Front vs side entry garage, which do you prefer? I prefer a side entry garage. It gives me more privacy. Plus if I ever wanted to have an attached 4 car garage it wouldn't overwhelm the house. Because the 2 double doors would face the side of the yard. Also the house would look more appealing. While still having an awesome garage to be in.
Front vs side entry garage
- Thread starter NES
- Start date
whitetrash1
Well-known member
Depends on the size of the garage, lot, and driveway. I've seen some side entry ones that are impossible to just turn into unless you have super small cars.
There are a few neighborhoods in my area that have rear entry garages with a full driveway from the front. Those are my personal favorite. Tougher turn to get in but can do whatever you want without everyone being in your business.
There are a few neighborhoods in my area that have rear entry garages with a full driveway from the front. Those are my personal favorite. Tougher turn to get in but can do whatever you want without everyone being in your business.
slip knot
Well-known member
ever try to turn a full sized 4dr truck into a side garage? mine faces the road.
georgiadave
Well-known member
Lot layout sometimes dictates garage door location, but side entry is considered more desirable. A garage that sticks out, "snout house" is the least desirable.
matt_i
Well-known member
If you look around, drive various subdivisions, I think you will find that in general, more expensive homes use the side garage.
CJ7VFR
Well-known member
I have road facing doors, and I would not want them facing the side because my wife already has "issues" with parking her vehicle straight into the garage. I can just imagine the kind of damage she would do to the vehicle, the garage door opening and the stuff in the garage if she had to make a turn into the garage to park!!!
Yikes! I can just picture it now. I am sitting on the couch watching Judge Judy when my wife pulls in to the driveway. She makes the turn to park in the garage and I hear a loud "crunch". She comes into the house and the first words of her mouth are "Honey, I just want to say that it's not my fault..."
Jim
Yikes! I can just picture it now. I am sitting on the couch watching Judge Judy when my wife pulls in to the driveway. She makes the turn to park in the garage and I hear a loud "crunch". She comes into the house and the first words of her mouth are "Honey, I just want to say that it's not my fault..."
Jim
I'm not such a fan of snout type garage either.
yes. Mine wont even make the turn and I have an x-cab with 6.5ft bed! Hell it wont even fit in the garage without pushing in both mirrors (too wide) and even if I had nothing in the front of the garage I would never be able to close the door.
Falcon67
Well-known member
This. And if you bring home a dead one, that's even worse. I had that idea originally, then staked out the shop with string and grade stakes. Including doors big and small. Then, actually moved things around, tried to drive the F150 in the "side door" - that whole idea went out the window real quick.
You can "build" a lot of garage/shops with a bundle of grade stakes, a hammer, 100' tape measure and a big roll of twine. It's fun too.
Also, neighbor's new $200K+ house has a side entry garage. Her car fits, his truck sits out all the time. Oops.
SB440R/T
Well-known member
Probably not as desirable, but we are building this now. Lot gets cleared this week. Front facing because the race truck needs to be easy to pull in and out of the garage when putting it on the trailer.
Is this considered a snout? Not to the right scale as we were doing mods to the design.
Is this considered a snout? Not to the right scale as we were doing mods to the design.
Al Bundy
Well-known member
My garage is a pull through with entries on both sides. Of course the unforeseen part was 4 vehicles and enough parts to service a fleet. Nothing is moving in and out easily right now.
My current house has side entry garage 24x24 on a ranch style house. The wife finds it hard to pull in easy. Luckily the driveway is wide and long so she can swing it around to get straight in. For the most part. Id prefer a front entry but it just wouldn't look right on my house. My shop i'm gonna build on the property is going to be front entry though. 30w x 40d.
ibedayank
Well-known member
or back a trailer into one
maxpower_hd
Well-known member
I have a side entry because the lot size and shape dictated it. I currently have a 4x4, 3 door truck with 6'8" bed and I can get that in and out with just a little bit of work and careful maneuvering.
I used to have an XCab with 8 foot bed and was just able to get that in when the garage is just about completely empty (noting on the back wall at all). That was a tight fit and took many pull ups to make it in.
I would prefer a side entry if there were plenty of room for the drive way to turn into it. It just looks nicer. But for convenience front would be easier. Just not an option for me.
