Parking Collector cars with Daily Drivers

[BBIGG BLOCK 396]

You are getting some great ideas.I think you will be able to come up with a good solution from all the ideas.I am fortunate to have had plenty of space due to the fact I live slightly in the country.I had a 22X42 detached garage but it is pretty old and not what I needed to keep the finished cars in.so my GREAT Son in law that he is built me a really nice 24X40 all metal fully insulated building next to the garage.Now I wish I had designed it even larger than I originaly did.He also added a 24X24 carport on the front which is great to park the everyday drivers under.Now I just use the old garage for working on the as the wife calls it "JUNK CAR'S".She has not grasped the concept of CLASSIC CAR'S YET!But like most women, she will one day come around to my way of thinking hopefully!In all honesty I have one of the sweetest and most understanding Women in the world as my Wife and Partner.If not for her there is no telling where I would be.Probably living under a bridge or maybe a tent somewhere.I have always believed the saying it takes a Wonderful Woman to bring out the best in a Man.Keep getting ideas on the design of the garage and you and the wife pick the one that best fit's your needs but keep the need to expand in the future in mind.

Bobby Dodson

[Supergas990]

Zedder,

The timing for this discussion couldn't be better for me. When my wife and I bought our current home 6 years ago I thought that moving from a 1 car detached to a 3 1/2 attached would be all I ever needed.

Then we started accumulating lawn tractors, snowblowers, tillers, etc... Now my garage floor looks more like a collection point for leaves, grass and dirt than a quality garage/workshop.

This morning the excavator showed up and started digging for our new 30'x40.5' workshop. The new deal will give my wife and kids the current garage for everything that collects dirt and the new facility for the collectibles. Yes, Listening to alot of you guys has inspired us to build it with 10' inside walls so we can accommodate a lift.

We live in one of those "deed restricted" (anal retentive) subdivisions, so the planning,lobbying and approvals have taken about 8 months to get wrapped up. But, I'm sure it will all be worth while in the end.

Build it is large as you can tastefully can and you will be in good shape. Adding hydronic heat in the floor may also be a plus since you're blessed with fine northern weather like myself.

Good luck!

Blair

[Pantera]

I was out in a nice neighborhood and saw three houses that are a good example of what I was trying to convey to you about the two different size doors and took these pic's for you to think about. If you use the smaller door for your collector cars and make it deep and about 16' wide you could have more room with out making the place look too bad from the front.

Pic 1 of 3

[Pantera]

2 of 3

[Pantera]

3 of 3. I like this one the best. But you may not like any of them. Hope this puts you to thinking about what you could do and get away with. Remember! Garage space is nowhere near as expensive as living space and if you do it from the start you just might get a real deal on the whole thing.

[Mr70]

Alright Larry,how did you get those Pictures?
Didn't the restraining orders specifically state 1000ft.?

[ssl78]

Mark, last year I built a attached 36x46 garage, its true they are never big enough so no matter how big you build it if you are a true gear head there isnt enough room. In the summer only my muscle cars in the garage but in the winter I have to jamm them in there so we can put our two every day cars in . I hate scraping windows and getting in a cold car the only person that hates it more is my wife if you know what I mean. I havent noticed any problem with moisture I keep the garage heated to 65 all winter.

[Pantera]

I measured carefully! Honest I did.

Now how many times does it take to make up 1,000 ft using a 25 ft tape?

Actually on pic two a lady came out to the mail box and I rolled down the window and asked her if they were seperate or connected inside and she was happy to explain that they were seperate and she liked them that way.

If a guy had a narrow lot you could use the smaller one to go deeper than just for one car on one side of the house and park 3 or even 4 cars end to end and still not have a problem with the neighbors. I would bet that it would resell better that way too. It would be a great idea to use it on the north side of the house as a buffer to hold down cold north winds in the winter. You would not have to heat that area as warm as the rest of the house and having a dead air space like that will help on the heating bills.

I remember living in a house with the garage on the north and it sure made the house warmer in the winter.
The house I live in now, had the original two car garage O/H door closed in and they made a clubroom out of it and went behind the back wall of the room and built a two car garage 24x32 on a lower level with a staircase walking down into it from the room above.

Of course I am on a wide, almost 1 acre lot on the crest of a hill too, so there was lots of room to run the driveway down to the back of the lot.

Now I am working on plans to build a 4,000 sf two story addition on the back next to the existing two car garage.

I plan on using a metal building contractor to do it and then have it finished on the outside in rock to match the rest of the house. Termites are a real pain in this part of the woods that I live in.

[Zedder]

Thanks for all of the replies guys...I'm taking all suggestions into consideration. Pantera: Thanks for taking the time to take those pics - that was extremely nice of you. Yes, that set-up is pretty popular here also and it is one that we are looking at. Like SSL78 said though, the trick is making sure the garage doesn't look bigger than the house! Nice job on your garage John. I had that same idea of making part of the garage look like the house and parking the cars sideways. Your tree does a great job of hiding that part of the building nicely

[mhassett]

Mark, Hi, here is a little story on my garage. When we were buying our Home we had our Realtor/Buyer Broker put in our offer that we had to have some land behind the house included. Thank GOD that we did make that deal as that is why we are Fortunate to have the big garage in back of my house. It is a Nice Looking garage with a couple of skylights and some brick work. Mark another thing is the Car Capsules, I have them and they work well. Good Luck with your Garage Project, alot of good ideas here. Everything takes ALOT of Time and MONEY, this summer my project is to tile the garage floor.
Take care, Mark