Did you ever wonder....?

[bjaspud]

Tonight I took a bicyle ride around the nieghborhood. While I rode I scoped out the garages. I found several that were virtually empty. The had a couple of cars, a snow shovel, a broom and 3 blank walls. Did you ever wonder what those guys do with thier spare time or how they ever fix anything?

 

[pipsters]

No I wonder where they put their STUFF! Even when we just moved in from an 836 sq ft apartment I had more stuff in my garage than some people.

I'm jealous in a way I like the look of a clean garage.

 

[sirsloop]

Why you snoopin around the hood? LOL...

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

My first house, had an attached 2 car, it was a new house new subdivision.

The garage contained 2 cars nightly and 2 trash cans, nothing more. I lived in a "association" the lawn was mowed, house painted, driveway plowed, walk shoveled, trees cared for. About the only thing that was not done, was my **** wiped when I took a dump, that and I had to get my own mail.

I had a 10k sqft shop at the time, sitting on 1.5 acres across town. That is where all my "stuff" was. I had up to 60 vehicles there at one time and several 48-53' dry van trailers full of parts. Shop had 6 bays, plus a body bay and a paint booth. and about 2k sqft of indoor parking. I made a living on at that shop, and you guessed it, there was a wrecker there (thats where most of the 60 cars came from)

So sometimes the empty garage, is really no true sign of how much baggage someone is carrying, they may just not have it home.

 

[Alfster]

Many people just don't use their garages. We have just gone through the whole house hunting thing and looked at many houses. Many had large empty garages. The property we ended up buying has a 40' x 20' garage and the sellers had their car parked out side.

Buying and selling real estate over many years we are amazed at the number of times we have seen this same scenario.

Many times the garage is inherited with the property by the sellers. In our case it was the husbands workshop area but with the marriage breakup it just became a large unused area.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

There are guys (like two of my brothers-in-law) that honestly, no exaggeration truly look odd just HOLDING a screwdriver! Almost like they just have no idea which end to hold. How is that possible? I really don't know.

The garage of THOSE guys are for parking their cars and I guess for a box of Christmas ornaments, nothing else(?)

 

[MadMechMaster]

Sounds like my front garage. The shop is out back, and hard to see from the street.

I'm used to it, but when people are over it must shock them to see the walls, and that I can fit both cars in.

The shop is packed.

 

[olytdi]

Empty garages are rare in my experience. Most Americans park their $35,000 SUVs in the driveway so that they can store $1,500 worth of **** in the garage.

I, too, have wondered how most people fix things without any obvious tools or work spacce. I guess they call tradesmen to fix things.

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

first... All i can picture is someone on a bike with one of those banana seats, big handle bars... maaaybe some tassles...

But this is kind of like that other thread, where people just farm they're manual labor out. Getting into the trades, or doing manual labor isn't as common as it once was. A guy that gets rid of virus's on computers isn't going to need a 40x60 garage to store his mini screw drivers and bifocals... Not to be stereotypical..

 

[JimVonBaden]

Empty garages are rare in my experience. Most Americans park their $35,000 SUVs in the driveway so that they can store $1,500 worth of **** in the garage.

So true!

I, too, have wondered how most people fix things without any obvious tools or work spacce. I guess they call tradesmen to fix things.

Some just have no mechanical skills at all. Some just don't like to get dirty.

Me? I couldn't stand letting someone else do what I can do myself. Make's me feel somehow less a man! I guess it is my father's influence.

Jim

 

[upndown]

Been in alot of garages over the years.. Always love the first time H/O opens the door to see what awaits inside! Some are huge..Not even a toolbox inside Others are like a museum. First time I went to one of my long time customers home, looked like a retirement house..3 car attatched, 2 car detatched garages.. 2 car had 2 lifts.. Inside..Wifes SUV and 6 restored mopar muscle cars.. Ya never know!!

 

[RECox286]

Youse guys ! The true mark of a man is not how much junk or tools he

has in his garage/shop. Life ain't like that in reality. You expect all

"men" to have a DNA gene that says "thou shalt have grease on your hands".

C'mon now, get real. I have a customer who said of her husband "he

doesn't know which end of the screwdriver to hold. I sure am happy that

I have you guys to call when something goes bump in the night", and she

meant it. I've also known some females that were ace mechanics and

couldn't or wouldn't clean house or cook dinner on a bet. Guess it works both

ways.

Uncle Bob

 

[Gary S]

Empty garages are rare in my experience. Most Americans park their $35,000 SUVs in the driveway so that they can store $1,500 worth of **** in the garage.
.

That is exactly what I see around here too. The car sits outside while the garage is full of 30 years of discarded furniture and other junk.

One house near me has a nice 3 stall garage. The owner has just enough room left to squeeze in one car. the rest of the garage is piled to the ceiling with empty cardboard boxes.

Another one has a large newer 3 car garage too. His garage has no driveway to get to it with a vehicle. The dirt work wasn't finished so the concrete garage floor sits about 1.5 feet above the dirt area that would be the driveway. The garage sits empty with the walk-in door swinging in the wind.

 

[LigouriRd]

I live in a relatively new neighborhood with a majority of the houses having three car attacheds, mine included. When I am out walking the dog i always wonder what everybody else is doing with that third stall. It is a pleasant surprise to find a nice classic car sleeping there.

For the first 6 months of home ownership my entire garage was occupied with moving ****, boxes, and storage containers. We slowly reduced that **** and minimised to the third stall. When summer rolled around, I brought my toy out of storage and now the garage is limited to what I would call usefull garage stuff: cars, tools, lawn & garden stuffs.

