Doing ACTUAL work from a subdivision garage? Thoughts? Experience?

[flmng42]

Hello All. I am looking for input on people's past experience of doing actual automotive work, welding, etc. out of their personal garage in a subdivision, planned community, or anywhere else that has tight restrictions or fairly small lots with lots of close neighbors.

A little background about my situation. I currently live WAY OUT in the country on 3.5 acres with a nice large carport and a 15x15 shed out of which I do all of my work. I am no longer a professional mechanic, but I used to be and therefore have lots of tools and equipment, and try to do all of my own automotive, small engine, and home maintenance, as well as enjoy welding and fabricating little projects here and there. The problem is that my wife and I both commute LONG distances to work, in opposite directions (my commute is 70 miles one way to the west of our home; my wife's is 50 miles one way to the south of our home). This is our first home, and we have lived in apartments and condos before this. Not much of a problem for me because that is when I was actually working as a tech, so I had all the workspace I needed at the job. Now I work in education, so not exactly a place to rebuild an engine or fab up a project.

The conundrum I am now facing is looking at moving closer towards my wife's work (which won't necessarily be a detriment to my commute, kinda of shortening the triangle leaves my commute about the same), but all of the homes in the area (unless you have around $400K+ to spend) are on 1/4-1/2 acre lots in planned communities. Do any members live in these types of communities? Can you get work done? Does anyone use air compressors? Is it in the garage or outside? Either way, did you build an enclosure? Do you get hassled by neighbors? Any tips, tricks, or things to consider while I am considering this move? Anything else I've overlooked?

Thanks in advance for everyone's input!!!

 

[vartz04]

Noise is going to be your biggest issue. Followed by fumes. Find a way to minimize this and you'll be good


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[larry4406]

Avoid HOA's. They will likely interfere with your lifestyle and may include a fee to do so.

 

[K13]

Really dependant on your neighbours. I have been lucky and have always had understanding neighbours if you don't then I could see it being a pain.

 

[goodysgotacuda]

I do whatever I want, at reasonable hours, in my planned community/hoa/close neighbor garage.

If the neighbors are hanging out in their yard, entertaining, etc. I keep it down more than usual.




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[T_R]

It all will depend on the neighbors. Find out what kind of people they are BEFORE buying. If it'll all yuppies with perfect yards and new BMW and Mercedes, you will have trouble. If it's working class people with normal cars and yards, you might be ok.

I used to flip cars from home in a neighborhood with houses so close you could touch the one next door and yours at the same time. I had a garage on the alley out back. I did it for 7 years and never had a problem. I cut one of the neighbors in on the work and he made good money. I threw the rest of the neighbors free work and/or at cost used cars. Worked out great. This was a working class neighborhood in a blue collar town. Try something like this in a McMansion rich town and they would flip out on you and be calling cops and code enforcement.

 

[619DioFan]

My sister and I rented in a HOA based community years ago. they were very strict as to how you were allowed to live. any thing regarding the garage ( 2 car ) had to be done with the door closed. leave the garage door opened too long you got a fine. make too much noise in the evening , you got a fine. have a car parked outside the garage for too long , a fine. I currently live in a situation similar to yours , on 2 acres with a large covered carport , 220 power on the carport , a large shed that holds all my tools. I can do what ever I want and no one is bothered. my commute is 40 miles each way. I would never live in a HOA community again that's for sure. I can't comment on how wrenching in a non HOA community will go over ( guess it depends on if the neighbors are into the garage life or not ) all I know is I would stay a way from an HOA based community.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Mines actually been pretty good about this... But alot of the time my doors are closed, with the garage a/c going.... We do have some kids up the street, who often have their vehicles on ramps in the street... I have heard they have gotten a few compliants, but I really don't think they care....

 

[Joe Reed]

I work in my garage (and outside of it) often. I don't weld, but my compressor is a noisy oil-less model. I run my miter saw and other power tools as needed. I've never felt limited to what I can do, but I also use common sense. I don't do anything noisy early in the morning or late at night. We have a nice, quiet neighborhood and I don't want to annoy the neighbors, wake their kids, etc. The HOA has never been an issue...and the President was my next door neighbor until she passed away a few months ago.

