david_d Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Looking at houses recently, what exactly is the idea behind these tiny tiny garages that feature on so many new build houses? I thought the idea of a garage was to store your car in. Maybe it's an optical illusion but looking at the size of my car and the size of these garages I'm thinking it ain't gonna fit unless it's a smart car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Yea, i've noticed this before.. it's really odd. In a society that now lives by the car, you would think that people would want some-where to put the car. Maybe we are in the minority.. most people use the garage for storing the lawn mower and bikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Rollox to that! Garages are for cars, full stop. The Mrs can stuff the dish washer and laundry in the shed. Now if only I could find a garage that can house an A8 with both doors open. I used to drive past a house on the A3 on my way to uni. where a guy had his red BMW 5 half inside the garage and the back half exposed to the elements. Needless to say that the front was a different shade to the rear all because he had his lawn mower and garden tools in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techieboy Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 I've literally this minute walked back into the house after going to measure the size of the garage openings on a house we're exchanging on, on Monday. The missus wanted to measure the windows and stupid things like that. All I wanted to do was measure the garage doors. Built in 2004. Door 1 = 2145mm wide, door 2 = 2135mm wide. Now how wide is the A4? Thank god I went for the folding mirrors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_B Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Maybe we are in the minority.. most people use the garage for storing the lawn mower and bikes! [/ QUOTE ] Exactly what my builder told me - most houses are now built with small garages (especially integrated ones) because "nobody uses them for their cars anyway". Mine has a 'single and a half' that's plenty big enough to fit a reasonable size car in, but it's too full of crap to fit either the allroad or A8 in. Oops. I'm trying to get the junk moved and have bought a shed just for that purpose, but then there will just be arguments as to who's car goes in the garage... My current house was for convinience of location, not really for the house itself. Next time I move house I'll be looking for a triple garage or at least a large double so I can fit two cars and a load of junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 The new house we are buying, has a 7' garage door, and standing in the garage, it looks big enought to have my A6 inside (if it gets past the doors) The space inside seems big enough. Seems also, that if the garage is part of the house, then they seem slimmer, with a 6' or 6.5' door. As an 'outhouse' they seem wider with a 7' garage door. however, ask me again in July once we're in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Our previous house (built in 1999) had a "double" garage. You could just about get a 911 and an A class in it, plus a small amount of junk, but only if you were willing to break a few limbs in order to manipulate yourself into the 911. Our current house was built in 1981 and the double garage will take a 911, an X5, half our junk, and you can still walk right round both cars to polish them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Our house was built in 1955, and i could easily fit the RS6 and lawn mower in.. and have room for shelving... amazing isn't it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 We're lucky as we can get both cars in the garage without too much of a squeeze. There is plenty of things stored in the garage but nothing over the cars. I can still remember those pictures on the TT forum of a shelf and all it's goods that had collapsed onto an immaculate (red?) TT Does anyone still have a link to that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Some builders are worse than others. Ours is a Wimpey house built Nov 2004 - my Volvo V70 estate fits the garage (just), but my neighbours opposite in a Bovis house tell me their garage is too small for their Focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Interesting, this. My dad's prvious house was a 1970s house, double attatched garage AND a single detatched garage (added later). He could get a Jaguar XJ12 and a Saab 9-3 Convertible in the double with junk and washing machine/tumble drier/dish washer along the back wall. In the sinlge he managed to get the Passat estate and more junk. He temporarily moved into a new build (2001) belonging to a mate ater that, and it had a "double" garage, he struggled to get the Rover 214i and a Vauxhall Belmont in, the Belmont had to be reversed against the right wall and the Rover driven hard against the left just so the doors could be opened enough to get in. Modern garages arent really designed for anything other thanwee tiny cars. If you want one to fit your car in youve got to build your own really! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techieboy Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Some builders are worse than others. Ours is a Wimpey house built Nov 2004 - my Volvo V70 estate fits the garage (just), but my neighbours opposite in a Bovis house tell me their garage is too small for their Focus. [/ QUOTE ] I had the same with a Bovis home I bought, luckily I rent it out so I don't have a problem there. The new place we're exchanging on is built by Persimmon. 