Garage sizing?? (New member)

[Varinn]

Hey guys, first post new member here.

I'm looking at venturing into a first time home purchase with my girlfriend in the next couple of months but I'd like a little input on dimensions for the garage as a sort of "baseline" to work with. I've never had my own place with a garage big enough to park one car inside, let alone two. I have no idea what is a reasonable size in terms of practicality, and cost.

We are looking at buying a townhouse with a 2-car side-by-side garage layout (Tandem will not work for our goals). All of our vehicles are fairly small, but at any given time I'd like to have the option to park two inside (plus my bike if possible). What size of garage should I aim for to allow the option to park indoors and have enough room to do basic maintenance items on them such as oil changes, wheel swaps, brakes, cleaning, etc. All in depth maintenance is done at a friends full autoshop.

Dimensionally, we have to squeeze in things out of this list
'07 Z4M Coupe (161"x70") This will always be inside
'90 325i e30 (170"x65")
'08 KTM SD990 (57" wheelbase, I could potentially park this in the flex room in the basement, as most of the units have one directly beside the garage)
Her 2012 Focus hatch (171"x72")
Mastercraft pro toolbox (W54"xD19"xH40")
~8 rubbermaid bins full of parts (These can maybe get put in a storage room in the house)
Chemicals, cleaners, oils, lubricants, extra loose tools, etc.

A friend has suggested aiming for 20'x20', but would this be enough space to comfortably use? As I said, I've got zero experience with what size works well and what is the limit of being too small.

I am thinking to stock up on these wall mounted tire hangers as we have a spare wheel set for each car, and a track set for my e30.

Thanks!

 

[Stuart in MN]

The simple answer is "as large as possible", but I would imagine that when buying a townhouse your options are limited to what the townhouse builder is willing to provide, and they typically are only going to provide the bare minimum size. I'd be surprised if you could find anything bigger than 20 x 20.

In the meantime, you can play with interior arrangements by cutting out paper outlines of the cars, toolbox, etc. and moving them around on a piece of graph paper.

As an aside, I'm a little surprised at the size comparison between the M coupe and the e30...I didn't realize the coupe was that much shorter. (I have an e30 and an e28 myself.)

 

[Varinn]

As an aside, I'm a little surprised at the size comparison between the M coupe and the e30...I didn't realize the coupe was that much shorter. (I have an e30 and an e28 myself.)

Good taste in vehicles

I've had the e30 for years now but only owned the z4 for 6 months. I was honestly surprised by the 9" difference in length when I googled the specs to wrote the post, I never thought it was quite that much.

Oh well! Makes for interesting experiences when the back lets go!

 

[Colin Len]

The simple answer is "as large as possible"

^This. "Standard" garage sizing is roughly 10x20 per car - so a single garage is roughly 10x20 (200sqft), two car is 20x20 (400sqft)...etc But that varies widely based on the area, year built, type of construction...etc I recently bought a house which was built in the early 40's and my garage is a measly 18'x18' although it's a nice upgrade from the single garage I had before which was only about 9'x18'.

My two cars are almost exactly the same size as yours and I don't really ever plan on being able to park both in the garage. If I was going to leave for an extended period of time I may try to cram both in there for storage but it'd be very tight - of course this is assuming that there are cabinets/benches on both sides. If I didn't have anything on the side walls then I could park both cars in there without it being too much of a problem getting in/out but it definitely wouldn't be roomy.

And unless you have a really really roomy "2 car" I don't think you should ever plan on being able to have one car parked in there while working on the other. Likely it's possible for minor work but much too cramped for my liking.

 

[Varinn]

Thanks for the real world experience on that. I did some quick math and came up with about 6'6" space between the cars and the wall, with about 2' on the side of each (4' in the center) assuming I have nothing low on the sides of the cars. It seems a bit tight on the outer walls but manageable.

If I put my toolbox, storage shelves/cabinets, and bike across the back wall then I can use the sides of the garage for the tire storage racks up near the roof (and some other high mounted shelving where needed). It'll be tight, but it should work....

 

[Colin Len]

I think your biggest obstacle is going to be the bike. Mainly because it may not be convenient to have all 3 vehicles in there and be able to simply pick one and use it without having to move another vehicle out of the way first. Definitely worth putting some effort into layout to figure out where you want to put things. Getting as much as possible up off the ground and up on the wall or ceiling will be a huge help. Not sure if you are in need of a workbench but if so you may want to consider one that folds up/down so it only takes up space when in use. I did this for my single car garage and even had a vise mounted to it. It was a lifesaver for all of my projects having that vise and bench to work at.

 

[rburke65]

As I have been told.....bigger I always better.

 

[southalabama]

Granddad died a few years back. One of the things that stuck with me he said was that he'd built half a dozen barns in his life. Each bigger than he ever thought he'd use. He filled all of them up.

