Garage Door with Man Door: Why You Should or Shouldn’t Install It

When you design a garage, what kind of door will you choose? Is it sectional, roll-up, sliding, side-hinged, or tilt-up?

Instead of only choosing some regular option, why don’t you choose something that will provide you with some extras? The one we meant here is none other than a garage door with man door.

Well, this one is actually available in some of the traditional designs that we have mentioned earlier. However, it comes with a man door that makes it different from the others.

This post is dedicated to showing you the reasons why you should install this kind of garage door. To complete everything, we will also share some points to consider before installing it and some ideas to get you inspired, just in case you are interested in choosing it for your house.

1. What Is a Garage Door with a Man Door?

When talking about a garage door, the chance is enormous for you to already know what it is. Although so, some of us might not be familiar with a feature called the man door.

It is none other but built-in access included in the design of a garage door. The primary function is none other than a human entrance, although practically, it can be used for other purposes.

Interestingly, it comes in various names other than just a man door, so you do not get confused about the terms. Some of the most common ones are walkthrough, wicket, pedestrian access, man entry, pedestrian entry, walkthrough entry, middle passage, man entrance, etc.

As an example, you can take a look at the picture above. It shows a white-framed glass sectional garage door with a man entrance on the left side for more limited and more convenient access.

This unique feature is found not only in residential use but also in industrial use. However, in this post, we will focus more on its usage in home designs.

2. Reasons To Install It

If seen from the positive point of view, some benefits make a garage door that comes with a man entry good to consider. The first is none other but the ease in accessing the garage.

As you may already know, sometimes we use the garage door to enter the house, such as when we come home from biking. Although we carry a bike with us, it does not mean that we have to open the whole garage door since it will be pretty inconvenient. In this case, the man door helps a lot.

The same idea is applied when you need to take some things inside the garage from outside. These include tumble dryers, workshop equipment and tools, gym equipment, and so on.

Although it is possible to include it in any other type, pedestrian access is commonly included in the garage door with a sectional opening system. The system is often suitable for residential use because it does not take too much space except the one in the ceiling, as you can see in the picture of a black-framed glass sectional garage door above.

When you need to do activities that require you to go in and out of the garage continuously to take equipment and tools, such as gardening, a man door can be very beneficial. You can keep it open without exposing all the belongings you store in the garage to be seen from the neighborhood. A benefit like this is best when you live in an urban setting.

Including pedestrian access in your garage door design can also help save your money on electricity, especially when the type of garage door you use is an automatic, electric one. In some situations, when you do not need to open the whole entrance, you can just enter the garage through the man entry.

A similar benefit is also obtainable when there is a power outage, including the prolonged one. The existence of pedestrian access gives you an alternative entrance to the house. You will find it even more beneficial if all the main doors to enter the house have an automatic system.

Opening only the pedestrian access during the winter can help you retain heat in the garage, which possibly affects the whole interior of the house, too, if the garage is connected and open to other areas. It helps you save some money on energy costs, particularly the one related to the heating system.

3. Things to Consider Before Installing the Garage Door with Pedestrian Access

Although all the benefits we have mentioned earlier sound amazing, there are still some points that you must consider before you finally decide to install a garage door that comes with pedestrian access. If you want to, you can call these the cons too.

You may think that the cost of installation of a man door for the garage entrance might not be too much. If that is so, you should really stop thinking that way.

The reason is that it can be a lot too, remembering that this feature needs a unique safety system or else there is a chance for the garage entrance to experience some major damages, including the ones caused by people who try to enter the house through it. If you do not want all those to happen, you must get a proper safety system for the man entry, and it may cost you as much as the price of an entire regular garage door without pedestrian access.

If the garage door comes with an automated system, you must make sure to always close the pedestrian access properly. We said so because if it is not closed correctly and you open the garage door, it will get seriously damaged, which also means more cost for the repair or even replacement.

4. Some Garage Door with Man Door Ideas to Get You Inspired

As we already mentioned previously, we will also include some ideas to complete this post. If you are interested in the garage door that comes with a built-in man door, these inspirations will show you how the vehicle entry looks.

4.1 Elegant White Sectional Garage Door with an Integrated Man Door

For the first idea, we present you with this gorgeous, elegant white garage door. From the visual, it is clear that the opening system used in this one is sectional. It also has three-panel sizing that is perfect for a single car.

Now let us talk about the man door. Although the color is the same, it does not use a seamless design since a frame makes it quite visible. Other than that, there is also a knob and keyhole that makes everything even more apparent.

There is something that we found interesting about the man door design here. It is the existence of the keyhole.

It proves that the pedestrian entry can manually be opened using a key. With a feature like this, you can still enter the house through the garage door even if a power failure occurs.

4.2 Wood Face Garage Door with a Man Entry to Boost Exterior Aesthetic Value

When you look at this garage door picture, you may think that the primary material is wood, right? The fact is not like that at all.

This garage door is metal. It gets a wood face that creates the final appearance, as you can see in the picture.

At a glance, it also looks like it comes with double entrances, each with side-hinged openings. The fact is that it is a single sectional garage door.

Incredibly, hinges are added to make the design look real. Together with the knockers and handles, these details boost the aesthetic value of the door and the exterior home design.

The man door here has a frame that differentiates it from other parts of the garage entrance. However, the dark color scheme conceals everything excellently, so it will look like the garage door does not have any pedestrian entry feature from afar.

4.3 A Man Door in the Center of a Sectional Glass Garage Door

A man entry feature for a garage door is not always located on the side position. Sometimes, it can also be in the center, as you can see in the picture above.

