Attached GARAGE (homeowner) thoughts

[ericm979]

Ours smallest possible 3 car garage came with workbenches and cabinets on three sides of the garage. Since the barn's no good for working on cars, motorcycles or bikes, the garage became a garage/shop and the parking went from three small spaces to one.

My ideal would be an attached garage for the driver cars and two wheelers with space for bicycle maintenance and minor car maintenance, a barn for tractor and implement storage and a shop for storing and working on tractors, implements and fun cars. Oh and covered truck parking somewhere too. I don't daily drive the truck so it doesn't need to be in the daily driver parking.

 

[Midniteoyl]

For me, a minimum length would be 30' to fit large pickups fully inside and still have some room to walk in front and do engine work w/o having to back the truck out some.

Minimum door is 9' x 8' (9' wide, 8' high) to fit w/o having to fold large mirrors. As someone said earlier, a standard 10'x10' door is a good minimum that's readily available.

 

[tulenutn2o]

Detached garages, etc. make a lot of sense. However, in our area the zoning is very restrictive on added structures. My 2000 square foot pole barn is actually non-conforming on my 4 acres but is grandfathered in. A friend of mine had to design a covered walkway to his pole barn to get it permitted. However, he never got around to finishing the walkway.

Too much gov. intrusion, I’d say. 2000sq ft on 4 acres…geez.

 

[drajj5]

I have two attached, three detached, and even one off-site. Guess which vehicles get used almost 100% of the time? The ones in the attached garage, out of sheer convenience.

That said, if building my own house, I’d just have 6 garage bays all detached. A breezeway would be nice, but is also a connection to the main house over which fire can travel.

I have doors ranging from 7 feet to 10 feet wide, all 7’ high. The pickup truck fits thru the 8 ft wide doors, but with less than an inch spare to the mirrors on each side. It works when needed, but not a great option for daily use. 9ft or wider would be fine for most trucks, and my 10 ft wide door works well for trailers.

This is the reason for our garage. I too have a detached barn/shop/with which houses a lift for vehicle(s). However, getting older and going to the "Barn" to drive one of the vehicles is taxing as it is a great distance from the house! Our solution is to bring up a vehicle or two and keeping them close so they can get driven. It will be nice to drive the Model T and the next day drive a convertible. The reason for the attached garage was stipulated by my wife - who is tired of scraping 'frost' from the windows in winter! We are not the "hip generation" who has lithium batteries in their vehicles nor do we have a Battery bank to run the house when the power goes out. All this technology prevalent with smart houses, ring cameras, combined with surveillance. The wife has made it clear; "Nothin' but vehicles OK.... Honey"! I concurred

 

[dodge man]

I’m not sure what my doors are on my shop, I think 8’wide by 7’ high. It’s a tight fit with my F150 and I owned a 3/4 ton Dodge and a 3/4 ton Chevy that were very tight for height. Our house has a two car wide door so width isn’t a problem but height is still tight.

 

[tulenutn2o]

I have many saws….the doors can always get bigger!

 

[masscity]

I was going to have 10x10 doors on my pole barn, but my buddy talked me into 12x10 doors. I'm glad I listened to him.

 

[ultrarunner]

This is the reason for our garage. I too have a detached barn/shop/with which houses a lift for vehicle(s). However, getting older and going to the "Barn" to drive one of the vehicles is taxing as it is a great distance from the house! Our solution is to bring up a vehicle or two and keeping them close so they can get driven. It will be nice to drive the Model T and the next day drive a convertible. The reason for the attached garage was stipulated by my wife - who is tired of scraping 'frost' from the windows in winter! We are not the "hip generation" who has lithium batteries in their vehicles nor do we have a Battery bank to run the house when the power goes out. All this technology prevalent with smart houses, ring cameras, combined with surveillance. The wife has made it clear; "Nothin' but vehicles OK.... Honey"! I concurred

Having the classics close at hand so ready on a moments notice is a luxury...

I always have to go to a separate address if driving the Model T or Model A...

Having 6 cars in a 22 by 30 means only 2 are ever at the ready.

If I ever built I have lots of ideas how I would want things... it comes from years of walking around with a measuring tape.

My home is just shy of 2 acres but detached structure prohibited...

The walk out shop area is ample but having 3 garage doors less than 8' wide and 7' high wouldn't be my design.

9 wide would be super plus an extra 6' to one side for all the occasional tools and supplies...

 

[ultrarunner]

I have many saws….the doors can always get bigger!

I wish but the welded steel I-beam columns and headers design to meet earthquake pretty much eliminate a simple mod plus it all supports the upper floor.

 

[hosspuller]

How many have a sprinkler system in the garage? 20 years ago, in Atlanta, Georgia area, new construction included a sprinkler head over the vehicle. With EV's today, seems like a good idea to slow the fire.