Go big and then some.

 

[skcj213]

I have a 24 x 24 and park my Nissan Maxima and Mercedes C230 inside every night. Along the front I h have a 6' workbench, table saw, band saw and a refrigerator. Even with the front wall occupied I have enough room to work on either vehicle. Our yard is such that we couldn't fit anything bigger than 24 x 24. We recently bought the lot next door so a 2nd, larger garage is in the plans.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

^^^^^24x24 or 24x26 or even 24x30.

The extra depth gives you room at the end for toolboxes or whatever have you that needs to live in the garage. It also gets stuff off the side walls and doesn't make the place feel small.

 

[5ft24]

Merry Christmas

 

[GBsnoopy]

I have a 19.5 x 19.5 attached which has two VW golfs in. I so wish I had gone for 24x24 now when I built the house. The extra size front and rear and round the cars 24x24 gives makes a huge difference.

 

[Kevin54]

I would never have a garage less than 28' deep. One side of my garage is 28', and the other side of my garage has a 4' deep closet that we store Christmas stuff, and other of the wife's items, (I know, I should have never caved). The 24' side is tight. The 28' side has my air compressor in front, a large Lista style cabinet in front, plus some wall cabinets in front, and I still have room to pull in a full size extended cab longbed truck inside on that side.

I am adding on a 28' wide x 36' deep extension probably this Spring. The other contractor jacked be around for months, so I fired him. Now I'm just waiting on a price from the new contractor.

This is what the new addition should look like. I forgot that I am also adding a 7' x 24' bumpout on the side. This is where my overhead cabinets will be going along with my roller boxes and workbench. That will clear up more room in the rest of the garage for my mills and lathe and other miscellaneous machines.

 

[RossABQ]

I would seriously consider not the vehicles you have now, but the ones you will likely own in the future. Not a Suburban necessarily, but at least a minivan and a 4-dr sedan together. You only get one shot...

 

[Jinks]

You already own 3 cars & a motorcycle. A two car garage isn't going to work. A large number of the people I know have two car garages & multiple cars. Even before turning the garage into a storage unit that means an expensive asset sitting on the street, in the weather, available to vandals. I don't know where you are or your financial status, but I would be looking for 3 or 4 indoor parking spots, or trimming my toy list. Good luck.

 

[mikegt4]

Don't forget to consider door swing room. 2 door cars (Z4) usually have long doors that need parking space width to open without subjecting vehicle occupants into gymnastic style contortions just to enter/exit. Consider anything hung on the wall or positioned on the wall as space lost (for door opening and walk-by purposes).

 

[Ray916MN]

Since you're looking to buy, not build you don't need specific dimensions you need to have an idea of the size tradeoffs.

The easiest way to get an idea of this is to park your vehicles like they were in a garage and to place cones at different spacings. If you need extra help visualizing the amount of space relative to your vehicles use string between the cones.

This approach will give you a good idea of the minimum space you'll need and how nice more space will be. Don't forget when you actually look at garages to account for things like steps or doors that open into the garage or walking access to doors.

As a final test, before you make an offer on a place, you can use this approach to mock up any garage so you have a good idea in advance of buying.

 

[ZRX61]

24x30 minimum

 

[Bib Overalls]

The words "townhouse," "spacious," and "garage" are rarely used in the same paragraph, much less the same sentence. Townhouses are designed to get maximize utility out of a small footprint. For most people that means a barely adequate garage in favor of more living space. To get what you want you may have to find a builder who can tweak his plans and give you the garage space you need if you are willing to relocate the washer/dryer or eliminate a "bonus" space.

From my experience, 24' x 24' makes a nice garage with some room for storage and a work bench.

Good luck.

 

[MagicMarker]

As others have said, a townhouse layout will automatically limit the size of the garage. Whatever size you think you need, go bigger. We closed on our first house in Oct and this is my first garage. It fits two cars in just fine, but of course I wish it was wider.

 

[CNGsaves]

Agree . . . .Townhouse does NOT = happy large garage living.

Sounds more like confined HOA hell on earth.

 

[Jack90210]

I'm in a townhome for the time being. It's not great, but it's not terrible.

My garage is 24(wide)x20(deep), barely big enough to accommodate:

• Toolbox
• Warehouse shelving (10'x2'x8')
• Compressor (30 gal)
• Four cabinets (36"x18"x80" ea)
• Work bench (2'x5')
• HVAC unit and hot water heater
• One E92 335i
• Four motorcycles (two large, two medium)

I hope there will be room for the '07 Super Duke that is on its way to me.

Here are my thoughts:

1) A small garage will just about force to you become more efficient at how you organize, store and arrange everything in it. You'll spend more time keeping things orderly; this can be good (it's a great habit, you'll know where things are, workflow is more efficient) and bad (no multiple projects, you'll spend a lot of time organizing in the beginning).

