If you’re in the market for a new garage door, you might have questions about garage door panels or sections. What’s the difference? The sections are horizontal planks that move independently, and panels are the decorative squares or rectangles that make up a section. The quantity of each depends on the size of your door and the material it’s made of.
Most doors have standard section & panel sizes, but some doors, like the Amarr Vista & Amarr Classica, offer distinct configurations. Keep reading to learn more about garage door panels and section sizes.
Why does the number of garage door sections matter?
An 8′ tall door with three sections requires fewer hinges and rollers than an 8′ door with the standard five panels. Fewer panels mean there is less hardware to wear down, break, or require maintenance. Fewer panels often lead to less maintenance over time because there are fewer parts to deteriorate.
Garage door manufacturers pre-determine these options based on the size and style of your door. A 9′ x 8′ tall Amarr Lincoln LI1000 has five sections, no matter what design or color you choose. An 8′ x 8′ Amarr Vista full-view aluminum garage door has four sections.
How tall are garage door panels or sections?
We built a chart to showcase section heights based on the overall garage door height. Most sections fall within 18″ – 24″ tall, but the Amarr Classica has tall garage door panels at 32″ sections.
Door Height # of Sections Section Height Up to 7' Four 21" Up to 8' Five 19.2" Up to 9' Six 18" Up to 10' Six 20" Up to 12' Seven 20.57" Up to 14' Eight 21" Specs for Amarr Lincoln LI1000
Most 5-panel garage doors are 8′ tall, and most 4-panel garage doors are 7′ tall.
Can you choose different numbers of garage door panels?
You can determine the panel style on your garage door but not the quantity. An exception to the rule is when you add a garage door window or aluminum solid panel to a section. Most often, the design request covers one of the planks or an entire section, so in a way, you can personalize the number of garage door panels.
Closing thoughts
We hope this blog post helped you better understand garage door panel and section heights. If you have any questions, please call us at 817.500.5988 or fill out our contact form. We’re always happy to help in any way we can.
