I'm getting increasingly frustrated by seeing (modern) properties for sale which we rule out purely because the garage is too small. Don't builders realise that some people want a garage to keep their car in and not just to use as a general junk store? Most garages are barely big enough to get a small family-size car in and even then it's a struggle to get out of the car. And it's a real pain trying to manoeuvre the door mirrors through a 7 ft wide door which is what most garages have. Don't builders research what people need?
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L\'escargot.
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Garages have remained the same size. Cars have got much bigger.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Don't builders research what people need? --
No, they don't - they research how many shoebox-sized properties they can cram onto a plot of land and then sell for telephone numbers, in order to wring maximum profit from the whole enterprise.
Recently Mrs B and I went to look at some new-build properties about 3 miles from where we live. If the rest of the world could be said to be OO-scale, these houses (and the street in which they were) had all been built to HO-scale. Prices started at about £230k for a 2-bed semi about the size of a gerbil cage.
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To add to the size confusion I understand that show houses sometimes have under size furniture in them and that doors are removed to create a further illusion of 'space'!
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Yes my parents house built in the 70's has a adequete size garage to comfortably fit a meduim size car in, these days its all about sqeezing as many houses into a plot of land as possible, therefore garage space is compromised - large (proper size) garages are not a option.
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New houses often have "utility garages" - not big enough for a medium sized car but useful for storage etc.
Youngest son's house has a garage that will take a new mini (just if you fold in the mirrors) but getting out of the car is troublesome.
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Nowt to do with builders & everything to do with local councils & planning permission that forces up the number of houses in a given space based on a goverment directive.
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> Nowt to do with builders
Everything to do with builders, IMHO. I rented a four bed house - joke - the fourth bedroom was only big enough for a child's cot plus small changing chest. The third was long and thin, the second almost OK til you tried getting a wardrobe in due the the encroaching eves, and the main room almost acceptable. Asked the estate agent and he told me that four bedrooms was then worth about £30k more (probably double or more now).
Still, the garage was a decent size.......
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My parents have recently had a double garage built in Germany. The openings for each door are over 8 foot and the interior width available for each car is over 11 foot.
It can be done, but then probably has to be legislated.
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:: ;- ::
tvm - you may change your loyalty to car makers, but at least your replies are consistent in other areas:
this is what you said above:Small garages - TVM Mon 16 Apr 07 08:33 Garages have remained the same size. Cars have got much bigger.
and this is what you said to l'escargot some months ago:Garage sizes - TVM Sat 13 Aug 05 14:38 Cars have been increasing in size over a large number of years. Garages have not.
:: ;- ::
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I think many people would rather give up an area of garden space and have a garage 2 feet wider, into which they can actually get a car!
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My "double" garage, on a late 70s built house, has a door on 12 feet wide, total garage width is only 14 feet. Just as well I only keep the kids' bikes and my model railway in there. I shudder to think how much a replacement door would cost, as 14 feet seems to be the de facto standard size.
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Three things to do in any show house:
1) Lie on the bed. The "double bed" in the master room is often 5ft6 long and 4ft wide.
2) Measure the garage, the wall against which you'll put the sofa, and any other space that's important to you. No room is as big as the seller is trying to make it look.
3) Look for the TV point, phone socket, and electrical outlets. They're usually where its easiest to put them, not where it makes sense.
What surprises me is how little attention most buyers pay to these things. And until they do, the average developer won't pay extra to build a garage that fits an average-sized 2007 car inside it!
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"Don't builders realise that some people want a garage to keep their car in and not just to use as a general junk store? "
I'm afraid that you are probably in the minority in wanting to garage your car. On a practical basis most people's cars are used fairly frequently and its a pain driving in and out of a garage. Besides which unless you are concerned about security garaging a car has few benefits. Most people don't actully want a garage to put a car in. What they wants is some sort of storage/utility area plus some off road parking for a couple of cars. Very few people in my experience actually put their car in a garage, even those who claim to so for Insurance purposes: I know I don't .
What puzzles me is why don't builders stop claiming these outbuidlings are garages and design them for the purposes for which they will be used. Get rid of the up and over doors for one thing and ensure that there is some natural lighting with adequate electrics. A sink for washing out those paintbrushes etc. would be useful rather than having to use the kitchen.
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