Roll-Up vs. Sectional Doors for a Metal Shop in Spokane: Headroom, Insulation, Wind Ratings and Energy Code (2026)

For most metal shops, a roll-up door saves ceiling space and a sectional door saves heat. A roll-up (coiling) door wraps around a drum above the opening and needs no tracks running back into the building. A sectional door rides on tracks along the ceiling, but it's the door to pick if you'll heat the shop. Here's how to choose for a pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) in Spokane, with the clearances, wind ratings and Washington energy code numbers that matter.

How the two doors work

• Roll-up (coiling) door: interlocking steel slats coil around a drum mounted above the opening, so nothing hangs from the ceiling when it's open
• Sectional overhead door: hinged horizontal panels travel up vertical tracks and then back along horizontal tracks under the roof, the same way most house garage doors work

MBCI, a major metal building panel maker, notes that because a coiling door nests into itself on the drum, it takes up far less overhead space than a door that slides on tracks.

Headroom and backroom

Headroom is the space between the top of the opening and the lowest thing above it, like a purlin, beam or ceiling liner. Backroom is how far into the building the door travels when it's open.

• Roll-up doors: door makers commonly list about 12 to 18 inches of headroom, and the door needs essentially no backroom
• Standard-lift sectional doors: one commercial door maker's brochure lists 11.5 to 16.5 inches of headroom depending on track size and radius, with backroom equal to the door height plus 23 to 25 inches
• Low-headroom sectional track: the same brochure lists rear-mount options needing as little as 7.5 to 8.5 inches of headroom, but more backroom (door height plus 30 to 32 inches)
• Openers: that brochure adds up to 4 more inches of headroom for a trolley-style opener

So a 14-foot-tall sectional door needs roughly 16 feet of clear ceiling behind it. In a shop with a car lift, an overhead crane, racking or a mezzanine near the door, those tracks can get in the way. A roll-up door avoids that problem.

Insulation and Washington's energy code

This is where sectional doors win. Insulated sectional doors are available with foam-filled panels, while insulated roll-up doors are available but generally can't match them.

Whether the energy code cares depends on the building:

• Unheated shops and storage buildings: the energy code's door U-factor limits don't kick in for unconditioned space
• Heated commercial buildings: the 2021 Washington State Energy Code (Table C402.1.4) sets a maximum U-factor of 0.31 for garage doors with less than 14% glass and 0.31 for non-swinging doors, a category that includes roll-up and coiling doors. Garage doors with 14% to 50% glass get up to U-0.34
• Testing: the code requires door U-factors to come from NFRC 100 or ANSI/DASMA 105 testing by an accredited lab, labeled by the manufacturer
• Air leakage: DASMA notes that, tested to ANSI/DASMA 105, commercial garage doors must meet 0.40 cfm per sq ft and rolling doors 1.00 cfm per sq ft
• Heated home garages: DASMA notes residential garage doors don't have a set U-factor requirement, but they must be tested and labeled where the garage is heated or cooled

If you're planning a heated shop, a radiant floor or a barndominium, plan the doors with the insulation. A big uninsulated door can undo a lot of wall and roof insulation. Our metal building insulation guide covers the rest of the envelope.

Wind rating and labels

Large doors catch a lot of wind, and the code treats them that way:

• Testing: the 2021 IRC (Section R609.4) requires garage doors to be tested to ASTM E330 or ANSI/DASMA 108 and meet DASMA 108's pass/fail criteria. DASMA says the 2021 and 2024 IBC carry the same labeling requirement for non-residential buildings
• Label: the door needs a permanent label showing the manufacturer, model, positive and negative design wind pressure in psf, the installation drawing number and the test standard
• Rated in psf, not mph: DASMA explains that the required pressure depends on wind speed, exposure, roof height, door size and where the door sits on the wall, and the local building department has the final say
• Spokane County's number: the County's residential permit packet lists a 110 mph design wind speed

Wide-open farm ground and hilltops are more exposed than a sheltered lot, so a door on an open site may need a higher rating. We size doors to the building's engineering, not off a shelf.

Framed openings in a PEMB

In a metal building, the door isn't just cut into the wall. The opening gets jambs and a header that carry wind and wall loads around it:

• Order doors with the building: door sizes and locations go into the manufacturer's engineering so the framed openings, girts and bracing are designed around them
• Mind the clearances: MBCI advises checking that open door panels won't foul trims or cladding, and allowing for drum clearance near roof framing, liners and insulation with roll-up doors
• Adding a door later: it's possible, but the wall framing has to be checked, so it's cheaper and simpler to decide now

For a motorhome or fifth-wheel door, see our guide to RV garage door size and building height, including Washington's 14-foot vehicle height limit.

Which door fits your shop?

• Pick a roll-up door if: the shop is unheated, you need the ceiling for a lift, crane, lights or racking, or the door cycles many times a day
• Pick a sectional door if: the shop is heated, you want windows in the door, or you want a door that looks like a house garage door
• Very large openings: door makers offer both types in big sizes, and hydraulic or bifold doors are another option for equipment and hangar-sized openings

Snow is worth thinking about too. On a gable-end door, snow sliding off the roof can pile in front of the opening. Our guide to gutters and snow guards on metal buildings covers where to put doors relative to the roof slope.

How Raven builds it

Raven Buildings builds PEMB shops, garages and ag buildings across Spokane and Eastern Washington. We aren't tied to one steel manufacturer, so we source from whoever can deliver fastest, and we lay out the doors in the engineering from the start.

• Our installed rate: about $60 to $75 per sq ft for an installed pre-engineered metal building. Electrical, plumbing and utility hookups are extra
• Doors: quoted with your building, based on the size, type and insulation you choose
• Read more: what a PEMB is and what size shop you need

Planning a shop? Call 509-350-2016 or request a free quote with your size, how many doors you want and whether you'll heat it.

Sources

• Installed pricing: Raven Buildings' current going rate
• MBCI: Overhead Door Considerations for Metal Buildings
• Commercial Doors Direct: Commercial Sectional Door track and headroom specs (PDF)
• Wilcox Door: Sectional vs. Rolling Steel Doors
• WAC 51-11C-402141, Table C402.1.4 Opaque Thermal Envelope Requirements (LII)
• Washington State Energy Code 2021 Commercial Envelope Webinar (PDF)
• DASMA TechCorner, Spring 2024: Energy Codes and Doors (PDF)
• DASMA Technical Data Sheet 1502: Garage Door Wind Load Labeling (PDF)
• Spokane County BP-06, Residential Building Permits (design criteria)