My neighbors next door just moved in so they are where we were at a year ago, garage full of ****, cars parked outside. They only have two cars, the guy has a nice integra...I wonder what they will do eventually do with that third stall. Two houses down is a couple that have been there a year before us and the garage is still full of storage and the cars parked outside. Next to them is an exact mirror of my house, complete with two cars in the garage plus a toy in the third stall. Another couple of houses down the family parks only one car in the garage the rest is storage. All different kinds.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Depends what type of neighbor hood you rode around. If it was an upscale neighbor hood with money, alot of those people don't work on their own stuff. They merely park in the garage.
Drive around in a middle class neighborhood and you'll probably find stuff getting worked on in those garages. These are the people that are struggling to survive and have no choice but to work on their own stuff.

 

[BBQ&Love]

Yes, I just wondered about that yesterday.

 

[1948]

those are the guys who are sports guys. i can almost guarantee if you went in there house they would have an office that was dedicated to there fav sports team and there college football years.... no offense to the people that are into that stuff tho, just not the "garage types".

 

[A1an]

I have noticed we are one of the very few households in our neighborhood who actually park cars in a garage. Most of the time I see garages used as storage units...filled with junk, kids toys, etc with the cars parked outside. Very few appear to be used for hobbies or fixing things.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

I couldn't stand letting someone else do what I can do myself.

This is exactly the way I think-
it not that I can't afford to, it just doesn't make any sense to pay someone else to do something that I'm perfectly capable of doing myself- especially when I already own the tools that would be required to do it.
Perfect example- I really hate doing yard work- but I own a mower, string trimmer, edger, hedge clippers, rakes, shovels, etc., etc. SO, why on earth would I hire someone to do it?!

 

[GarageEnvy]

Working in real estate I go into about 400 garages a year. Multiply that by 22 years and I can almost tell you what I'm going to see in a garage (or any other room for that matter) before I ever crack the door. If I got a nickel for every time someone said, "Oh gee do you have to go into the garage? It's a real mess", I'd be retired. I live in an area with an extremely high auto theft rate and I am amazed at what people store inside vs. what they store outside.

That being said, for years I (and many other appraisers) joked about going to doctors' houses where the walls were white, the floor was painted, there was a white suburban and nothing else in the garage.

 

[KyleQ]

My cars park outside from time to time... honestly, its been most of the time lately... lol

 

[Boyd Who]

I have two garages and can't park in either one. The smaller one is for storage and yard care type stuff, the bigger one is my workshop where the hotrod lives. Both daily drivers park outside year round.

 

[geologist]

That being said, for years I (and many other appraisers) joked about going to doctors' houses where the walls were white, the floor was painted, there was a white suburban and nothing else in the garage.

Ever seen the movie "Boiler Room"? I used to be a day trader and the group I was with started associates with $50k and moved us up to $250k after 90 days.

I knew a guy that bought a new house in a beautiful upper-end development (no cookie cutters) and followed it up with a new Cayenne SUV and matching roadster - cash.

Two months later, I watched him loose his *** to the tune of about $350k in the course of 3 hours in DRYS (DryShips). He left work early, played a round of golf, and hung himself.

When I was helping his fiance and parents button up his estate, we were amazes. He was pulling in tens of thousands in comissions a month but the walls of that brand new house were matte white. He had a big screen, Xbox 360, PS3, blue ray, and an italian leather couch.

In his bedroom he had a carved wood bed and a high end laptop. There was no other furniture in the entire house and no food in the cabinets.

It was insane and sad at the same time.

 

[mudhog]

I rented a house for a short time in the city while I was building my house, this was a typical neighborhood with a 3 bedroom house and two car garage it was about 20 year old homes. More then half of the houses converted the garage into a extra room. Both neighbors beside didn't own anything that I could see, one had a lawn mower that set outside uncovered, but he paid somebody to mow, so don't know what it was for. Had a neighbor come over to borrow some tools to put together a kids toy, this was simply tools the kind that I carry in a glove box daily.

 

[GOLF for LIFE]

The car is in the two car garage, that is one car in a two car garage. My mantra is a place for everything and everything in it's place. Will have my license plate collection displayed in the garage. I built a purpose built shed for the lawn tools etc.
Have gone buy homes that had the garage (s) filled with stuff that is probably never used and never will be used and the cars sit outside.

 

[Weekend_warrior]

I wonder this as well. I know there are some guys that just should not be allowed to own tools. I had a friend that was the most unhandy guy you could meet. They payed everyone to something. Garage for very little other than lawn storage and parking cars.

I'd actually love to have shop to do stuff, but a garage to use actually as a garage. My truck and wifes car.... Thats it. A little more my the 50K sitting in the driveway. A shed for the lawn stuff. A shop that is big enough to work on a vehicle and store my bikes (always need maintenace so why not keep them in the shop). I like Mechanic work, woodworking, DIY type stuff and Misc projects. I need a shop that will work for all.

 

[toolmiser]

My wife and I discuss often how people can keep up their houses. I am forever fixing this, painting that, etc. I know of a lot of people including neighbors who aren't home a lot and when home aren't working on keeping up the house.

 

[babzog]

Perfect example- I really hate doing yard work- but I own a mower, string trimmer, edger, hedge clippers, rakes, shovels, etc., etc. SO, why on earth would I hire someone to do it?!

Time. Or rather, lack thereof. Last fall, I hired a couple of students to rake leaves. Was busy and didn't have time to do it myself and figured some kids could use a some spending money.

 

[Al Bundy]

I have spent the last 14 years doing battle with my wife over the **** that she fills our attached two car garage with. I am slowly winning. Another 14 years and it will be neat and organized and devoid of any junk that belongs in a landfill. Needless to say, she doesn't even have a key to my 30 x 40 shop where my cars and tools reside.