Garage~ wider or deeper?

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dja4260

dja4260

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Greenville, SC
I'll give you my two options. I know you can never have a big enough garage. I'll spare you the details but these are my two options.

The garage will house my Harley, one vehicle daily, snow blower, lawn mower, yard tools.
I will park our second car in there from time to time if we're out of town or inclement weather.

Both garages will have a 16x7 door with a side service door entrance.

18w x 22d

20w x 20d
 
Originally Posted By: dja4260
I'll give you my two options. I know you can never have a big enough garage. I'll spare you the details but these are my two options.

The garage will house my Harley, one vehicle daily, snow blower, lawn mower, yard tools.
I will park our second car in there from time to time if we're out of town or inclement weather.

Both garages will have a 16x7 door with a side service door entrance.

18w x 22d

20w x 20d

I'd go the 20/20.
That said, hindsight will be 20/20
 
Two vehicles, a Harley, mower, snowblower, etc...I think it's gonna be pretty tight. At least they are small cars.
 
This isn't optimal but these are my choices. I was leaning towards the 18x22 as the Harley and yard toys can hug the back wall. My car can hug the right wall and my wife can have the left side. If we ever get a mini-van we would have the depth to fit it in as well.

Both choices will be tight. Super tight.
 
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It's kind of a toss-up. Deeper means you can drive in longer vehicles and store more stuff in the back. Wider is easier to open doors on the car. Most people ask what kind of car you drive to determine needs, but nobody keeps the same car forever. I have the worst of both worlds with my garage; narrow and short (story of my life...). It severely narrows my truck search, as now I refuse to park outside at home now.
 
Originally Posted By: Delta
It's kind of a toss-up. Deeper means you can drive in longer vehicles and store more stuff in the back. Wider is easier to open doors on the car. Most people ask what kind of car you drive to determine needs, but nobody keeps the same car forever. I have the worst of both worlds with my garage; narrow and short. It severely narrows my truck search, as now I refuse to park outside at home now.


My wife will be parking her Nissan Sentra in the garage daily. I will only be parking my car in there when there is hail or massive snow in the forecast. Our next vehicle would be a minivan so sliding doors help me as well as the extra garage depth.
 
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I can't comment on the size, I'd want bigger. But I would suggest an 8' high door. It was the best thing I ever did when I bumped my garage out.
 
I would think about the type/size of vehicles you have now and factor in what future purchases are likely to be. Figure in how/where you would 'park' the other things and also how it sits on the property for access. I got out a measuring tape and mocked up some of that years ago for a similar project. For that, I ended up using an 18' door to better meet those needs-good luck
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I can't comment on the size, I'd want bigger. But I would suggest an 8' high door. It was the best thing I ever did when I bumped my garage out.


+1
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I can't comment on the size, I'd want bigger. But I would suggest an 8' high door. It was the best thing I ever did when I bumped my garage out.


Also when you put in lighting make sure its not blocked by the door when its up...

Nice overhead lighting where at least some of the lights actually illumniate under the car hood is best.

is your drive straight into the garage... 18'w is probably ok
if its angled at all you need the 20'w

Kind of curious why you cant go 20x22
if both 18x22 and 20x20 work
 
I would get the deeper one if you have mini van plans in the future. You will want to be able to open the rear door and still be able to have plenty of room to walk in front of it.
Also, once you start parking one car outside, it will always be outside. Stuff will fill up that space, and easy access to the bike will become a priority.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I can't comment on the size, I'd want bigger. But I would suggest an 8' high door. It was the best thing I ever did when I bumped my garage out.


Also when you put in lighting make sure its not blocked by the door when its up...

Nice overhead lighting where at least some of the lights actually illumniate under the car hood is best.

is your drive straight into the garage... 18'w is probably ok
if its angled at all you need the 20'w

Kind of curious why you cant go 20x22
if both 18x22 and 20x20 work


It's a straight shot to the garage. I can go 22x22 or longer.

We're trying to keep this build below a certain price point. I'm 85% certain that we're going to move in a few years and want to get the equity back. I will achieve that if I can keep it below a price point.
 
Originally Posted By: dja4260
Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I can't comment on the size, I'd want bigger. But I would suggest an 8' high door. It was the best thing I ever did when I bumped my garage out.


Also when you put in lighting make sure its not blocked by the door when its up...

Nice overhead lighting where at least some of the lights actually illumniate under the car hood is best.

is your drive straight into the garage... 18'w is probably ok
if its angled at all you need the 20'w

Kind of curious why you cant go 20x22
if both 18x22 and 20x20 work


It's a straight shot to the garage. I can go 22x22 or longer.

We're trying to keep this build below a certain price point. I'm 85% certain that we're going to move in a few years and want to get the equity back. I will achieve that if I can keep it below a price point.


I hear you about price, but trust me the 8' opening is a great investment. Well worth the extra few $, so is the lighting as someone else mentioned.
 
Originally Posted By: ecotourist
A larger garage is a selling point. More precisely a small garage is a definite negative.


Im renting my house so I can't complain to much, but man this garage is SMALL. I could barely fit my miata in there before. Sure no room to work on it. Next house im in has to have a huge one, rent or own
 
My previous home had a 2 car, but "deep" garage with a built in double door closet at the end. It was absolutely fantastic. Not only could I pull an F250 pickup into the garage, but there was room for motorcycles, pressure washer, lawn mower and plenty of other stuff. And, the good news was that the walls of the garage were not crammed with stuff. So walking in/out was easy.

My current 3 car garage is not deep. I cannot fit a longer pickup (my F150 super crew short bed, has 1 inch to spare and the bumper must hit the wall for the door to close) and stuff must pile up on the sides. It's really annoying and impossible to keep neat.

I'll take a deep garage every time.
 
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My garage is about 20x20 and right now I can fit either of my 3 cars in but if my wife buys a new Rav4, it won't fit along with the camry. Go longer.
 
I would go as large as possible.
Just a couple feet makes a big difference.
Most likely it would be a selling point if you move.

My garage is 22' x 22'
I consider floor space in my garage as Prime Real Estate.
I do not collect or save junk.
Some things make their way into the basement (more room).
 
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