Even though the houses are very close together (9 feet from the house to the property line on each side), I have the advantage of a rear facing garage. Only the two houses directly behind me can even see my garage door. I highly recommend this configuration if you can find it.

My house is the one near the center of the image with the blue tarp on the ground....

 

[Joe Reed]

As far as HOAs, get a copy of the covenants and restrictions BEFORE you buy. If they're too restrictive for you, look elsewhere. Ours prohibits certain things, such as running a commercial business from the home, parking commercial vehicles outside, etc., but aren't nearly as restrictive as some apparently are that don't allow you to park a pickup in your driveway and silly stuff like that...

 

[finn]

I lived in a middle/maybe upscale to some neighborhood of white collar professionals (engineers/ dentists/ actuaries/ sales professionals/ teachers) for around 30 years and never had a problem. I rebuilt a Mustang, 2 Broncos, a couple of other assorted cars, and 4 or 5 engines. There was no HOA, although the HOA in my previous house didn't give me grief anyway.

Also learned to MIG weld.

The key is to limit the high noise activities and try to keep the doors closed as much as possible.

You do want to find a house with a larger than standard garage. Mine had one bay which ran all the way to the back wall of the house, so I had a work area. I also built a small shed to get the lawn equipment out of the house.

 

[AnthonyJ124]

I lived in an HOA townhome community in NC. Lots of stupid rules, trash cans or equipment can't be in front of the property, no commercial vehicles, no unregistered vehicles outside the garage, etc.

It was only a single car garage, so actual work was limited, but I managed a few projects with cars and a motorcycle. Nobody ever complained about the compressor or noise. Nobody said anything about my miter saw when I was doing work on the house either. If a neighbor wants to care about someone upgrading their home, they can look at their property value increases (my unit sold for the highest value on the street in 8 years last fall after I rented it out for 4 years).

It really depends on your neighbors and/or proximity to HOA board members and how much they care. Read the association laws closely, some have noise "ordinances" at night that might limit metal work.

 

[bczygan]

If you are doing it just on your own projects, then noise and timing are important factors. If no one can ever see or hear anything, then you are good. That means bringing things in and out has to be under cover too. And work should be done when less people are around, like in the late morning when people are at work and kids at school.

Doing it as side work, for others is going to be more problematic because of customer traffic and the demands that getting jobs out will create.

Bill

 

[purplezr2]

You don't list your area, but I assume you draw a triangle between your current hours and places of work, there has to be somewhere in the country along the hypotenuse. That said I have attend car days at peoples house that live in developments and it hasn't been to much of an issue wrenching.

 

[crewchief888]

my last house was in a HOA subdivision, with all it's restrictions.

i still managed to build 2 harleys (including fab & paint) in the garage.

replaced a set of lifters in my '74 dodge van in the driveway,
pulled the oil pan and replaced an oil pump in a '68 chevy van V-8 in the driveway.
bulilt a 7X10 trailer
did ALL my ammo reloading

neighbors were none the wiser.

i kept the noise down, and tried not to disturb anyone.

i dunno if i was just being that quiet, or the neighbors were really afraid of me..

 

[Gotcha640]

One thing that might help is a garage that doesn't face the street. My best friends dad's driveway goes past the house, then loops back to a rear facing three car garage. They have a greenbelt/jogging trail between their back yard and the next house. We rebuilt a 68 bronco back there, grinding, sandblasting, impact wrench, no complaints.

This neighborhood has a strong HOA that doesn't allow street parking after 2am, no visible playground equipment or project cars, landscaping has to be approved, etc. They knew what they were getting into, and bought accordingly.

 

[wake74]

All but one of our houses has been in an HOA with CCRs (we just purchased our eighth). I've brought home a totaled car to pull an engine and ****** (kept inside the garage), done engine swaps, done a nut-and-bolt on a Formula Ford, etc. Back in my younger, dumber days, I sprayed a car in the garage. I did have a neighbor stop by that evening to make sure I wasn't dead, as apparently the fumes were a bit strong. I don't keep cars up on blocks in the driveway, I don't do loud activities in early AM / late at night etc. I cobbled together a muffler for the FF when I ran it at the house to be a decent neighbor.

I'm going to probably go against the grain on this board, but I actually don't mind living with an HOA and CCRs. I don't want to spend $500k on a house, and have a neighbor start stacking up junk cars in the driveway, and have my property value drop because of such.