2) With two cars in a typical townhouse garage, working on either will be difficult (tough to get a decent-sized floor jack between two cars with enough room to pump the handle, for instance). If you can compromise to only storing one car in the garage, you'll have quite a bit of room for everything else that you say you have (not to mention the stuff you'll acquire, see #3) and your work environment will be very comfortable.

3) Storage will be important; now that you have a garage you'll be much more likely to acquire supplies, chemicals etc. For items like this I like heavy-gauge cabinets; they are robust, keep dust off of what's in them, and help to make my garage look "plain" to folks looking in. For big stuff, items in toters and toolboxes, and room for staging (i.e. bodywork off of a motorcycle), shelves work just fine. My point is that you'll likely need to allot space for these items before long.

 

[gunguy]

Hope I'm wrong but the best you're going to find, I think, is a townhouse that will barely accommodate two cars. Any work will require pulling one car out. And you'll probably be limited to light maintenance. Good luck on your quest...

Welcome to the board. Please consider adding your location to your profile. It helps folks tailor responses to any questions you may have in the future.

Best,

Jim

 

[bobemmerich]

Since you're looking to buy, not build you don't need specific dimensions you need to have an idea of the size tradeoffs.

The easiest way to get an idea of this is to park your vehicles like they were in a garage and to place cones at different spacings. If you need extra help visualizing the amount of space relative to your vehicles use string between the cones.

This approach will give you a good idea of the minimum space you'll need and how nice more space will be. Don't forget when you actually look at garages to account for things like steps or doors that open into the garage or walking access to doors.

As a final test, before you make an offer on a place, you can use this approach to mock up any garage so you have a good idea in advance of buying.

^^This is a great idea!^^
Good luck on finding a Townhouse or Condo with a "big" garage. As stated most (around here) are 20x20, if they even have one. And also check into what you can DO in a condo garage. Most won't "allow" maintenance on vehicles....I found out while looking and that soured me on condos.

 

[Old Moparz]

I've got older Dodges & Plymouths (1968 to 1970) that are larger than the ones the OP mentioned. I can fit two of them side by side in an area of my garage that is 18' wide by 20' - 6" deep. This area is strictly for parking, not working on them. It's tight but they fit & there is enough room to walk around & open the door far enough to get in & out.

I'm not saying that a smaller size garage is better, only that it can work if you have no choice. With the smaller vehicles it will be easier to maneuver around them but forget about roll away tool boxes or floor storage. Most garage spaces have much higher ceilings so you'll be able to mount shelving systems on the wall or suspend them from the ceiling to free up floor space.

Another thing to be on the look out for with town houses are the intrusions into the garage space from the living space. Some units will have fireplaces, closets, pipe chases, vents or some type of structure that extends into the "less desirable" garage space. Even houses with attached garages have these garage obstacles.

Like many have said, try to get the biggest space you can. A 20'x20' space will fill up fast & will never have enough room. You will more than likely be pulling one car out to be able to work on the other. Something to consider is a storage shed. I've seen developments that allow separate, free standing structures so using a shed for the bike & storage bins will free up the garage.

Here is the layout of my shop with the 18'x20'-6" on the left side.....

 

[Handyfarmer]

I would suggest at least 24 deep. and as wide as possible, 20 would be minimum. and any thing else wider would be better and I would say, the door placed in a way one can get access room to both sides when working on a car,

 

[Varinn]

Bump! Got lost in the shuffle overthe last few months and found myself busily doing whatever it was I was doing. Lucky for me we live in a very nice city, unluckily it happens to be one of the most expensive housing markets in the world.

In the end we had to settle for making some sacrifices, but we found a nice place that the girlfriend and I really enjoy in a nice location, good craftsmanship on the house, other car guys in the complex. We saw some real shitters, so when this one ticked most boxes we had to go for it. Surprisingly, it has one of the nicest shops we saw in 30+ units.

My garage is not large; at 19'10" wide and only 18' long. It won't be absorbing any projects any time soon. Parts and tires will be stored in a large room just through the door into the house. The garage is going to be purely for tools and vehicles, save for what fits in wall mounted cabinets at head level. My good friend owns a BMW shop <2 minutes away so my bike bench and hoist work will go there for now. I can do basic maint at home by rolling a car outside.

We get the keys in May so here's a pic from current owners, i hope they take everything cause i want none of it.

The temptation to stretch and go bigger was huge, but what good is the garage if I can't afford the stuff I wanted to put in it? I've got 4 years until 30; where I set my goals to be experienced enough in my role to look at moving to a company in a smaller (and cheaper) town... Somewhere that half a mil buys a house with its own land, not just townhouses and apartments.