What do you use your garage for?

irvine_home_owner_IHB

irvine_home_owner_IHB

New member
Okay... so it should be common knowledge that I think every big family house should have a 3-car wide garage. It's not really to park 3 cars in, but to have 1 extra for storage/workout/mother-in-law(heehee) and to have the extra driveway space to park extra vehicles on.



But what do most of you use your garages for anyways? I had one neighbor who NEVER parked their cars in their garage. For a while, it was just full of junk and later when they renovated it (put in built-ins and that grainy floor material), they still didn't park in it and ended up turning it into a rec room.



Do you park your cars in your garage? Do you use all of the available spaces (ie park 2 cars in a 2-car garage). I often find that many people don't actually use their garages exclusively for their cars and if you drive around your 'hood... you can see that by all the driveways with cars on them.



When we were shopping for new homes in Woodbury, a salesperson told us that most buyers prefer to turn that 3rd tandem garage space into the bedroom/den option. For me personally, I find that extra tandem space more useful instead of additional interior space for an already large home (most of these houses were 3200+ sft already).



So what do you use your garage for?
 
For my car. I hate it when people don't park their cars in their garage. I won't buy in a neighborhood where the street is lined with cars and garages are filled with crap. Pet peeve of mine.
 
Another reason to have a 3 car garage is to have a place for your kim chi fridge if your kitchen is not big enough to accomodate this essential, but large, appliance:



<img src="http://www.buhaykorea.com/files/PICT4125.JPG" alt="" />



<img src="http://www.lovethatkimchi.com/kimchi_refrigerator1.jpg" alt="" />
 
I have 2 fridges in my garage (not kimchee ones though).



But I still have both our cars parked in there too.



1. Keeps the cars protected from the weather.

2. Don't need to use windshield wipers for the morning dew.

3. Keeps the garage warmer.

4. If I forgot something in the car I can get it even if I'm in my under-roos (which goes back to #3).

5. Keeps my sidewalk and driveway clear (just in case T!m is a neighbor).



Just cleared out enough space from the move for the 2nd vehicle... much better know that both are in there.
 
Over in this part of town there are people living in garages. In fact I just saw a sign the other day, "se renta garage, $500/mo, no vices" (no drugs drinking, smoking)



We have an oversized two car garage that we would love to park in but the driveway is a single and very narrow. Combine that with the fact that there is a gate (not automatic) and the garage door is not electric and the motivation to park in there is nil. We don't have much closet space here so it's used for storage, hubby has his gym and the dryer is out there. It's a ton of open space. We've tossed around the idea of inquiring with the city to see if we could turn it into a casita.
 
Lots of open shelving along two walls with boxes in mine, along with a plethora of kids toys occupying half the garage floor. Another wall has a small workbench area, shelves for my tools, tool box, etc. We also kid a full-sized fridge for cold drinks and extra freezer space. We haven't parked a car in our garage for 4-5 years. Fortunately in our rental, the driveway is quite long, and it will accomodate four cars and the basketball hoop. We both park in the driveway and don't come anywhere near the sidewalk.



If we owned the place, I would probably plywood out a good portion of the attic and we'd store a bunch of stuff from the garage there and park one car inside. Since it is a rental, not going to bother.
 
I have a one car gargage, and my gf's bmw goes in there (she has twice as many turbos aaaand she gets the garage). One car garages are the worst invention evar, we have the end unit garage so it has an extra curb inside giving u even less door swing space.. THE BEST!!! One shelf in front of the car has all the surfboards/tools/suitcases/storage items.
 
That's another design flaw that I see in recent homes. Not only have builders ignored the garage space (other than trying to stick a tandem in some plans), but they've dramatically reduced the sizes of them. They must be using some industry minimum to spec out the dimensions. I think there were a few I saw that you couldn't even fit 2 larger cars in (well... you could but you wouldn't be able to open any doors... you would need to exit through a sunroof).



I remember there used to be a time when there were 2.5 garages or wider or longer ones that gave you ample room to put shelving, a work bench or to park bikes. Man... garages are so neglected nowadays.
 
Yeah... they could probably get rid of tandems if they just took half that space and either widened or lengthened the garage. You get more room on the inside and more room in the garage... win-win!
 
Once my company succumbs to this recession, my garage will probably look something like this:



<img src="http://www.itsyourtimes.com/files/indoorweed-dea.jpg" alt="" />
 
We have our two cars, three bikes, two garbage cans, camping grill, shoes, and a panel of cabinets full o'crap in our garage...And it's a horrid tandem garage. I am definitely one who likes to park in the garage vs. outside. I also inherited a propensity for keeping it REALLY clean from my parents. You could eat off the floor in their garage. they were latex coating their floors almost a decade before it became popular and they also park their cars in the garage (of course they keep old folded down boxes in the middle of the garage <em>just in case</em> one of the cars drips oil. Neurotic...I know.
 
I park my one car in the two car garage. The rest is filled up with trashcans, bikes, boxes (full and empty), tools, about 20 folding chairs for parties, and....I know I'm forgetting something...oh yeah! My Little Ponies!
 
[quote author="upperlowerclass" date=1232000841]I have a one car gargage, and my gf's bmw goes in there (she has twice as many turbos aaaand she gets the garage). One car garages are the worst invention evar, we have the end unit garage so it has an extra curb inside giving u even less door swing space.. THE BEST!!! One shelf in front of the car has all the surfboards/tools/suitcases/storage items.</blockquote>


IAC garage?
 
To park this:



<img src="http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:nn5Xpph-V3cH0M:http://www.bradfordwoodspa.org/images/firetruck1.jpg" alt="" />



or this:



<img src="http://www.balidiscovery.com/flights/images/jet_front.jpg" alt="" />
 
Man, oh man, the garage is my favorite part of the house. Let's see...2 cars (garage queen and project), washer/dryer, bike, 2 workbenches, 4 wirerack shelving units, parts bin rack, overhead shelving all around, 7000-lb bend-pak lift, 2 41" rollaways, drill press, some gardening tools, a lot of carpentry tools, a lot(!) of mechanics tools, lots(!!) of car parts, knick-knacks of all sorts, and far too many projects in work.

Unsurprising fact: The garage is the sole reason we bought the house; had a buddy of mine not seen it and told me about it I probably would not own a home.
 
Supposedly, I have a ?two? car garage. Is there a standard size for a 2-car garage ? Mine seems smaller than other neighborhood two car garages.



I park both of my cars in the garage for now. The moment I buy another bike, one of the cars will need to get parked outside. I am one of the only persons on my street that keeps his cars in the garage or in the driveway. My street has families with kids that drive cars and they use the street to park cars. Weekends are like a parking lot.
 
I was at No_Vas' place last week...

It seems the remote was out.

He keeps his available for friendly neighborhood poker nights

with a couple thousand of his closest friends.



<img src="http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/CA/Tustin_CA_Hangar2.jpg" alt="" />
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1232012297]I was at No_Vas' place last week...

It seems the remote was out.

He keeps his available for friendly neighborhood poker nights

with a couple thousand of his closest friends.



<img src="http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/CA/Tustin_CA_Hangar2.jpg" alt="" /></blockquote>
I thought that was bk's garage... it will fit both a fire engine and a plane.



I can see that as no_vas's though... is there a recording studio in the back?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top