Is garage lust dead?

[zmotorsports]

It goes in phases.......

I have the biggest garage in the neighborhood. I didn't do it for re-sale....I did it for me....good chance one of our kids will take over the house....they are not into wood working yet....but cars have potential....

If I ever do sale the house....I have no doubt it will be a very short list of truly interested buyers.

^^This.

My last shop was the ONLY detached shop/garage in the neighborhood and I practically lived in it while we lived there.

When we sold it and bought the new place I immediately started construction of an even larger shop and my realtor, who is also a friend of ours, mentioned that I was making a real estate mistake for resale value. I informed him that the shop is a must and I'm doing it for me, not for resale, at least that's how I justified it. My wife and I plan on living here until we croak and my son and his wife will take it over after that because he wants the tools and will use them but won't have anywhere else to store them if not in my shop.

 

[firebirdparts]

Having built a totally awesome heated/ cooled workshop in the backyard we were confident when it came time to sell our home we would have a leg up on the competition.Long story short, not the case. There was absolutely no interest in the brand new, discreet workshop in the back with the lift.

I was told this from birth. Evidently nobody ever cared but the guy who built it. I guess houses are mostly for women and they're the ones doing the buying. A woman could care about the shop, but they usually don't.

 

[ddurrett896]

People can say that don't want/need a big garage all they want, but I've never EVER drove past a garage with the door open that wasn't pilled full of ****.

 

[Kaizen]

Did a garage ever increase a price significantly? I didn’t think it ever had the same roi as to build it.
Built mine for me and loving it every time I step into it.


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[jd_1138]

Maybe in Connecticut. I think in most other states, a nice garage is a huge selling point to the right buyer. But yeah, the garage type stuff is probably getting less popular in general. Ward Cleaver types out teaching the boys how to change the oil and tune up the family Plymouth wagon are getting rare.

Also, when selling an item even a house, a lot of buyers probably don't act too excited about certain features of a house because they don't want to seem too interested. They'd rather seem indifferent so the seller perhaps will accept a lower offer.

Yeah like Ducksface said; it's just square footage to some people, but hopefully they can use the space for other things. Irish Pub with pool table, darts, Galaga machine. Mmmmm.

I know a guy with a beautiful building in his backyard -- built atop a thick concrete pad, roll up door, etc.. About 500 square foot. Just sitting there empty with the weeds swallowing the place up. Sad. I guess the previous owner was a woodworker. I could do so much with that space.

 

[MeentSS02]

A nice garage/shop would be a huge selling point for me, but I'm in the minority around here.

I mostly work on cars, but I'm finding I have my limits. I'm in the process of doing a power steering rack swap on my daily driven truck, and I'm about at my limit for what I can tolerate. This project has dragged on since every single thing that could have gone wrong so far has. I can see why people would pay to have something like this done...I've needed damn near all my tools for this project, and I've been collecting tools for the better part of the past 20 years.

 

[nadogail]

Nothing is as it was, that being said what I "needed to have" when I was younger is different today. The depression survivors who raised this depression era born kid just knew that self sufficiency was the most reliable thing you could count on.

As a result, all of us were scarred and marked by the times we live in. If you were fortunate enough to have a car or truck, the ability to care for it was important. The place and things required to do that was valuable. I grew up reading Popular Science and Gus Wilson, the fictional proprietor of The Model Garage was a hero.

I was able to understand and repair my first car. Modern cars are beyond the abilities of the average High School graduate and most college grads. Modern cars are superior to the old ones and they require modern methods and equipment. The world has changed and my skills and abilities are, to be honest, as archaic as the Iron Lung.

So there is no doubt that garage workshops are now regarded to be as necessary as servants quarters, no longer needed by the majority. I hope to live long enough to find someone who will appreciate what I have accumulated in mine.

 

[zmotorsports]

I guess houses are mostly for women and they're the ones doing the buying. A woman could care about the shop, but they usually don't.

I think I got one that cares about the shop. My wife and I had waffled for about 3 years going back and forth about moving but I didn't want to go back into debt on another mortgage as ours was paid off. So instead I just bitched and moaned about how bad the neighborhood was going down the toilet.

One day she came home to find the neighbor kids climbing on the back of our coach and she freaked out and said "that's it, we're moving" and I didn't argue. When I started getting quotes to build a pole building she stopped me and said she didn't want a pole building, she wanted a stick & brick shop that looks just like the house and big enough for me to have the room to work that I've wanted and large enough to park our RV in it.

