Garage not wide/tall enough - help!

[Jenn]

We just bought our first house, and it has a double carport garage off the laneway. Unfortunately the garage is not wide/tall enough for our 2 cars. The entrance and horizontal beam barely clears our large jeep (see pictures), and likely won't clear when it snows. Also complicating it is the inner wall is shared with the neighbour. Because of the wooden fence/tight laneway, it makes it almost impossible to fit both our cars inside the garage. Our house is at the end of the laneway. The seller had already ordered garage door and electronic opener before listing the house, will aim to install it before closing day, and is willing to work with us (meeting him in 4 days).

We are not sure if it's feasible to make the garage bigger/taller (both from construction perspective and neighbor perspective). Appreciate any advice. Thanks a million in advance!

 

[CombatNinja]

That is not a Jeep. Just sayin'.

 

[FredWanaker]

buyer's remorse? Pony up a lot more money, get smaller cars, sell one, or get used to it. Don't mean to hurt your feelings but you own it now.

 

[Jenn]

Not buyer's remorse. Looking for advice on how to make it work especially if neighbor doesn't want to get a new garage...Is it possible for example to make our garage wider/taller without affecting the neighbor's? Thank you

 

[The Cobbler]

you might have better luck with a location, but, first thing that comes to my mind, will current building codes allow you to substantially change the structure ? I wonder if some of that is grandfathered in. once you start to renovate , what happens?

 

[slidehammer]

What are your contractual rights and responsibilities?

If allowed, I would demolish your half of that twin carport and build a bigger one - this time with a separate center walls separated by a one-inch gap. Ideally, the neighbor would be into it and you could do both sides at the same time.

Who knows if that is legally/politically feasible. Physically, it's straightforward.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

So this is how you get into the garage? Awkward.

You might could demo your half of the garage, retain the party wall, and rebuild your half bigger and wider. $$$. If … as someone pointed out … the city would permit the work.

 

[Jenn]

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions! Yes, it is awkward trying to get into the garage. Looking into whether city would permit the work. Thanks again

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I don't know how you're going to make that taller and wider without getting your neighbor involved. The mismatched shingles on their half of the garage suggests they're used to going it alone though.

Strictly out of curiosity, what city is this in?

 

[FredWanaker]

do you have a HOA? Is this a duplex? You say "before closing day, and is willing to work with us (meeting him in 4 days)." What are the penalties if you back out now and find something else that works?

 

[James-W]

Assuming the city building department will allow you to do whatever you want with your half of the building, which is highly doubtful in my opinion due to having to stay back so many feet from the lot line and things of that nature, It would cost a ton of money to retrofit the building and you will still have the problem of getting into the garage. It seems to me that the only way you will have a decent garage that you like is if you buy both properties, tear down the current garage, then build a large garage the way you want it built. I seriously doubt you will ever be happy with the current garage situation, even if you are able to make it larger and taller. Larger and taller is of little importance if you have a terrible time getting into the building. Then too, if you have any intentions of working on projects out there you will want a way of heating the garage. Have you thought about how you would accomplish that? Running a natural gas line to the garage, or running electrical power out there, is likely not something that could be done easily and at a low cost.

Please understand, I am not trying to make you feel bad, I am just trying to be honest and give you my opinion on it. My opinion is that I just don't think this is a property you will be happy with in the months and years to come. If at all possible, I would pass on the deal (even if it costs you some money to do it) and continue to look for something that is more in line with what you want.

 

[Bucko]

Sorry to say but if you are 4 days from closing than you waited too long to find this out. If you have passed your inspection period you may loose any earnest money involved.
As to the garage, any way you slice it things will be a headache. Seeing the one down the lane is the same, if its in an HOA your gonna likely have issues with a rebuild. Also you likely have legal setbacks on the rear and the side and its likely already at the limits.
As to the garage door being added you will likely loose some room or may not fit at all with the close proximity of the hip roof.

If you or your spouse are dead set on the home you will need to make some concessions which will likely be having to decide which car gets left outside.

Sorry to be a negative Nancy but I don't see many easy options here.

 

[Jenn]

Thank you everyone. We just signed the offer 2 days ago, and closing day is not until early May. It's a detached house that used to be semi-detached duplex, and hence very close to the property next to us. There's no HOA. This is in a populated/expensive city in Canada where a 2-garage house is way beyond our budget.

