Before you book it
What the extras cost · why nobody should touch their own springs
Framing
Rough opening for a 12x7
12'0" × 7'0"
For a sectional door the rough opening equals the door size exactly. A 16x7 door needs a 16'0" wide by 7'0" high finished opening.
Fits
What goes through a 12x7
- Compact car (Civic) — 5.2' spare across the mirrors
- Sedan (Camry) — 5.0' spare across the mirrors
- Small SUV (RAV4) — 4.9' spare across the mirrors
- Large SUV (Suburban) — 4.5' spare across the mirrors
- Full-size pickup (F-150) — 4.0' spare across the mirrors
- Cargo van (Transit) — 3.9' spare across the mirrors
- Pickup, tow mirrors (F-250) — 3.2' spare across the mirrors
Questions
12x7 garage doors, answered
How much does a 12x7 garage door cost?
A 12x7 in sectional steel runs about $2,080 to $4,250 installed, and $2,580 to $5,250 insulated. That is the door, the tracks, the springs, fitting it and taking the old one away. An opener is separate.
What is the rough opening for a 12x7 garage door?
12 feet by 7 feet, exactly. For a sectional door the rough opening is the door size — framing it wider leaves a gap the seal cannot close.
How much clearance do you need for a 12x7?
12" of headroom above the opening for a standard torsion setup, 9" front, 4.5" rear of sideroom each side for the vertical track, and the door height plus 16 inches of backroom. The full table, including low-headroom kits, is on the rough opening guide.
What fits through a 12x7 garage door?
compact car (civic), sedan (camry), small suv (rav4), large suv (suburban), full-size pickup (f-150), cargo van (transit), pickup, tow mirrors (f-250) — one at a time. The measurement that matters is across the mirrors, not the body.
Is an insulated 12x7 worth the extra?
About $500 to $1,000 more. Yes if the garage is attached or there is a room above it — you feel it in the summer and in the heating bill. A detached garage you only park in: skip it.
How long does it take to fit?
Three to five hours for a single door, plus an hour or two if the old one is coming out.
What opener does a 12x7 need?
A half-horsepower unit will manage a bare steel door at this width. The width, not the height, is what argues for stepping up.
Is a 12x7 a stock size?
Ordered. It is a catalogue size rather than a shelf size, and the lead time surprises people who assumed a seven-foot door was a seven-foot door.
The next size up
12x7 or 16x7?
A 16x7 is 4 feet wider and costs roughly $50 more in steel. Worth it if you open car doors inside the garage rather than on the driveway. See the 16x7 →
Other sizes