Can't get two cars in the garage!!

[rharse]

I agree with Volvo Nut (and others) that the garage seems to be too small. I just moved into the a Parkdale home with a two car garage (two garage doors also). I have an Audi A4 that fits with no problem but my Toyota Sienna barely makes it in. We have about 1 inch on either side of the car (mirrors on both sides). With two kids (19 months and 2 months), we'd like to get the Toyota in the garage to load and unload the kids. However, that's tricky.

So, has anyone either:
1) added width to the garage? This might be difficult due to the foundation but. . .
2) taken out the middle 'column' and installed the single, two-car garage door. This would be easier but I'm not sure if the middle column is required for structural support.

Ideas? Thoughts? It's frustrating to pay so much for a house and not be able to fully use the garage!

[neilz]

quote:Originally posted by rharse

I agree with Volvo Nut (and others) that the garage seems to be too small. I just moved into the a Parkdale home with a two car garage (two garage doors also). I have an Audi A4 that fits with no problem but my Toyota Sienna barely makes it in. We have about 1 inch on either side of the car (mirrors on both sides). With two kids (19 months and 2 months), we'd like to get the Toyota in the garage to load and unload the kids. However, that's tricky.

So, has anyone either:
1) added width to the garage? This might be difficult due to the foundation but. . .
2) taken out the middle 'column' and installed the single, two-car garage door. This would be easier but I'm not sure if the middle column is required for structural support.

Ideas? Thoughts? It's frustrating to pay so much for a house and not be able to fully use the garage!


There have been some garages widened ... however most people have problems with the fact that they're not deep enough.

The middle column may or may not be structural, depends on the model. However, what I would do is find a similar model being built, and check the garage woodwork to see if it is required to hold up the second floor. If so, you're talking big bucks putting in either a steel beam, or manufactured wood beam to replace that structure.

FWIW ... none of the houses being built as '2 car garages' can actually fit two medium size cars. That said, my garage can hold my car and my wifes, with plenty of room to spare. She owns a Subaru Outback 4 door, I own a two door Mini Cooper S !!



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

[boomertsfx]

Gotta love builders!

[TigerFan]

quote:Originally posted by rharse

2) taken out the middle 'column' and installed the single, two-car garage door. This would be easier but I'm not sure if the middle column is required for structural support.


Has anyone gotten an estimate for this job, making a 2-door garage into a 1-door garage?? Or, anyone have any referrals for contractors that could do this job?? Thanks

[vacliff]

Hey Neil-
You can fit four of them things in a garage, can't you?

[neilz]

quote:Originally posted by vacliff

Hey Neil-
You can fit four of them things in a garage, can't you?


Sideways too !![:p]

Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

[hflinch]

quote:Originally posted by rharse

I agree with Volvo Nut (and others) that the garage seems to be too small. I just moved into the a Parkdale home with a two car garage (two garage doors also). I have an Audi A4 that fits with no problem but my Toyota Sienna barely makes it in. We have about 1 inch on either side of the car (mirrors on both sides). With two kids (19 months and 2 months), we'd like to get the Toyota in the garage to load and unload the kids. However, that's tricky.

So, has anyone either:
1) added width to the garage? This might be difficult due to the foundation but. . .
2) taken out the middle 'column' and installed the single, two-car garage door. This would be easier but I'm not sure if the middle column is required for structural support.

Ideas? Thoughts? It's frustrating to pay so much for a house and not be able to fully use the garage!

[hflinch]

quote:Originally posted by rharse

I agree with Volvo Nut (and others) that the garage seems to be too small. I just moved into the a Parkdale home with a two car garage (two garage doors also). I have an Audi A4 that fits with no problem but my Toyota Sienna barely makes it in. We have about 1 inch on either side of the car (mirrors on both sides). With two kids (19 months and 2 months), we'd like to get the Toyota in the garage to load and unload the kids. However, that's tricky.

So, has anyone either:
1) added width to the garage? This might be difficult due to the foundation but. . .
2) taken out the middle 'column' and installed the single, two-car garage door. This would be easier but I'm not sure if the middle column is required for structural support.