I used to have an XCab with 8 foot bed and was just able to get that in when the garage is just about completely empty (noting on the back wall at all). That was a tight fit and took many pull ups to make it in.
I would prefer a side entry if there were plenty of room for the drive way to turn into it. It just looks nicer. But for convenience front would be easier. Just not an option for me.
TheEquineFencer
Well-known member
44 x 62 x 16 two 14x14 doors on my short wall. I can back a semi inside drop the trailer and put the truck in the other bay if the shop is clear. If i were just going to pull "short stuff" in I'd have put a few more doors in the long walls.
Joe Reed
Well-known member
I vote for a rear entry garage with access from a service road/alley and a 70' driveway. Can't see it from the street and the only people who can see it from the rear are two houses directly behind me...with their garages facing the alley too....
My city says you have to have side entry unless you are > 100' from the street which almost no houses are these days. I prefer side entry because you can drive straight out. Some people dont know how to back up to begin with much less backing into a street.
Streetbu
Well-known member
Do you want ease of use or for it to look good?.... mine faces the road. Easy to use, but it's ugly to me. I also have more than enough room a side entry wouldnt be an issue. But I will never change it unless I win the lottery.
Here's my dream house. I would make the garage 30' deep. Add another garage door. Have them be both 18' wide by 8' tall. Also would add a sink and a bathroom for the garage. The bathroom would also have a shower as well. http://www.eplans.com/house-plans/epl/hwepl09434.html?from=search
reader2580
Well-known member
My previous house had a side entry garage attached to the back of the house with a 10 foot wide driveway only four feet from the house. It was a pain and I could barely get my minivan in the garage. It did look nice from the road.
The current owners manage to get two cars in the garage and they claim it is no problem. They have fairly compact cars though and the garage is practically empty compared to what I had in there.
The current owners manage to get two cars in the garage and they claim it is no problem. They have fairly compact cars though and the garage is practically empty compared to what I had in there.
jackcmorgan
New member
ok, so i built a house 4 years ago and had the side entry vs front entry dilemma. I have a large lot and had the room for the side entry and that's what i went with based on the consensus of the internet (and this exact article) at the time, but here are my issues with it so far:
- i had to bring the driveway to the edge of my property to give me enough room to turn into the garage without doing a 3 point turn. The house next door decided to build as close to the property line as they could (my house was built before theirs) so now my driveway is 5 feet from the side of their house and i'm staring at their a/c unit, generator, etc everytime i leave my house.
- pulling into the garage is not as easy as going straight in
- backing a trailer into the garage is very difficult
- there's more distance for visitors to have to walk to the front door so we end up letting them in through the garage half the time
- delivery drivers don't like walking so leave half the packages at the garage door
- I have a view of my neighbours house when i'm working in the garage instead of my front yard
- costs more money for front landscaping
- parking is more difficult for visitors while still allowing cars in the garage to get out
- nowhere to throw snow (if you live somewhere with snow). You have to blow it all the way back or to the front and over.
- it does look better from the street - but that's the only pro i can think of.
I suppose if you had 100' plus between houses it would be fine to do side entry. I wouldn't do it again unless i had this much room between the next house at minimum. That would give space for a nice wide turning radius and straight entry to the garage, and a buffer betwen my driveway and the neighbour.
- i had to bring the driveway to the edge of my property to give me enough room to turn into the garage without doing a 3 point turn. The house next door decided to build as close to the property line as they could (my house was built before theirs) so now my driveway is 5 feet from the side of their house and i'm staring at their a/c unit, generator, etc everytime i leave my house.
- pulling into the garage is not as easy as going straight in
- backing a trailer into the garage is very difficult
- there's more distance for visitors to have to walk to the front door so we end up letting them in through the garage half the time
- delivery drivers don't like walking so leave half the packages at the garage door
- I have a view of my neighbours house when i'm working in the garage instead of my front yard
- costs more money for front landscaping
- parking is more difficult for visitors while still allowing cars in the garage to get out
- nowhere to throw snow (if you live somewhere with snow). You have to blow it all the way back or to the front and over.
- it does look better from the street - but that's the only pro i can think of.
I suppose if you had 100' plus between houses it would be fine to do side entry. I wouldn't do it again unless i had this much room between the next house at minimum. That would give space for a nice wide turning radius and straight entry to the garage, and a buffer betwen my driveway and the neighbour.