New construction. Need reassurances that this 16' door will work.

[Rocket254]

Hi all,

I have a new construction build starting to take shape. The plans are signed, the lot prepped, and the reinforced areas of the slab have already been poured. Last night, I got hit with a wave of doubt about my garage door choices. The plans spec an 18x8 door on the front entry and a 16x8 door on the side entry (due to wall limitations). My plan for the garage was to park my wife's '17 RAV4 and a late model Camry in the side load while leaving the front facing garage as the toy barn for my Viper and toolboxes, TV, etc. with plenty of walkaround space.

Now, I'm worried about the logistics of that plan after reading people's experiences with 16' doors. My current and only house so far has an 18' door so I've been spoiled and now I feel like the 16' will turn the side entry garage into a sardine can. I really see my options as:

1) Flip the toy and DD garages. Bleh...
2) Angle the left vehicle (Camry) into the storage area in the side entry garage. (We often ride to work together so the right car can easily hug the wall and sit there for a while)
3) Go back to the builder and see if a custom 17x8 door is an option.
4) Try to widen that garage just enough to accommodate an 18' door. (See pictures of current progress. Likely too late?)

Anyways, that's the dilemma. Someone please help me not worry about this for the rest of the construction. Thanks...

Plans


The Driveway



Current state of the lot

 

[BillK]

I park my Tahoe and my Wife's 84 Riviera in our attached garage that has a 16ft door. Both of those are a lot bigger than your cars. Its a little tight but not really an issue. If I had a choice an 18 ft door would be nice but they were really not a thing when our house was build in 1978. If you park the Camry on the left you will have plenty of room to open the door so it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[M.Wong]

For two passenger cars I would say 16' works fine, especially if you don't have to store things on the sides. Since your garage is wide, I'm guessing it won't feel cramped, which should make the 16' not feel restrictive.

Here, the blue car doesn't go out often so it's parked close to the wall, giving my wife more room to maneuver the white car. Note the driveway seam isn't the middle of the doorway, the piece of blue tape is the 8' mark.

I have a hammer-head driveway, even backing the white car in while turning isn't a problem.

 

[carlaisle]

I would worry less about the doors and more about the depth of the garages. 21'8" and 24'7" are both shallower than I would ever build a garage.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I think the bigger issue is if there's adequate space in the driveway for making the turn into (and out of) the side facing garage. Once you have a car turned so it's facing straight into the garage, the door width won't be a big deal.

 

[larry4406]

I think the bigger issue is if there's adequate space in the driveway for making the turn into (and out of) the side facing garage. Once you have a car turned so it's facing straight into the garage, the door width won't be a big deal.

This

For a side load garage, you will want to have a minimum of a 30' turn radius and your driveway is listed as 31'. If there is anyway to widen or **** the driveway to the left side I would encourage you to do so.

When our civil engineers site side load garage homes on parcels of land, they always target a minimum of 30'. Anything less, and depending on vehicle type, you will be doing the multipoint turn thing hating life with every entry and exit.

 

[M.Wong]

...they always target a minimum of 30'. Anything less, and depending on vehicle type, you will be doing the multipoint turn thing hating life with every entry and exit.

30 sounds like a good standard, we have maybe 26... the white car is small enough (and my wife is skilled enough) that it's not bad, but a bigger car wouldn't make it in one shot. The blue car, on the other hand, gets backed all the way down the driveway.

 

[Rocket254]

For two passenger cars I would say 16' works fine, especially if you don't have to store things on the sides. Since your garage is wide, I'm guessing it won't feel cramped, which should make the 16' not feel restrictive.

Here, the blue car doesn't go out often so it's parked close to the wall, giving my wife more room to maneuver the white car. Note the driveway seam isn't the middle of the doorway, the piece of blue tape is the 8' mark.

I have a hammer-head driveway, even backing the white car in while turning isn't a problem.

Thank you for the pictures. That certainly helps to visualize the space I'll be working. You also made a good point with the extra width I'll be working w/ allowing for an angled approach if needed w/ the left car.

 

[Rocket254]

This

For a side load garage, you will want to have a minimum of a 30' turn radius and your driveway is listed as 31'. If there is anyway to widen or **** the driveway to the left side I would encourage you to do so.

When our civil engineers site side load garage homes on parcels of land, they always target a minimum of 30'. Anything less, and depending on vehicle type, you will be doing the multipoint turn thing hating life with every entry and exit.

Here is a full view of the lot footprint. It looks like I can get ~3' before I'm up against the U&D easement. (w/ a fringe benefit of provided more space at the street to take an angled approach up the ramp since the Viper is lowered). At 34', do you feel like that will be adequate turn space for the side garage and enough to make the 16' door less of a challenge?

