We always have parked out cars in the garage, even when we had 3. We hang our bikes and have storage above the cars. It's a rule in our house that the vehicle must fit or we don't buy it.
When I bought my minivan I made the sales guy let me take it home to try in the garage before I’d sign. A minivan is definitely the absolute largest we could go but it does fit. The sliding doors really help.
Post by lavender444 on Sept 11, 2020 7:59:11 GMT -5
We have a tandem 3 car garage. Its 2 bays and one bay is 2 car lengths deep. We use the back bay as tool/lawn/ bike storage. We both park in the other 2 spots.
Post by theoriginalbean on Sept 11, 2020 10:37:23 GMT -5
We bought a house with a ridiculous garage footprint - 3 car attached and 2 car detatched. We have both cars inside and a workshop in the attached and the detatched is our home gym. Even before we moved into this house we kept both cars in the garage, though, with storage on the sides. Not a ton of storage, but cars inside has always been our "thing."
Post by aprilsails on Sept 11, 2020 20:30:37 GMT -5
We previously lived in a house with a single car garage which was so tight we couldn’t fit our car into it. We used it exclusively for storage. Yard stuff, bikes, Tools/ renovation stuff and extra dry goods too since we had very limited food storage space inside. When we renovated the kitchen we mounted the old kitchen cabinets and pantry along the perimeter. You would have to remove them to be able to park a compact car in there now.
When we built our current house we got a true two car garage. One of the bays is an extra 3 feet deep, which isn’t a lot, but gives us space to park our bikes in front of the SUV. DH was obsessed when we moved in with organizing the garage and setting up storage so that we would still have clear space to park the cars. We will eventually build a shed which will take some of the clutter out of the garage, but it’s likely to be a couple of years.
Post by Roc A Bee on Sept 11, 2020 22:56:50 GMT -5
We have a two car garage. It fits one car, our recycling, things like folding chairs and a table, lots of storage bins with holiday stuff, decor, etc. It also has our Costco and emergency food supplies.
ETA: we have no basement, shed, or attic storage. If I had a basement or shed, most things would be moved out and I could park both cars. But in CA, we don’t have basements.
Post by Velar Fricative on Sept 14, 2020 7:00:04 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! This gives me a lot to think about. If we do sell, I would want a garage too because honestly, our current house checks a lot or boxes off in terms of needs and wants so if we do sell, I’d want to buy a house with the stuff we don’t currently have, like a garage. This thread just helps arm me with evidence that we probably don’t need one badly enough to sell for that reason.
We had a house with a one car garage. Unfortunately, there was a support pole in a very awkward spot. So we couldn’t really get a car into it, so we turned it into a laundry room and workshop. Not totally finished, but it was usable. The laundry room was kind of funny. It was in the garage, and one day I went out there while H was making sawdust all over my laundry, and I was like “stop. Put walls up. Now!”
We currently don’t have a garage. But we are house hunting. And it will have a two car garage (either come with one, or we will add it). Which is for my car and his workshop. All I want is a shaded car. And no snow. Mostly the heat in summer.
We have a 32' x 32' foot attached garage with attic trusses so there is a second story for storage.
A couple months after we moved into our new house in November 2018 I told DH I wanted to be able to park in the garage since the whole purpose of having the garage was to not have to scrap my car off in the winter (it was filled with the last two truckloads of stuff we moved). We completely organized/cleaned and was able to park both of our vehicles inside for almost a full year. Then in December 2019 we had it spray foam insulated so everything had to be moved to a storage trailer my husband got from work or pushed to the middle. Then we wanted to put up the plywood walls before we put everything back so we lost our parking yet again as we slowly put the walls up and painted.
For my birthday this past July I told my husband my only birthday request was to be able to park on my side of the garage again. He fulfilled my request and it lasted two weeks before he brought a boat home from my parents that has to be restored. The only room for it to be parked was on my side and yet again I lost my parking space. So he now has until the snow starts flying to either get the boat running or to park it outside for the winter because again see the whole purpose of the garage above.
So I guess all of that to say it fluctuates from parking to storage.
We did buy one of the tarp sheds to store our two snowmobiles, lawnmower, four wheeler, and dirt bike. This has definitely made a difference in the amount of space available in the garage. We also bought a ton of organization hangers and built shelves to help with organization of ladders, tools, electrical cords, car liquids, bikes (we hang them from the ceiling), etc. that live in the main part of the garage. The upstairs is where we store all of our sporting goods and outside items (i.e., kayaks, skis, gardening tools, pop-up tents, outside decorations, extra pieces of wood, etc.) which also makes a huge difference in the actual garage space when it's not full of other stuff like a boat.
We have a 32' x 32' foot attached garage with attic trusses so there is a second story for storage.
A couple months after we moved into our new house in November 2018 I told DH I wanted to be able to park in the garage since the whole purpose of having the garage was to not have to scrap my car off in the winter (it was filled with the last two truckloads of stuff we moved). We completely organized/cleaned and was able to park both of our vehicles inside for almost a full year. Then in December 2019 we had it spray foam insulated so everything had to be moved to a storage trailer my husband got from work or pushed to the middle. Then we wanted to put up the plywood walls before we put everything back so we lost our parking yet again as we slowly put the walls up and painted.