When we started looking at houses she was looking at older homes and much like we had before but with a larger lot so we could build the big shop. I was the one that put my foot down and said I wanted her to have a nice newer home with all of the amenities. Our real estate friend jokingly told me that is what the wife usually says. I wasn't sure how to take that.

 

[Jazz1]

I couldn't find a house with a decent garage and it slowed our search for new digs, wife sold me on current house with the reasoning that I could build one as big as I wanted, and so I did.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

If garage lust is dead - then this is the perfect time for me to look for a new house. I guess I can hope that I find something that no one else wants.
Thanks for the tip.

 

[ncfireman1918]

Yep. It's dead. People want open concept houses and rainfall showers big enough to wash a buffalo. I work with several younger people and they don't have the desire to work on anything or create something. They consider planting a bush and spreading mulch around a major home improvement project.

Hey now... I’m under 40 (hanging on to that description for another 1.5 years), so I’m not THAT old. We built a 3400 sq ft house 10 years ago. Open floor plan, rainfall shower big enough to wash a small buffalo, and I just finished up a 1200 sq ft detached shop with a lift. They aren’t mutually exclusive. That being said, I don’t know too many people in my age range that actually know how to turn a wrench, so there’s that!

 

[CTyankee]

Most people I know would like nothing more than at least a 2 car garage..even with no intentions of working on their vehicles IF it were attached to the house.. Just the added protection from the elements in any area of the country seems like a no-brainer to me. As to a full blown mini-shop that's where the personal preference/want is going to be on an individual basis, just like what color walls you want. That said, any free standing structure IMO isn't going to raise too much excitement unless would-be buyers have a specific usage in mind. Around here, lots would only look at them as an added tax burden. YMMV.

 

[thammel]

I'm with you all....I built my garage for me and my buddies. As to the younger generation, i.e., my 40 ish young daughters....they all live in a city. I would absolutely hate that. Now they are paying the price....stuck in a condo and really can't go outside at all. I can go out and walk my property, take 3 mile walks on the deserted rural roads....it's great. My ideal would be to have 100+ acres and be located smack dab in the middle of it. I love the peace and quiet and green grass and fields and trees and streams,etc. I never wanted to live in a city. Oh well, de gustibus non disputandum. Latin for "to each his own".

 

[Bessy]

The problem is "who can work on todays cars?" Most people just take them to a repair shop/dealer.

This.
I have had this on the mind for many years. My first car was an '02 Accord, it was the last vehicle that I've ever owned that I felt comfortable tackling anything more than routine maintenance on. It makes me wonder whether the "spend on experiences as opposed to things" logic, maybe holds some water. How often am I really going to use a shop full of tools once life takes over?

At the same time, I lust for a shop of my own, so I strongly believe that there is a niche out there. Granted it may be a smaller part of the population, there will always be people who like to work with their hands on stuff.

Despite all of that, I don't see myself ever settling for a place that doesn't have a shop or the space to build one, so I'd definitely be on the list of potential buyers for a place with a nice workshop/garage.

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[finn]

After I am gone, I fully expect my kids to sell my shop to someone who wants to store eight or ten RVs, Boats, or trailers in a heated building for the winter. Heated storage is at a premium per the people in the business I have talked to.

Most of the younger guys in the area don’t have money to purchase or pay taxes on a shop, let alone heat it for personal use, and its location isn’t suitable for a commercial business, being …~10 miles from town, on a dead end road, with virtually no drive by traffic.

The locals with money are generally professions from the local hospitals, banks, university professors, and possibly business owners, very few of whom would have any interest in owning a large shop.

Many of the younger guys that are interested in this type hobby already have access to lifts and shops at their places of employment.

 

[Stuart in MN]

A number of people have talked about how in the old days everyone fixed their own cars, and how the younger generation isn't interested...

There were plenty of people back in those old days who took their car to the repair shop, otherwise there wouldn't have been a repair shop on every corner. Those who did their own repairs seldom if ever had anything approaching today's dream garage; they were most likely working under a tree in the back yard, or if they were lucky in an unheated single car garage. Chances are all their tools fit in an old surplus ammo can.

 

[shaune]

I will probably repeat everything that has been posted in previous pages but I agree with all previous, they are like pools, ya gotta have a want. With late model vehicles, yes...few can work on them at home. The old car hobby might be a dying hobby driving the need for our dream shops. My youngest daughter has a desire to turn my garage into a music studio, jam place. I guess you market the out building with a more open mind. Yoga studio, art center, music studio, adult activity dungeon .

