Attaching a garage - breezeway or no?

[brendaninnh]

I am in the early stages of planning to build a two car attached garage. I am planning to biuld a 1.5 story with a room above, but won't be finishing completing the room immediately.

The way my house is situated, to attach the garage to my house I will either have to lose at least one window (in an upstairs bedroom) or attach the house with a small breezeway. Personally I'd prefer a detached garage, but that's not an option wiht my wife.

So I'm basically looking for opinions on what people have done and why and if one option is simpler/cheaper than the other from a building perspective.

Also any suggestions on sizes or designs would be appreciated. I need the garage as a parking/work space for my Jeep and a parking space for my wife's vehicle.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rodnok1]

I personally like small breezeways, you can always use another mud room, someplace to throw the dog when he's muddy. Also if there ever was a fire in the garage it would have alot less chance of spreading to house. Noise levels in the house will be alot less with a breezeway also, ever listen to an air compressor when you're trying to sleep...the vibrations are a big culprit.

 

[safetyfast]

I like breezeways as well. To the extent you want to sell your wife on detached, tell her about my friend whose house burned last year. Fire started in the garage. It traveled through the roof of the breezeway into the attic of his house and we watched his house go up in flames in what seemed like minutes. Total loss.

 

[z28toz06]

My friend built one and he put radiant heat in the floor. He made it a little wider and put some storage benches that you can sit on while putting on shoes. Couple of windows on both sides to minimize lighting requirements during day light.

My garage is separate and its 100 feet away from the house so a breezeway is out of the picture!

 

[ersatzs2]

attach the house with a small breezeway. Personally I'd prefer a detached garage, but that's not an option wiht my wife.

Your sig doesn't give your locale, but I'm betting almost anywhere in the US you will fall under completely different zoning restrictions depending on whether you are connected to the house or freestanding. I'll bet you'd find that you wouldn't be able to build to the height you want UNLESS you are connected to the house by a breezeway...

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I see no downside to an attached garage. The first builder I went to with my ideas told me he couldn't attach it because of the roof angles, and said he'd build a detached one instead.

I said, "No thanks."

The next guy said, "I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but I will get it done." He got the job.

Here's a picture of what we came up with for a breezeway:

The breezeway essentially came off the back of our breakfast nook, increasing it's space dramatically. It gave us a way to put in a back porch to cover a hot tub and put in a deck. If you use your imagination, you can make a breezeway a valuable addition. Ours also includes a small laundry nook, a coat closet, stairs leading to the basement, and stairs leading to the bonus room over the garage.

Phil

 

[Junkman]

One big reason to attach a garage to the home is for insurance. If it is detached, then the insurance on the garage is 10% of the total insurance on the home. If the home is insured for $100,000, then the garage has only $10,000 coverage. Some companies will allow you to purchase additional insurance, but it usually isn't much more than 25% of the homes insurance value. After that, you have to purchase a separate fire insurance policy on the garage. This is why so many garages are attached with a breezeway.

 

[gahi]

make the breezeway in the back of a carport.

 

[autoist]

We have an 8' wide breezeway on which we have a porch swing....off it my wife's had me build her an outdoor ktichen....then I added a hot tub...now there's a whole deck off the breezeway.

 

[brendaninnh]

Thanks all for the feedback. So no one recommends attaching directly to the house without a breezeway?

The only reason I'm considering this is because 1) I thought it may cost less and 2) there is a steep hill on the side of the house where the garage goes and the extra length of having a breezeway would require cutting into the side of a hill. Not a huge deal, but figured it would add cost/complexity.

But I'm not sure if the costs of having to rip off more siding, close up windows, more drywall, etc. involved with attaching directly to the house would outweight he costs of building a breezeway.

 

[maa139]

I'm not going to comment on the attached/detached/breezeway thing. I have another suggestion. Some background first. I have a 2.5 car attached garage. My wife parks her car in one bay and I part my car in the other. The .5 gets the riding mower/snow blower/shelves/etc. If you are planning on parking commuter cars in the garage, are starting from scratch and have the real estate, I'd suggest making the garage bigger. I'd be so much happier if my garage was 5-10 feet deeper and that .5 was a 1 or two. With an attached garage, lots of space is taken up with trash cans/recycle containers/kid toys. Just some things to keep in mind as you're planning your project. Good Luck!!!

 

[phantomdaz]

I am in the early stages of planning to build a two car attached garage. I am planning to biuld a 1.5 story with a room above, but won't be finishing completing the room immediately.

The way my house is situated, to attach the garage to my house I will either have to lose at least one window (in an upstairs bedroom) or attach the house with a small breezeway. Personally I'd prefer a detached garage, but that's not an option wiht my wife.

So I'm basically looking for opinions on what people have done and why and if one option is simpler/cheaper than the other from a building perspective.

Also any suggestions on sizes or designs would be appreciated. I need the garage as a parking/work space for my Jeep and a parking space for my wife's vehicle.

Thanks in advance.

I had to attach my garage due to deed restrictions. My original garage man door was on the side so I put a breezeway over to what is actually a detached garage with a walk way thru to the back yard.

This is all I have for pictures

 

[JebNY]

My first night on the forum, hope you don't mind me jumping right in.

I would go detached for the reason given by Junkman. The 10% of your house value you get on an unattached building is free insurance. If you want more it is a cheap rider to your policy. I do it now. Plus you are safer from fire and fumes.

I would attach in some way only if building codes required. A friend was restricted in size unless his building was attached. He attached it with a 2X8 painted to match. Ran the power to the new building on the back side of the 2X8 to make it useful.

JebNY

 

[itcdhpn]

Where I live I have to put the garage 10' in back of the primary structure or attach it. Since I have a double lot, 10' in back would put it plop in the middle of the back yard. There is no way to attach it to a 1921 Craftsman house that I can think of. The attachment has to have a 4' common wall and be enclosed, effectively making it an addition to the house. Help!

 

[toolmiser]

We have a breezeway, and I wouldn't do without it. It makes for a good air lock, a place to remove boots, it's the entryway into the front of the house we use 95% of the time. Dog dishes are there, and garage overflow such as strollers, can land there. Ours has lots of windows, a tall ceiling, well insulated, including floor, but we don't tend to heat it in the winter, but it still is usually above freezing. I grew up in a house with a detached garage, and I don't miss it. You can sneak into an attached in your undies without getting arrested.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Where I live I have to put the garage 10' in back of the primary structure or attach it. Since I have a double lot, 10' in back would put it plop in the middle of the back yard. There is no way to attach it to a 1921 Craftsman house that I can think of. The attachment has to have a 4' common wall and be enclosed, effectively making it an addition to the house. Help!

Welcome to the site - it's usually better to start a new thread than to resurrect an ancient one but if you can post a diagram or plan showing the house and proposed garage it would help.

 

[brownbagg]

most of the time i say no, but thinking of how many time i ran to the house in the rain, hell yea

 

[darkk]

We just built a connector between the house and garage addition, the full two stories...