HOAs with CCRs are certainly not for everyone. However, don't be the guy who buys a house in an HOA and then doesn't think the CCRs apply to him. That's definitely a pet peeve of mine.

 

[A_Pmech]

I think you're setting yourself up for living miserably. I can't spend more than a few days in a subdivision without going nuts.

 

[pmiranda]

If you keep the project cars inside the garage, keep the noise down, especially at night, and don't run a full-on paint booth you can get away with alot. My dad and I did engine swaps in his suburban golf-course community 2-car, and I run my noisy compressor during the day often in my full-on HOA place.

 

[WhiskeyRanger]

Get at least a 2 car garage, and make sure you can build a shed. Use the shed for storing everything, so only your tools what you're working on is actually in the garage. Insulate the garage and door so it will hold in the heat during the winter, and it will also help with the noise. See if you can install a window AC somehow, since with the door closed the garage can get pretty hot in the summer. If you keep the door shut when working, and don't store stuff outside, it shouldn't be an issue. Just do your homework on the neighborhood first.

 

[muncie21]

Like many of the folks that have already posted, I live in a HOA community and don't have any issues with my 'garage related' hobbies. Also, like many of the people, I use some common sense to keep my activities as 'low key' as possible by not causing a ruckus and keeping the outside of the place looking respectable.

 

[nadogail]

As someone has previously posted; if you do set up in a garage, be prepared and willing to be a "good guy" to your neighbors. If one of them wants a board cut or some other minor thing, do not hesitate to help them.
IMHO, most of the men will be secretly jealous of you for having a hobby garage. Giving anyone room to complain will be your downfall.
I once rewired a garage to enable my tenant to set up his wood shop. The only complaints we ever received were about how he parked his pickup and parking it loaded with tools and lumber.

 

[flmng42]

Thanks for everyone's input! Even living as far out in the country as I currently do, I still use the common sense rule. I don't really use air when working on my vehicles, really only when I need to use die grinders or especially tough fasteners. It will be only for maintenance of my own broken stuff, so I don't plan on having customers or broken down cars lining up outside my house. I will definitely make sure anything that comes up that we may be interested I will inspect the HOA and CCRs first, as well as attempting to talk with the current owner and potential neighbors to see if I can get any input. I have driven around a few areas this weekend, and it really seems to be a mixed bag of what's available, everything from full gated communities with very restrictive HOAs to loosely developed areas with seemingly no rules at all. I paid particular attention to the communities that had older sports cars, performance imports, Jeeps, or lifted trucks in the driveways, as I would imagine that those areas and those folks would probably be doing their own work.

Thanks again for the input, and I will keep everything in mind that everyone pointed out.

 

[AndyCBR]

Not sure of your area/region but look for older subdivisions.

Typically they have larger lots. Minimal or no HOA. And I have even seen large metal buildings on residential lots in older subdivisions around my city.

Downside if any is an older house but if you are handily that shouldn't be an issue.

 

[zkling]

I live in suburbia and have essentially a full machine shop at the house (no surface grinder). Compressor inside. Only things that I have to watch are air tools, wood working tools, and heavy grinding at night. Only thing I had to get rid of due to setting was a power hammer (actually two) a number of years back due to constant complains from a neighbor that no longer lives here.

It all will depend on the neighbors.

This. Noise, outside appearance and traffic are going to be your biggest concerns.

Of course you can always be the go to guy when something happens so they will be less likely to have an issue. Once they know you have a welder.....

One day a few years back a guy the street over, stopped by an asked if I had a mig welder, said "thought I heard someone mig welding the other day".

 

[theoldwizard1]

Avoid HOA's.

Really dependant on your neighbours.

I do whatever I want, at reasonable hours, ...

That pretty much sums it up !

I think your bigger problem will be finding a bigger than average garage.

 

[nolimits76]

I've lived in both setups. Currently I am in a neighborhood with HOA. Got one of the biggest city lots at almost 1/2 acre but prefer to have more space and freedom. Not because I can't do what I want but because I've learned more about who I am as a person and my preferences and ideas on peace and sanity.

If you place nice with neighbors, use common sense, don't move to a highly sensitive HOA and don't plan to store lots of parts, cars, "junk", etc you will probably be okay.