 

[nautique1228]

Very interesting thread. I’ll share my experience, I bought my first house at 22 in 2008. I shopped for months looking for something with a big garage or shop. I found one a decent way out in the country on 2.5 acres. It was a crappy old country home with an oddball layout. But the shop... 40x50 full insulated, radiant floor heat, 200A service, pad poured for a lift. I loved it. It had sat on the market for a year, and I got it for 25k under asking. Now this was 2008 and the housing market was trash. But I was a buyer in the right market. Fast forward to 2018. Married with a kid on the way. I knew this wasn’t our forever home, but I loved the shop and kind of planned to rent it out if we found a new house, and still use the shop. We found the house we wanted in a neighborhood about 15min away. Bought it and moved in. Owning 2 houses become such a burden, especially with a newborn. Started to remodel it and found a renter that would be ready in a few months. Well Im that time an old family friends youngest brother was looking for a place and it all worked out I sold it to him. Its a great starter house for him, and it reminds me a lot of myself. But I knew the market would be small for a house like that so when the offer came I had to take it.

I think location is key in the situation. I also agree the younger generation is less hands on but I also think that jobs/interest are cyclical. What did all of our (millennial) parents teach us. Go to college get a good job. White collar jobs pay better, blue collar isn’t good. As the student loan/debt “crisis” continues to get worse, the demand, and incidentally the pay, will cause more people will get blue collar jobs. We’ll teach our kids get get an affordable degree
Or ones the have good “ROI”.

My dad and I are currently building another shop closer to home. It’s on one acre that we convinced someone to sell to us off the back of their property. It won’t have any effect on our home value and we can also pick up and move with out worrying about it. At this point I’m looking at it as an “expense” not an asset. Hopefully I can do enough side work out of it to pay for it. And if we ever go to sell it, it’s only a shop. So only people that want a shop will be looking at it.

 

[Steevo]

My workshop is MY WORKSHOP, and it is of no concern to me or my spouse whether we (or she) ever recover any of the cost of building it, operating it, or maintaining it, or what the next owner might store inside it. They can raise pigs in there, grow pot in there, keep their umpteen dozen children in there, I really don't care. The value of it is in my time of using it.

It has surely been a blessing now that we are sheltered at home, and our only time apart is when I am in the shop. Curiously, I get far fewer drop-in visits from the dear wife these days . . .

I consider the cost to have been an investment in my sanity, and in the health of my marriage, as both are better off when I have space to do my thing, and she has time alone in the (her) house.

 

[Kev442]

Designed my own house as there would never be one for sale like it. Wife got a zillion feet of kitchen cabinet and pantry, I got a 5 stall garage with a staircase to the attic and the basement.
After 25 years it is not the modern style, but I don't care if it sells for $1 more than I paid to build it at this point.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

If I was to parse and pick my favorite quote from this thread, it comes from bdbecker:
"The other thing I'd point out is that GJ guys are not exactly normal..."

.
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I had the same feeling when I read that. It really resonated with me.
And my family knows that I am not normal.

 

[Matt M PA]

I think it has everything to do with younger folks not wanting to do "garage stuff". So a nice garage is simply wasted space in their minds.

I have two BILs. Both younger than I, but one is always working in the garage...and the other is oblivious.

The younger had a tail light out on his car. He brought it over and I fixed it. He had no interest in learning how or why....just wanted it fixed. My MIL wants him to learn...but he's just not interested.

Last week, their lawn mower wouldn't work. At some point, my older BIL decided it needed a new starter. The younger had no idea how to find the model number, etc of the mower. I looked it up for him. When it arrives, I'm sure I'll have to install it.

He once told me that he doesn't need to know how things work...or how to repair them as he can always look on YouTube.

 

[Bolson32]

Saying it's dead assumes it was alive at some point. Big dream garages have always been a niche market.

Yup. This.

All of the boomers in here yearning for the days of old when apparently everyone wanted to do all of their own car work is comical. Things change but generations are mostly the same. I know plenty of older generations that can barely manage to hook up a TV or change a faucet. Some people like to do their own ****, most don't.

As for cars... Yes that has absolutely changed. You save what... $10 changing your own oil, IF that. Why Bother. I drive newer vehicles but I have a garage because I do all of my home care. Fix my furnace, replace windows, work on my tractor, etc.