Yes was thinking that it would still be a problem getting in/out of the garage if the garage is wider/taller (thanks for confirming that), but at least hopefully we won't bump into each other's car. If it doesn't work, then one of us will leave the car outside.

Really appreciate everyone's opinion. Thanks again

 

[CraigStu]

Dealing w/ the height. Is that cross beam higher off the floor than the top of the garage door opening? If it is lower than the opening I'd look into removing it. I can't tell for sure, does it go through the metal siding? It looks like it is not structural but I can't be sure. Once you own it I'd start looking into what you can do by code. Can you go wider? It may be as close to the property line (fence) as allowed already but you need to know that. Also look into what is allowed regarding repairs vs a new structure. Sometimes the current structure is grandfathered in even though it doesn't meet current requirements. There are many stories about structures being 'repaired' where one or two original walls are left but everything else is replaced. One more thought. What are the dimensions of the stone area in front of the garage? Could you build a complete new garage there w/ the door on the right side?

 

[Half-fast eddie]

I wonder if you could build a whole new garage of the proper size, face it toward the driveway. Use the old garage for a storage room / shop.

 

[m6z]

Eject!

There's no way you're not going to regret this purchase.

The FOMO is crazy right now.

 

[ludakris04]

That carport looks janky. Is that low hanging 2x4 doing anything? my guess is your going to be able to park one vehicle in there, and it will be jenga to figure out where to park the other one so that you are not having to move it to get out.

 

[gmcgeo]

That is a Mercedes G class. never call a Mercedes a jeep.. That's blasphemy

 

[firebirdparts]

That building is remarkable for its weak construction. A teardown would be nice for both of you.

 

[sz0k30]

What is a "Laneway"? Never heard the term before.

 

[Sumboodie]

That carport looks janky. Is that low hanging 2x4 doing anything? my guess is your going to be able to park one vehicle in there, and it will be jenga to figure out where to park the other one so that you are not having to move it to get out.

What I was thinking too. Looks about ready to fall down.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

What is a "Laneway"? Never heard the term before.

I thought the same. Never quite saw a garage like that before either. The buildings in the background also have a neat, European look to them. I thought maybe the OP was overseas which was why I asked out of curiosity.

 

[Jenn]

Thank you everyone. A laneway is a narrow roadway.

We just heard back from one of the garage companies we contacted. They said that based on the property size, we can build up to 40 meters squared (430 square feet) size garage, IE: 19.5 X 22 feet or 20 X 21.5 feet (with city permit). She said it may be possible build larger with an application to Committee of Adjustments for a minor variance. She said they can remove our half of the carport, with some remediation work on the neighbours garage. We will set up an on site survey.

If we build a new garage facing the driveway, it could still be hard to get/back out given the width of the laneway?

Thank you

 

[buddha2364]

Thank you everyone. A laneway is a narrow roadway.

We just heard back from one of the garage companies we contacted. They said that based on the property size, we can build up to 40 meters squared (430 square feet) size garage, IE: 19.5 X 22 feet or 20 X 21.5 feet (with city permit). She said it may be possible build larger with an application to Committee of Adjustments for a minor variance. She said they can remove our half of the carport, with some remediation work on the neighbours garage. We will set up an on site survey.

If we build a new garage facing the driveway, it could still be hard to get/back out given the width of the laneway?

Thank you

Ya if you can get away from the joined POS building, go for it. It doesn't look to be much in the way structurally, but you'll have to shore things up when you demo your side. You're just going to have to survey it all out to see how things lay.

 

[ybnormal]

there's no way you're tearing down half the garage without spending serious money. it looks like it was originally all one space and they simply stuck in sheet-metal to privatize half of it. I don't see any central stabilizing load-bearing wall if you tear down your half. the cheapest possibility I see is to expand out your left size with a carport roof, remove the left wall (yellow x's) and place new support poles and beams (yellow lines) at front and back to support original roof. that's doable, and if you're worried about clearance height in the new area, have the driver back into that spot so they stand up under the original height roof when getting in/out of the car

 

[FredWanaker]

have you spoken with your realtor about this? I spent 35 years in the mortgage industry, and when I see someone saying they just can't afford something better, but at the same time they are getting ready to spend money they don't have to build a bigger garage for a Mercedes, I have to question whether this will have a happy ending for the buyer. I'd think long and hard on this before proceeding further.