7' openings and plenty of room once you're inside. I still can't find any dimensions for the A4 on the poxy Audi website but if the worst happens, there is a central dividing pillar at the front of the garage that can be taken out and then just replace with a full width double door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbes Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Our house was built in 1840 but I think the garage was added sometime in the 1950's. Has a single large up and over door which is offset to one side. We have a chest freezer down one side. Can fit in the wife's Renault Megane (reversed in) and my Honda Accord (driven in forwards). We then both get out of the cars in the centre of the garage. However, usually only my wife's car goes in the garage. And there is still room for the motor mower, wheeled 'kettle' BarBQ and other assorted junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_d Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Best bet is to build yourself. At my parents house we can get four large cars in with all doors fully open. In my garage I can't even get my Golf in there I guess due to the price of land now builders just put a token garage on so it says in the brochure "with garage"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 If the garage was original Phil, I think it may have been initially referred to as a stable... Haven't got a garage, but I do have a car port between my house and the adjacent one. I can vouch for the fact that scraping your passenger side door mirror on brickwork makes an awful mess when trying to squeeze anything much bigger than a Triumph Spitfire in there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] The new place we're exchanging on is built by Persimmon. 7' openings and plenty of room once you're inside. there is a central dividing pillar at the front of the garage that can be taken out and then just replace with a full width double door. [/ QUOTE ] DOnt forget as its a persimmon home to do this you will need to increase the size of the piers at each side of the garage and replace the lintols over the openning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbes Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 gargon - quote - "If the garage was original Phil, I think it may have been initially referred to as a stable... " Actually from the mid-1930's to mid-1950s it was a sweet-shop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] What exactly is the idea behind these tiny tiny garages that feature on so many new build houses? [/ QUOTE ] The architects that design these do not take in to account the size of cars, all the major house builders are concened with is fitting as many houses as possible on to the land that they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Some builders are worse than others. Ours is a Wimpey house built Nov 2004 - my Volvo V70 estate fits the garage (just), but my neighbours opposite in a Bovis house tell me their garage is too small for their Focus. [/ QUOTE ] Two websites I use for car specs including dimensions: Internetautoguide I had the same with a Bovis home I bought, luckily I rent it out so I don't have a problem there. The new place we're exchanging on is built by Persimmon. 7' openings and plenty of room once you're inside. I still can't find any dimensions for the A4 on the poxy Audi website but if the worst happens, there is a central dividing pillar at the front of the garage that can be taken out and then just replace with a full width double door. [/ QUOTE ] Two websites I use for car specs including dimensions: Internetautoguide and Parkers have that info in the technical section I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 There's a difference between modern houses with integral garages and detached garages. Some neighbours have integral and they're much smaller than my detached. Mine fines the S4 plus I have shelving at the end and along one side and can still get comfortably out the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] He temporarily moved into a new build (2001) belonging to a mate ater that, and it had a "double" garage, he struggled to get the Rover 214i and a Vauxhall Belmont in, the Belmont had to be reversed against the right wall and the Rover driven hard against the left just so the doors could be opened enough to get in. [/ QUOTE ] Well I'm sure it was worth the effort - you wouldn't want to park two exotic vehicles like that out on the road after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] What exactly is the idea behind these tiny tiny garages that feature on so many new build houses? [/ QUOTE ] The architects that design these do not take in to account the size of cars, all the major house builders are concened with is fitting as many houses as possible on to the land that they have. [/ QUOTE ] That is certainly true to an extent but particularly in the south-east there are requirements to build at a certain population density. Building larger garages eats into the space making achieving these densities more difficult - as a result most garages are more or less the same size as a single parking space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] He temporarily moved into a new build (2001) belonging to a mate ater that, and it had a "double" garage, he struggled to get the Rover 214i and a Vauxhall Belmont in, the Belmont had to be reversed against the right wall and the Rover driven hard against the left just so the doors could be opened enough to get in. [/ QUOTE ] Well I'm sure it was worth the effort - you wouldn't want to park two exotic vehicles like that out on the road after all. [/ QUOTE ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyD Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Round these here parts the local Council Planning Division discourages new home builders from including garages. So therefore, most new houses around Cambridge don't even have garages - this of course means that the develeopers can squeeze even more houses on to the plots and make even more money. They want people in and around Cambridge to stop driving and start cylcing. Like that's going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_d Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] They want people in and around Cambridge to stop driving and start cylcing. Like that's going to happen. [/ QUOTE ] It's a joke isn't it! I'm sure Cambridge only has 3 carparking spaces and two of them are disabled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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