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[gtsgarage]

I’ve been looking at vacation homes with large garages and while I love garages and have a three car at home the prices for homes with big garages are just too high. I value it but not what the sellers are asking.

So those homes sit on the market.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

It goes in phases.......

I have the biggest garage in the neighborhood. I didn't do it for re-sale....I did it for me....good chance one of our kids will take over the house....they are not into wood working yet....but cars have potential....

If I ever do sale the house....I have no doubt it will be a very short list of truly interested buyers.

Kind of in the same boat. I didn’t do it for resale either. I always joke with my 2 daughters and their spouses. One can have the house and the other can have the lake property. My one daughter is a craft and carpentry kind of kid and will be using the my garage for projects. The other one lives in close proximity to the lake and totally enjoys the cabin. I’m guessing probably at least 10 years down the road before we go condo shopping. Then I can be the guest user at both the lake and in my garage.

 

[48windsor]

An observation on pools that may be appropriate. Having lived in PHX with all that heat, every house had a pool. Every buyer expected the pool. So in practice, the pool did not add value in terms of dollars to sale price; but without the pool, the house set on the market longer, often then resulting in a price drop. If the neighborhood was a planned community with 3-4 models essentially each one the same, the pool-less home was the last to sell.

I found it to be two types there was no in between of homeowners either you wanted a pool or you didnt .

 

[gtsgarage]

My workshop is MY WORKSHOP, and it is of no concern to me or my spouse whether we (or she) ever recover any of the cost of building it, operating it, or maintaining it, or what the next owner might store inside it. They can raise pigs in there, grow pot in there, keep their umpteen dozen children in there, I really don't care. The value of it is in my time of using it.

It has surely been a blessing now that we are sheltered at home, and our only time apart is when I am in the shop. Curiously, I get far fewer drop-in visits from the dear wife these days . . .

I consider the cost to have been an investment in my sanity, and in the health of my marriage, as both are better off when I have space to do my thing, and she has time alone in the (her) house.

Sounds like it works!

 

[48windsor]

My workshop is MY WORKSHOP, and it is of no concern to me or my spouse whether we (or she) ever recover any of the cost of building it, operating it, or maintaining it, or what the next owner might store inside it. They can raise pigs in there, grow pot in there, keep their umpteen dozen children in there, I really don't care. The value of it is in my time of using it.

It has surely been a blessing now that we are sheltered at home, and our only time apart is when I am in the shop. Curiously, I get far fewer drop-in visits from the dear wife these days . . .

I consider the cost to have been an investment in my sanity, and in the health of my marriage, as both are better off when I have space to do my thing, and she has time alone in the (her) house.

Well spoken !

 

[ddawg16]

I've been thinking about this thread now for a couple of days.

Lots of good points raised.

I originally found GJ during my garage build and I was considering garage floor options.
This site saved me a lot of money and stress. I wanted epoxy....and right now, epoxy was not my ideal way to go.

Please don't take this the wrong way....but...I love you guys. With a few exceptions, the guys here are what makes this world great (we have a lot of members from other countries...Tatra...Nix...exct....)

Is the 'lust' being lost? No....just different.

Yes, it's more difficult to work on new cars. But there are plenty of people out there who have older cars....and many who like make mild BOB (Bolt On Bling) mods....garages make it easier. And as some of our millennials will start to get old and realize they need hobbies...like wood working, metal working...and cars.

We are going to be ok.....it's just another cycle.....

Imagine what the blacksmith thinks.....

 

[ZRX61]

.
.
I had the same feeling when I read that. It really resonated with me.
And my family knows that I am not normal.

NFGJ....




Normal For Garage Journal..

 

[egdede]

Gotta admit, I gave up the garage. It's a 1 car, but I gave it up so my wife could feel safe when she parks.

But, when we need foundation work, she OK'd doubling the budget to turn a 100 square foot utility space into a 350' basement workshop.

To the point, I am envious of most any garage.

 

[fanders]

It's interesting to read here that 'garage lust' might be a generational thing. You hear a lot about mental health problems with young people, anxiety etc. For me, time in the workshop or garage is very calming, I can truly relax and lose myself in a project or shop upgrade (but it helps to have a unified, well-organised workspace rather than piles of **** everywhere). Jack Olsen mentions this in his 12-Gauge Garage video at 08:50 here

.