For my birthday this past July I told my husband my only birthday request was to be able to park on my side of the garage again. He fulfilled my request and it lasted two weeks before he brought a boat home from my parents that has to be restored. The only room for it to be parked was on my side and yet again I lost my parking space. So he now has until the snow starts flying to either get the boat running or to park it outside for the winter because again see the whole purpose of the garage above.
So I guess all of that to say it fluctuates from parking to storage.
We did buy one of the tarp sheds to store our two snowmobiles, lawnmower, four wheeler, and dirt bike. This has definitely made a difference in the amount of space available in the garage. We also bought a ton of organization hangers and built shelves to help with organization of ladders, tools, electrical cords, car liquids, bikes (we hang them from the ceiling), etc. that live in the main part of the garage. The upstairs is where we store all of our sporting goods and outside items (i.e., kayaks, skis, gardening tools, pop-up tents, outside decorations, extra pieces of wood, etc.) which also makes a huge difference in the actual garage space when it's not full of other stuff like a boat.
The bitterness in this post sustains me. :-) Good luck to your DH in getting it cleared before the first snowflake falls!
Post by steamboat185 on Sept 18, 2020 16:21:40 GMT -5
We have a garage that is considered an oversized 2 car garage. We use it for our cars. I love not having to dig the cars out of the snow. We also have a lawnmower, like 8 pairs of skis, workbench, 6 bikes and a bike trailer, freezer, etc. We do have rafters which makes it easier to store things we can switch our seasonally.
When buying a house this summer a garage for our cars was mandatory. My townhouse had a huge 1 car garage that could fit my car and still had place for shelves, a storage room and additional oversized place.
Our new house has 2 bays but they are extended. We can keep 3 cars comfortably covered. Half of one bay was converted to our storage room. We actually have 4 cars right now with 3 in one bay but it is tight.
I will never get a house without a garage. I despise scraping windows. Or dealing with all the condensation in the morning (we live at the beach). It was my non negotiable haha.
Not sure how helpful since I'm in the Midwest with a 3 car garage but in the winter we park in there to avoid scraping our car windows off. That saves us 15-20 minutes each morning per person which has huge value, IMO.
We also store garden things, mower, sports equipment, a kayak, bikes, golf stuff, yard toys, hoses, paint, workshop items, and have a freezer and fridge out there. In the summer we tend to park in our driveway and use the garage as an extra hangout space. The kids play in there, ride scooters, and we sit on chairs in the shade it provides. In our old house we did not have a basement or attic storage so we used it for Christmas decorations as well. We live in subdivision and are not allowed to have a shed or park on the street, per the HOA. It's just really different from a more urban area.
I assume your insurance on your car would be lower if you garage a vehicle just based on the fact that they ask this when they quote premiums.
We have a 32' x 32' foot attached garage with attic trusses so there is a second story for storage.
A couple months after we moved into our new house in November 2018 I told DH I wanted to be able to park in the garage since the whole purpose of having the garage was to not have to scrap my car off in the winter (it was filled with the last two truckloads of stuff we moved). We completely organized/cleaned and was able to park both of our vehicles inside for almost a full year. Then in December 2019 we had it spray foam insulated so everything had to be moved to a storage trailer my husband got from work or pushed to the middle. Then we wanted to put up the plywood walls before we put everything back so we lost our parking yet again as we slowly put the walls up and painted.
For my birthday this past July I told my husband my only birthday request was to be able to park on my side of the garage again. He fulfilled my request and it lasted two weeks before he brought a boat home from my parents that has to be restored. The only room for it to be parked was on my side and yet again I lost my parking space. So he now has until the snow starts flying to either get the boat running or to park it outside for the winter because again see the whole purpose of the garage above.
So I guess all of that to say it fluctuates from parking to storage.
We did buy one of the tarp sheds to store our two snowmobiles, lawnmower, four wheeler, and dirt bike. This has definitely made a difference in the amount of space available in the garage. We also bought a ton of organization hangers and built shelves to help with organization of ladders, tools, electrical cords, car liquids, bikes (we hang them from the ceiling), etc. that live in the main part of the garage. The upstairs is where we store all of our sporting goods and outside items (i.e., kayaks, skis, gardening tools, pop-up tents, outside decorations, extra pieces of wood, etc.) which also makes a huge difference in the actual garage space when it's not full of other stuff like a boat.
The bitterness in this post sustains me. :-) Good luck to your DH in getting it cleared before the first snowflake falls!
Hahaha it is one of the few contentious points in our relationship at the moment. lol
The bitterness in this post sustains me. :-) Good luck to your DH in getting it cleared before the first snowflake falls!
Hahaha it is one of the few contentious points in our relationship at the moment. lol
Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to make light of your conflict, I just laughed at loud at "...also makes a huge difference in garage space WHEN IT'S NOT FULL OF OTHER STUFF LIKE A BOAT."
Hahaha it is one of the few contentious points in our relationship at the moment. lol
Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to make light of your conflict, I just laughed at loud at "...also makes a huge difference in garage space WHEN IT'S NOT FULL OF OTHER STUFF LIKE A BOAT."
Post by steamboat185 on Sept 22, 2020 9:49:07 GMT -5
I also consider my garage a security feature. We can unload purchases and pack for a vacation without people noticing. Not sure it really makes a difference, but it makes me feel better.