I'm considering at least asking if a 17' would fit there. That would require a change order at this point. I'd love to add just enough width to the garage to support an 18' but I'd imagine that cost would be immense at this point considering the work done on the lot so far.

 

[larry4406]

Here is a full view of the lot footprint. It looks like I can get ~3' before I'm up against the U&D easement. (w/ a fringe benefit of provided more space at the street to take an angled approach up the ramp since the Viper is lowered). At 34', do you feel like that will be adequate turn space for the side garage and enough to make the 16' door less of a challenge?

I'm considering at least asking if a 17' would fit there. That would require a change order at this point. I'd love to add just enough width to the garage to support an 18' but I'd imagine that cost would be immense at this point considering the work done on the lot so far.

I would think at 34' you would be fine.

 

[Rocket254]

I would think at 34' you would be fine.

I appreciate the help. First time I've had anything built and I really didn't have any guidance when modifying the base floor plan.

 

[CraigStu]

You will be fine. Your wife can pull into the left side of the DD garage and aim the car at the sink in the upper right corner. It would be a bit of a pain if there were a wall there so the garage was 20ft wide but it is 29ft wide. W/ the Rav4 pulled in at an angle that also opens up lots of room for the driver door to open on the Camry is parked on the right side. I would rig a ball hanging on a string to hit the windshield as a guide so you can easily pull the Camry fully in. Our garage is similar in a way although flipped left to right w/ a 16ft door.

Her Mustang goes in the left side and I angle my Stingray into the right side. I come up the driveway aiming at her rear bumper and then turn right.

 

[rust in the eye]

I'd use the straight in garage for the dailys. Why torture yourself everyday with the maneuvers required for backing in (or out) of that spot? Perhaps increase the depth of the side garage if then wanting walk around space, Trench foundation is easy enough to alter.
I don't understand what problems are anticipated with a 16' door.

 

[racecougar]

Agreed with others above; a 16' door is less of a hindrance in these plans compared to the garage depth and size of the pad outside. The door width is just fine.

 

[housewolf]

Agreed with others above; a 16' door is less of a hindrance in these plans compared to the garage depth and size of the pad outside. The door width is just fine.

Agreed. I’m sure most of us have had to deal with a shallow garage at one time but if you’re building a home… why?

Our cars, not particularly large or small, are ~ 16’. That could leave 5’ in front of and 3’ behind. I suppose if I were going to keep nothing but two cars in the garage it would be “okay”

I have a truck that’s 20’+ and a boat (on a trailer) that’s close to 30’. The boat is very tight in a 32’ (2 - 10’ doors) garage.

 

[CraigStu]

Our boat stayed outside. I spent a long weekend the first year building a few supports hardtop to bow, hardtop to stern, etc. Each fall I used a 20x30ft heavy duty tarp and spent a bunch of time tying it to the trailer rails. Overlapped some of it to account for the high hardtop in the center and lower ends. Used 4 inch gorilla tape to seal the various triangle overlaps. Never a problem.

 

[SCMO]

A 16' will be too tight. Especially since the house corner prevents any creative use of angle pulling in/out. Your instincts are correct.

 

[racecougar]

A 16' will be too tight. Especially since the house corner prevents any creative use of angle pulling in/out. Your instincts are correct.

For a RAV4 and a Camry? I'd agree if we were talking about parking a brodozer in there with mirrors that stick out 2' on each side, but a 16' door is more than capable of passing a compact crossover and a sedan.



The layout will be more cumbersome than the door width.

 

[PoorUB]

I also would use the straight in door for daily drivers. That 90 degree turn is going to get old fast. Park the toys over there. If you had more room to the property line to back the car into, and turn and drive out it wouldn't be so bad.

As for the 16" door, I park a Ram pickup and my wife's 2006 Trailblazer in a garage with a 16" door. As long as every one plays nice, it works fine. My wife slowly works away from the door opening and takes up my space, but that isn't the door's problem!

 

[Rocket254]

I've read all of the feedback tonight. Thank you everyone for offering up help w/ the 16' door. It seems like the easiest path forward will be to add 3' to the driveway to maximize turn-in and then I should be ok.

As for the 21'+ garage depth, I worked with what I had. My wife and I put a ton of value on the location of this neighborhood and what it offers us that that matters more than garage space. I was fortunate enough to grab the widest lot available and that is the only reason I was able to extend the front facing garage to 24'. This is a semi-"custom" builder that owns all the lots on the street so I had to modify one of their existing plans. Looking at the roof lines and exterior dimensions from the garage straight back to the master bedroom, I'd imagine a depth increase wouldn't be in our budget. Maybe that 120x80 detached garage is in my future one day, but it won't be today so this is what I have to work with.

The entirety of the attic above the side load is being over-built for floored storage and I plan to have a shed in the backyard for yard tools. Between that and the wall space along entry door side of the garage, that is the best way I can maximize the available space.