Is it possible to increase the height of my garage door opening and how much would that cost in Ottawa?

Increasing the height of a garage door opening is absolutely possible, and it is a project that comes up fairly often in Ottawa, usually because someone has bought a taller vehicle like a full-size pickup truck, SUV, or work van that does not quite fit through a standard seven-foot opening. Some homeowners also want the extra height for a car lift or to move tall equipment in and out of a workshop garage. It is a significant structural project but a competent contractor can handle it, and the results can make a real difference in how you use your garage.

The cost in Ottawa ranges from $2,500 to $7,000 or more depending on how much height you are adding, the structural complexity of the wall above the current opening, and whether you need a new door to fit the larger opening. Here is how the costs typically break down.

The structural work is the biggest variable. Your garage door opening has a header beam above it that carries the load of the wall and potentially part of the roof structure. To increase the height, that header needs to be raised or replaced with a new one at a higher position. If your garage has a simple single-story front wall with a truss roof, this is relatively straightforward. The contractor removes the old header, reframes the opening at the new height, installs a new properly sized header beam, and fills in or adjusts the surrounding wall framing. For a typical six to twelve inch height increase on a standard Ottawa detached garage, expect $1,500 to $3,500 for the structural and framing work including permits.

If the wall above your current opening is load-bearing or if you have living space above the garage, the complexity and cost increase substantially because temporary supports are needed while the header is modified, and an engineer may need to specify the new header size. Attached garages with bedrooms above them fall into this category, and the structural work alone can run $3,000 to $5,000.

You will almost certainly need a new garage door because your current door will be too short for the taller opening. A new insulated steel door for the larger opening runs $1,200 to $2,500 installed. New tracks, springs, and hardware are included because these all change with the door height. If your existing opener has enough headroom clearance on the new rail height it can usually be reused, but you may need a new rail section, which costs $50 to $100.

Permits are required in Ottawa for structural modifications to a garage opening. A building permit from the City of Ottawa for this type of work costs $150 to $350 depending on the scope, and the contractor should handle the application as part of the project. An inspection will be required to verify the new header meets the Ontario Building Code.

There are some practical limits to how much height you can add. The main constraint is headroom above the opening inside the garage. Your garage door tracks curve from vertical to horizontal at the top of the opening, and the door sections stack horizontally along the ceiling when open. You need at least 12 to 15 inches of space between the top of the new opening and the ceiling for standard track hardware. If your garage has a low ceiling, you may only be able to gain a few inches of door height before running out of track space. Low-headroom track systems exist and can help, but they add $200 to $500 to the cost and have some limitations on door weight and speed.

The exterior finish work after raising the opening also needs consideration. If your garage has brick or stone facing, cutting and repointing masonry adds $500 to $1,500 to the project. Vinyl or wood siding is simpler to adjust and typically adds only $200 to $500 for the exterior finish work.

Timeline for this project in Ottawa is typically three to five days of on-site work spread over a week or two, accounting for the permit inspection. During the work, your garage will be open and the door non-functional for at least two to three days, so plan accordingly, especially if you are doing this during winter months when an open garage creates real problems for anything stored inside.

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Looking for experienced contractors? The Ottawa Construction Network connects Ottawa homeowners with qualified professionals:

• Luxe Painting and Renovations
• JC Carpentry
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• Custom By Arie
• True Fix Garage doors