I don't know your age or life ambitions but moving for a shorter commute when you are otherwise perfectly happy seems like it may need to be rethought. People change jobs, etc and who is to say the next one will be in the same area.

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[JJThrasher]

Avoid HOAs they'll be your biggest concerns. Check local laws because many places have protections in place so long as you're working on your own stuff not for money. So long as its reasonable you probably won't have too much issue.

 

[KMinAF]

I work in and out of my garage on a regular basis, everything from table saw and routers to grinders, compressors, air ratchets and the occasional open exhaust. Be a good neighbor by being considerate and helpful. If they are having a wedding reception in the back yard don't be revving up your two stroke four wheeler, if your out with the snow blower in winter do the neighbors sidewalk too, it goes a long way. Obviously good neighbors are much more tolerant than angry neighbors.

 

[alex3610]

I'm going to probably go against the grain on this board, but I actually don't mind living with an HOA and CCRs. I don't want to spend $500k on a house, and have a neighbor start stacking up junk cars in the driveway, and have my property value drop because of such.

HOAs with CCRs are certainly not for everyone. However, don't be the guy who buys a house in an HOA and then doesn't think the CCRs apply to him. That's definitely a pet peeve of mine.

Totally agree here. Last house was in a subdivision without an HOA and it showed. Trashed moved in all around me and there wasn't much I could do. It hurt my value when I sold but it's behind me now. I will say I was very careful about the HOA I got into. This neighborhood the rules enforcement is complaint based. And when you do file a complaint, the HOA really tries to help you resolve it on your own before taking any official action. It seems to work great, and I have great neighbors now with well kept homes all around me. That being said, another nearby HOA is quite militant, and has a staff that aggressively patrols the neighborhood looking for violations. Not my cup of tea. So do your homework and know what you are getting into before buying. My opinion overall though still is that if you live in close proximity to your neighbors an HOA only protects your investment long term. Good luck.

 

[willf650]

I live in a neighborhood with deed restrictions and an HOA. I have 8/10ths of an acre and managed to put a 30 x 36 pole barn in. On paper the deed restrictions are pretty prohibitive. Your drapes have to be of white, no trash cans out side, no boats/trailers trucks and the list goes on.

What I did do prior to every house we looked at was drive the neighborhoods. In my current neighborhood I saw RVs, boats etc and one guy had a small pole barn. I took a chance and bought the house. I had a 20' boat and my box trailer in my drive way for over a year with no issues.

Basically what I'm saying is just because there are deed restrictions and an HOA not all of them choose to enforce them religiously. My neighbors are a mixture of blue collar and white collar people. I suspect if I was in a higher end neighborhood I might have issues but I'm in a happy medium.
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[bad_idea]

First, let me say I read the OP and replied. I read no other posts, so I apologize if I missed something.

I live in a planned subdivision. No HOA. Nice neighborhood, but not rich. There is 15' between the houses. I have a 14x20 attached garage and a 8x16 shed out back. Four out of ~15 of my neighbors on my street are car guys. I probably make the most noise with tools, but a couple of the other guys have louder cars.

The only complaint I have had in the 7 years I have lived here was from my next door neighbor when I was running a 4 1/2" grinder at 10pm. He didn't ask me to refrain, only mentioned that he heard it (a couple days later). I have since stopped noise making activities by 9pm in respect to my neighbors. They are good folks. My best advice for making it work with the neighbors is be courteous. They shouldn't have to listen to your noise at all hours. I am fortunate I have good neighbors. But I looked into the local laws on noise ordinance just in case.

Work space is cramped. Storage space is cramped. Makes me focus on how much stuff I hold on to. Also makes me weigh each tool purchase for where am I going to put this?!

Don't buy into a HOA. Don't do it. They are planned for people who want things just so. Our group of people don't belong there. You want to make noise, they don't want to hear it. You want to work on your stuff on your property, they don't want you to. Why fight with them, when you have the choice to live elsewhere.

 

[77Mini]

Our last house was in a subdivision. I would work on things in the garage, weld, work on the Mini I am building. No real issues. We have moved out in the country now. I have to say I wouldn't want to move back to a subdivision though.