Maybe the younger generation could learn to embrace working with their hands, producing actual things (which are sometimes even useful!) rather than spending all day looking at their phone, and would reap the mental health rewards of doing so. I hope some of them make/get the chance to learn this way of living.

 

[junkyardwarrior]

depends on locale

I've had at least 6 people (no seriously) ask to buy my place in the last year. My best friend is a real estate agent and said you need to be looking for another place right now, buy, and THEN put your place on the market.

Similar places have been selling SAME DAY and MORE than asking price in this area. Buyers are making stupid offers because of supply vs demand. Seems everyone wants to move to this area (outside town but close enough to be very convenient).

House down the road went on the market Feb 15th for $185,900 and sold within hours for $192,000. Shop and all.

 

[zak77]

That's odd, i'm seeing an uptick in new garages/shops around this area. A lot of them are basic stick framed with truss roofs and metal skin on the walls and roof. They're not that expensive but it's the prep and concrete work that adds up quick. The absolute best bang for your buck is a 2 car attached garage/shop or if have a garage and need more space, add-on vs building new.

 

[Showkey]

depends on locale

I've had at least 6 people (no seriously) ask to buy my place in the last year. My best friend is a real estate agent and said you need to be looking for another place right now, buy, and THEN put your place on the market.

Similar places have been selling SAME DAY and MORE than asking price in this area. Buyers are making stupid offers because of supply vs demand. Seems everyone wants to move to this area (outside town but close enough to be very convenient).

House down the road went on the market Feb 15th for $185,900 and sold within hours for $192,000. Shop and all.

I would say the same here.........
Supply low and demand high, selling in days is still common even today.
Three Car attached garage is the norm.
30-40% of the property’s have some sort of outbuilding/garage/shop. Maybe not full blown shops but “toy storage” is very very common. Wide variety based on location, many extra garages that look like the home. Metal building more common farther out from town with relaxed zoning or requirements.

 

[DFB]

Me being in New England and us having crummy weather close to 6 months a year I see a lot of old barns and other buildings being used for toy storage around here. Rental space.


Some one earlier mentioned the added increase in property tax with extra buildings. Ya that stuff is rampant here

 

[orangeblood]

... to make sure they don't put any of the valued belongings in a yard sale or estate sale.

Good luck. They have to do something our stuff and if you're like me (no one cares about your tools and car, let alone the tools you've managed to keep from your dad AND grand dad) your wife's garage sale will hopefully be visited by guys reading this thread.

BTW - like your avatar. I have a 69 firebird I have owned for 47 years

 

[bmes1982]

I built a large attached garage (1,700 sq. ft.) and it's L-shaped, so I have a back corner that is 22'x24' where I don't park anything. I used it for wood working, wrenching on toys, etc. I also put a patio door onto a back patio, hung a tv in the corner and finished the walls with tongue and groove pine.

If I were ever to sell, I would remove my work bench and put a large bar in this area. While I enjoy working on my own things, I don't think a lot of people want to do this. I see myself getting a lot more value out of it being set up as an entertaining space. It's heated and it can be treated as an extension of the house, without paying the taxes of adding sq. ft. to the house. When I added the garage my assessed value sent up about $2,000, which added about $100/year to my taxes. If I had added that as living space, I know I'd be paying a lot more in taxes for it.

 

[larry_g]

My wife and I plan on living here until we croak and my son and his wife will take it over after that because he wants the tools and will use them but won't have anywhere else to store them if not in my shop.

This is a wonderful idea but Not to real in my opinion. When you croak, with luck the tools will be worn out and your son is retired at the time already owning his own shop & home that will put yours to shame. I am one of three kids, the youngest. My father near the end of his life was living with us and I was retired at the time as were my siblings. We all had successful lives and to many possessions already. We had no room for the possessions the folks left behind.

And I believe that is the way it should be. We launch our children into life with good values, education and we watch them soar.


AS for this topic here. It's like a drunk asking for help in sobering up at the local tavern.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Patrobot]

I feel that while things tend to happen in cycles there is by no means any rigid law mandating it. My observations have led me to believe the world population is in a great funk, an epic spans of nothing special many decades long that has led to global ennui. Having grown up in the 70s,80s &90s when something momentous or historic was happening every 2 years or so I have found the last 20 years to be unbelievably uneventful. The result, boring people living gray, boring lives addicted to LCD screens that placate them 24 hours a day.