How to Measure for a Strip Curtain Door

Measuring for a strip curtain door takes about five minutes and one tool: a tape measure. Get two numbers right — the height and the width of your opening — and a made-to-order kit will fit the first time. Get them wrong and you either have strips dragging on the floor collecting grime, or a gap at the bottom leaking cold air and letting flies through. This guide walks you through exactly what to measure, where to measure it, and the handful of judgment calls that trip people up.

What you need before you start

• A tape measure long enough to reach the top of your opening
• A step ladder for doors taller than about 8 feet
• Something to write the numbers on — you will enter them into the kit calculator exactly as measured

That is the whole list. You do not need to calculate strip counts, overlap spacing, or hanger length. The calculator does that from your two measurements.

Step 1: Decide where the curtain will mount

Before you measure, look at the opening and decide which of the three mounting styles fits your situation, because it changes what you measure:

• Jamb mount — the hanger mounts inside the door frame, between the jambs. Use this when there is no flat wall surface above the opening, or when a door or roll-up track already occupies the face of the wall.
• Face mount — the hanger mounts on the wall above and across the opening. This is the most common install and the most forgiving, because the curtain can be wider and taller than the opening itself.
• Rod mount — the hanger hangs from threaded rods dropped from the ceiling. Used for openings with no header wall at all, or to divide open floor space where there is no doorway.

Step 2: Measure the height

Measure from the floor to the point where the top of the strips will hang:

• Jamb mount: floor to the underside of the header (the top of the opening).
• Face mount: floor to wherever the hanger will sit on the wall — usually 2 to 4 inches above the top of the opening so the strips fully cover it.
• Rod mount: floor to the height you want the hanger to hang.

Measure in two or three spots across the opening. Concrete floors are rarely level, and you want the longest measurement. Strips that are slightly long can be trimmed with ordinary scissors or a utility knife after hanging; strips that are short leave a permanent gap. When in doubt, round up an inch — we recommend ordering a little long and trimming to a perfect fit on site.

Should strips touch the floor? For temperature control (coolers, freezers, air-conditioned space), yes — floor contact is what stops the air exchange. For forklift doors where the strips take a beating, some facilities float them a half inch off the floor to reduce wear and dragging. If insects are the problem, keep floor contact.

Step 3: Measure the width

• Jamb mount: measure the opening width between the jambs at the top, where the hanger will bolt in. Check the middle and bottom too — frames are not always square — and use the narrowest number so the hanger fits.
• Face mount: measure the opening width, then add coverage on each side. Two to four inches per side is typical; it stops airflow from simply going around the curtain edges.
• Rod mount: the width is simply how wide you want the curtain to run.

Step 4: Pick your strip size for the door height

Your opening height also determines which strip size holds up best. The taller the door, the wider and thicker the strip needs to be — a tall door hung with narrow, thin strips will flutter, twist, and wear out fast:

• Openings up to about 6 feet: 6" strips — a lightweight pedestrian curtain that is easy to walk through.
• 8 to 10 feet: 8" × .080" strips — easy for people, durable enough for motorized traffic.
• 10 to 14 feet: 12" × .120" strips — heavy-duty industrial doors that stop airflow across big openings.
• 15 feet and up: 16" × .160" strips — the heaviest option, for sealing the largest openings in industrial facilities.

One caveat: heavy wind or strong negative or positive airflow through the opening can justify going one size heavier than the chart suggests. A loading dock that catches prevailing wind behaves like a much bigger door.

Step 5: Enter your numbers and choose overlap

Enter your height and width into the calculator on any kit page, choose your material, and pick an overlap. Overlap is how much each strip covers its neighbor — more overlap seals tighter against temperature loss and insects, less overlap makes the curtain easier to push through in high-traffic doorways. If you are not sure which you need, our Overlap Guide compares the options by application, and our Material Guide does the same for the strip materials.

The mistakes we see most often

• Measuring the door instead of the opening. The old door slab or roll-up curtain is not the opening. Measure the actual gap the strips must cover.
• Measuring height in one spot. A floor that drops an inch across the opening means one edge of your curtain hangs short. Take the longest measurement.
• Forgetting the hanger position on face mounts. If the hanger sits 3 inches above the opening, the strips need those 3 extra inches of length.
• Guessing instead of calling. Every kit is cut to your numbers — it is 100% custom. If anything about your opening is unusual, call us before you order. Five minutes on the phone beats re-ordering a curtain.

Frequently asked questions

What if my measurement is off by a little?

Order slightly long rather than slightly short. Strips trim easily to length on site with a utility knife, and face-mount hangers forgive an inch or two of extra width. A short curtain cannot be stretched.

Do I measure differently for a walk-in cooler or freezer?

The measuring steps are the same, but make sure the strips reach the floor for a full seal, and choose polar-grade material — standard PVC stiffens and cracks below about 10°F.

Can one kit cover a very wide opening?

Yes. Strip curtains scale to wide dock and warehouse openings — the calculator handles the strip count. For very wide spans, hangers join in sections, and a sliding track kit lets the whole curtain move aside for oversized loads.

What if I still calculated the wrong size?

Call us before you order if you have any doubt — because kits are cut to order, it is much easier to check your numbers up front than to fix them after. Our team does this all day and can sanity-check your measurements in minutes at (888) 970-5888.

Ready to build your kit? Take your two measurements to the strip curtain kit calculator for an instant quote — custom cut, made in the USA, hardware included.