 

[boomer12831]

We moved from the ghetto(really) to our new house in a subdivision about 24years ago. The guy across the street was the first one there and purchased 2 lots. His house was 3500 to 4000 square ft. My house was 1500 square ft. I soon realized why he needed such a big house, because he turned into the biggest ******* that I ever met and needed that size house to fit him in. He finally moved and the people there now have become great friends of ours. It doesn't matter if it's an upscale neighbor hood or a ghetto, it's the people there that make it great or miserable. I have built decks, cleaned chimneys, fixed their cars, lawn mowers, snowboards etc. I come home every night between midnight and 7 am with a Freightliner and back it in the driveway and I have never had one complaint

 

[onewheat]

Don't believe everything you hear about HOAs. I have read some nightmare stories on here about them. My last four houses have all been in subdivisions with HOAs - I have had zero issues in any of them except one mention of a boat being parked in the driveway at the first one. The restrictions said "permanently parked" - I told them it was for sale and would be gone as soon as it did. That was the end of the issue. I would watch out for the ones that specify the color of your doors, types of flowers or other BS like that. Mine have always had very reasonable restrictions. I currently have a 6 car garage in a nice pretty upscale neighborhood and of all the things I have done so far, I haven't even come close to anything that is a problem with my restrictions. The key is to know the rules BEFORE you buy and if they seem fine, they most likely are. You may always run into as ******* neighbor, but they can be in ANY subdivision, not just the HOA ones.

 

[nadogail]

Assuming you are going to be an owner, not a renter, my advice is to Be Pro Active, attend HOA meetings just to look and learn, after you have sat through a few and shown that you are not there to complain or start fights the Board Members will notice you.

They have a tough job to do, and all the get for doing their job is grief from the scofflaws that only show up when their ox is being gored. If you see a board member doing what you consider to be a good job, let them know and support them.

Almost nobody goes to HOA meetings unless they are already in trouble or want to complain.

Having a supporter on the board makes community living easier.

 

[slow]

As far as HOAs, get a copy of the covenants and restrictions BEFORE you buy. If they're too restrictive for you, look elsewhere. Ours prohibits certain things, such as running a commercial business from the home, parking commercial vehicles outside, etc., but aren't nearly as restrictive as some apparently are that don't allow you to park a pickup in your driveway and silly stuff like that...

agreed, also make sure what you get is fully updated. I purchased a house the end of 2014 in a very nice neighborhood, and the original bylaws that i was given a copy of had a section of no trucks under commercial vehicles. There was an ammendment in 2012 that specified any pickup truck, personal or commercial must be parked inside overnight. I was unable to see these documents until I was a homeowner and could log into the website.

Fortunately I do not own a pickup, so it is more of a limiting of what I can do in the future, but I would be really pissed if I owned a large truck that would not fit into the garage.

I hate HOA's but the schools here are much better than anywhere else around. and without having 500K to buy a large lot in the same school district without an HOA was out of the budget.

 

[pmiranda]

Every single lot I've looked at in central texas that wasn't several acres has had deed restrictions, and I've seriously looked at at least a dozen a year for over 5 years before finding one I thought had no usage restrictions until a month after buying when somebody found some that had been added since the subdivision was platted. Luckily it shouldn't be an issue. Also, if there is no HOA, a neighbor would have to sue you to enforce it.

 

[ratdoggy]

Garage door closed..
Normal hours...
My compressor is in the basement of my house...
You can only hear it in the house...And it's not bad..
I had a neighbor in NY that ran a off the books repair shop out of his garage
I didn't mind since he kept his house nice....
But then there were the jackasses that lived next to him..
Grass one foot high, house was 3 different colors, and a junk car in the drive..
Can you guess which one hurt me when it was time to sell?

 

[My Old Tools]

I'm not paying anyone to tell me what color I can paint my trim or whether I'm planting the right kind of tree. I moved from 11 acres to a rural subdivision an easy commute to Dallas. We are deed restricted to 100% brick or stone, 3000 SF minimum, 2 acre minimum, no business use. Every house in the neighborhood except 2 or 3 has a shop building out back. I probably have the most active shop, but everyone has one for storage, boat, RV, etc. Several people have big gardens. Some never go outside. No one junks up the street. No cars on blocks. No trash cans out front. People respect property they have a real investment in. Find a nice area without an HOA. They do exist.