This modern-looking three-panel glass garage door comes with a man entry in the middle. A design like this is an excellent choice for those who love symmetrical visuals.

The type of glass material used here is not a clear one but frosted. It can still block the view so that people cannot see clearly everything stored inside the garage.

The best thing is that material like this does not block the light. It then becomes a considerable choice for you who want an excellent privacy value but need more light in the garage since there is no other window you can include in the design.

4.4 Bold, Black Double Garage Entrances with a Man Door

Man door is also a feature that you can include in the design of a double-entrances garage door. The most common case is when you have more than just one car, you usually park in the garage.

You can take a look at the picture above as an example. The black, bold modern garage here has double entrances.

Other than that, you can see that there is a man entry feature right behind the dog. Like the previous examples, this one also comes with a design that looks the same as the rest of the garage door for the sake of design consistency that can sometimes give a concealed value.

4.5 Unique Arched Garage Door with Visually-Connected Man Door

This one is a really unique idea that we found. The uniqueness is related to the man door design.

If seen from far, everything looks like a single unity. The fact is it is not.

The garage door and the man door are separated with a frame. If you look closely, you will see that the main garage door has a sectional opening.

On the other hand, the man entry is a regular single door. The best thing is that it becomes a continuous part of the arched design. It even has the same color and the same glass window. It is reasonable then if it visually looks like a single part of the garage door.

4.6 Black-Framed Clear Glass Garage Door with Center Man Entry

If previously we already talked about a garage door with frosted glass, this time, we have the clear one as the following example.

Something like this is excellent for showing everything stored inside, including when the place is meant for a showroom or something similar. Besides, it also gives a more open feeling when seen from the inside.

The man entry located in the center position gives a better level of convenience in accessing the interior. On the other hand, the black frame provides boldness and becomes a perfect touch for any modern exterior.

This garage door has a sectional opening. It makes it easier to load things inside when the space is used for other functions such as a workshop or a showroom.

4.7 Large Sectional Garage Door with A Wicket for Extra Convenience

If you look at the size of this garage door, you can see that it is quite large, indicating that the space inside is quite spacious too. For something big like this, a man door can boost the convenience level to the next level.

As we already told you over and over previously, you can imagine how troublesome it is to open the whole garage door just to access the interior. Doing so will also consume too much energy that will, later on, make the electricity bill rise up.

It gets even better because the wicket here also comes with a manual handle and lock. It means you only need a key to open it. No electricity is needed at all.

From the appearance, it seems that this one is a wood face. The interesting detail is that it comes with smaller horizontal panels that add texture to look even more attractive.

4.8 Black Garage with Two Doors and a Wicket in a Brick Exterior Design

Although there are pictures of the interior of this garage available, there is a chance that the inside is a single unity, although there are two black, sectional doors that can be seen on the exterior.

Another fact that the interior is connected to one another is the existence of only one wicket door instead of two. It seems to prove that this smaller door becomes the main man entry here.

While the other details might be quite the same as previous examples, we want to talk more about the fascinating design. We particularly love how the combination between the black color of the door and the outdated brick wall goes really well together.

4.9 White Garage Door with Man Door Paired with Grey Brick Exterior

This picture also shows another idea to pair a sectional garage door with a man entry with a brick exterior. The difference is that the door here has a white color.

This choice of color is excellent, we think. The reason is that the match is none other but a grey brick. It seems to build the exterior color scheme even better because the roof and floor are in grey tones.

Overall, the combination between the white door and everything else in this exterior creates a simple yet gorgeous visual. It would be even more perfect if the main house is also in the same or at least similar and coordinating color scheme.

4.10 Double Beige Carriage-Style Garage Door with a Man Door Feature in a Warm and Welcoming Exterior

For a warm and welcoming exterior, you can get inspired by this idea. It pairs greige garage doors with orange brick walls.

This design gets even more fabulous because of the carriage style chosen for the sectional garage door. It boosts the beauty value to the next level.

As for the man door, the keyhole clearly shows that this one also comes with a manual operating system. It also has the same handles as the ones installed on the rest of the door, making the carriage style look even more real.

4.11 The Combination of Brown Brick Exterior and Beige Garage Door with a Man Door

This idea also shows how an exterior can look welcoming with the combination of a beige garage door with a man entry and a brick exterior. In this case, the type of brick used is brown. The combination creates not only a welcoming visual but also a cozy atmosphere outside the craftsman’s house.

4.12 A Lower Garage with a Man Door for Easier Access to Enter and Exit the House

This last but not slightest idea that we found shows us that a man door can be a really beneficial feature for some types of home design. In this case, we can see that the location of the garage is lower than the main entrance of the residence.

Take a situation as an example. You come home and park your car outside the garage. If the position is as shown in the picture, it will be much more convenient to enter the house through the man door, right? This way, you do not have to walk all the way up to the house’s main entrance.

Closing

Those are all the things that we can share with you about the garage door with man door. The benefits that it offers, such as the ease in accessing the garage and the fact that you can still enter the interior through the pedestrian entry even if a power outage takes place, make an excellent point to consider.

However, you should never forget that this kind of entrance comes with some considerable things that are also suitable to say as the disadvantages. Those include the cost and the closing of the garage door system that can possibly create some major damages when the man entry is not closed correctly.

If you are interested in this kind of garage door but at the same time also worry about some possible damage that can cost you too much money, you can pick a choice completed with a specific technology to prevent the garage door from opening when the pedestrian entry is not perfectly closed. An example that is now used by a lot of manufacturers is the current cutter. It may increase the total cost but is sure to be a good investment to consider.