 

[gahrajmahal]

When I originally bought the car in my avatar as my daily driver it sat outside full time. I had a car cover I put on it once parked. That made snow removal fast in the AM.

 

[58Yeoman]

You won't/don't have much privacy in the backyard, so tear down the fence to give you a better angle for driving into the carport?

 

[firebirdparts]

there's no way you're tearing down half the garage without spending serious money.

Worth every penny. That building is absolute trash.

 

[WNYflyer]

Looks like demolition of your half will effect the stability of the neighbors portion. Also going higher and still attached to the existing/ neighbors then you have a drifting snow problem on the lower roof that would need to be addressed.

Judging by the snow, all brick houses and the house types it looks like Toronto area to me.

 

[James-W]

Worth every penny. That building is absolute trash.

Having a really nice garage would no doubt be well worth every penny that it costs. But having a really nice garage still doesn't give him easy access to the building. The whole layout of the property is not conducive to easy garage parking for him no matter what he does. If he owned both properties then he could tear down the building that is there and construct a proper garage with much easier parking. The whole garage situation the way it is, in my opinion, is not something he will be happy with no matter what he does. If it were me, I would walk away from this deal even if it costs me some money. If he buys it, then at some time in the future he decides that he doesn't want the property any longer, he will likely have a difficult time trying to sell it.

To my way of thinking, this scenario is sort of like buying a Pinto when what you really want is a Corvette. Yes, the Pinto will get you to work and back but you will never be happy with it. Sooner or later you will get rid of the Pinto and most likely take a loss on it. The same thing will probably happen with this property. He asked for opinions and we are giving him opinions. BUT, in the final analogy, it is his money and his decision, he needs to do what he feels is best.

 

[FredWanaker]

my concern is still that someone is buying the most they feel they can afford, then spending a lot more improving it. Making matters worse, the property is tied to another so whatever they do involves the neighbors. The property next door added a small stall so the problem should be obvious to anyone looking at it. I am surprised that the realtor didn't address this when they were shown the property. Maybe a home inspection can point out problems with the garage construction that will kill the deal without loss of earnest money.

 

[58Yeoman]

"I am surprised that the realtor didn't address this when they were shown the property. "

When I bought my last house, an English cottage 2 story, the attic stairs were behind a door in the kitchen. You took two steps, then made a hard 90* right and went upstairs. The realtor commented that the stairs were nice to get into the walk in attic. I used the same realtor when I was selling the house, and he commented that the hard right turn would make a hard sell. I sold the house myself. Didn't use a realtor on my present house, either.

 

[K13]

Guys this is more than likely in Toronto where average house prices are $1.3 million. You don't walk away or try to get out of a contract for a property you can afford over a garage in that city as finding another is no easy feat.

 

[andyvh1959]

So, this "garage" has a shared wall on a property line? Is each side deeded to each property? Or is this a duplex house/garage owned by the OP? If each half of the garage is deeded to each property likely you can't do anything structurally that affects the other side. Perhaps you build a new proper structural wall in your half, connected directly against the other half that does not affect it structurally. Then your new wall projects higher than the original roof line to get the height you want. If there is enough setback to the left of your half to allow another slab pinned to the original slab, then build another stall alongside the original, and make the whole structure taller than the original.

Aside from building it wider, can you also build your half out further toward the back of the house? For the amount of work/cost just to make that space more functional, I would go as big as a permit and your budget would allow. By That time you are basically building a new structure attached to the old structure. I agree too that the structure looks more like a lightly built carport than anything like a well built garage. My biggest question is who owns the rights to each half?

 

[ZRX61]

So this is how you get into the garage? Awkward.

You might could demo your half of the garage, retain the party wall, and rebuild your half bigger and wider. $$$. If … as someone pointed out … the city would permit the work.

Party wall? You mean that bent to hell wriggly tin?

 

[WNYflyer]

Guys this is more than likely in Toronto where average house prices are $1.3 million. You don't walk away or try to get out of a contract for a property you can afford over a garage in that city as finding another is no easy feat.

^^^Most likely this

 

[CombatNinja]

Agreed. 90% of the wing nuts in this thread have zero context.