Ideas? Thoughts? It's frustrating to pay so much for a house and not be able to fully use the garage!


rharse:

my wife and i are in the same position as you. we are in a parkdale, have 2 little girls (a 3 mo and a 21 mo), and have a minivan that barely fits into the garage. the only way we make it work is to have nothing along the wall or in front of the van. it is nice to put the kids in the car with out the cold wind whipping by but it is tight. right now, i park my station wagon in the driveway. it's too bad that the garage isn't a few feet wider and deeper, it would really have made a huge difference.

my wife stays home with the kids all day. we are located on highview trail, where are you located? so far, most of our neighbors are older with no toddlers.

hans

[flynnibus]

wow.. I feel lucky that my lil townhome can fit both my van and my car w/o issue :)

-Steve

[WesGurney]

This might sound stupid, but if the goal is to fit both cars in the garage, then why not attack the problem from the other end.

First take everything out of the garage (cars, ladders, junk, tools, etc). Ok, the garage should be empty. Next put both cars in and leave their doors open so you know where how much clearance you will have between each car and the garage wall. Once you are happy with how the cars are positioned, then start putting rest of items back in.

This way, you will know where not to put things so it will interfere with how you will park you cars.

[T8erman]

Fold your mirrors in.

[sonnguyen]

My wife and I have a Dogwood (SFH) and we fit both our cars ('00 Honda Accord sedan & '05 Lexus RX330 SUV) okay--tight but do-able. In fact, we can easily swing open the trunk on the SUV with the garage door closed. Our garage is probably the smallest ones in any of the SFH's; it's 19x19 feet.

I think our single 2-car-wide door is a huge help for entering/exiting; I knew someone in a Birchwood (2 single-doors) who could barely get their Chevy Tahoe in but they probably would have had a better chance with a single wide door. Their [otherwise straight] driveway also bent at a slight angle right before the garage so I think that made things worse, too.

Another benefit of the single wide door is that you can work on your car by parking it in the middle. I've done our cars' maintenance at home. Personally, though, I like the look of 2 separate doors a lot more.

I agree with Wes about putting the cars in first before the "junk". Luckily, we were only 2 years out of school when we bought the house so we didn't really have anything to store in the garage (heck, we didn't even have anything to put inside the house). I installed shelves all along one of the walls and now we have junk all over the place but the cars still fit in there. The shelves are all attached to the wall (not floor-standing) so there is room underneath to swing out the car door.

We also have ultrasonic parking sensors on the wall. They're cheap (about $20 each), simple to install, and practically guarantee that your bumper will be 1.5 feet from the wall when you park. It has a little flashing green light when you approach and then a red light comes on when you're 1.5 feet from the wall (ours is adjustable but 1.5 feet is the minimum distance). Works every time.

[snoopy]

quote:
We also have ultrasonic parking sensors on the wall. They're cheap (about $20 each), simple to install, and practically guarantee that your bumper will be 1.5 feet from the wall when you park. It has a little flashing green light when you approach and then a red light comes on when you're 1.5 feet from the wall (ours is adjustable but 1.5 feet is the minimum distance). Works every time.


Where can we buy one of those ? In Home Depot ?? Thank you.

[sonnguyen]

quote:Originally posted by snoopy

quote:
We also have ultrasonic parking sensors on the wall. They're cheap (about $20 each), simple to install, and practically guarantee that your bumper will be 1.5 feet from the wall when you park. It has a little flashing green light when you approach and then a red light comes on when you're 1.5 feet from the wall (ours is adjustable but 1.5 feet is the minimum distance). Works every time.


Where can we buy one of those ? In Home Depot ?? Thank you.


We bought ours a little over 2 years ago from Radio Shack but it looks like they don't carry it anymore. Maybe the stores might still have some in stock.

Brookstone has one very similar to ours but it's at $30 (http://www.brookstone.com/shop/product.asp?product_code=400226&search_type=search&search_words=parking&prodtemp=t1&cm_re=Result*R1C2*T, SKU 400226). I would assume that it works just as well. The Brookstone looks nicer than ours and has 3 (instead of 2) lights. I don't think it has a "beep" feature but we found it to be annoying and deactivated it anyway.

[snoopy]

sonnguyen,

thank you for the info ...

[rharse]

Thanks for the suggestions. We actually have next to nothing in the garage. I did pull the minivan in by folding the driver's mirror and, yes, I do have sufficient clearance. But, to me, that's a poor solution for a poor design. What kind of cars do the Van Metre folks own? I'd like to see them park their cars in my garage and be satisfied.

We'll live with it which, as in the REM song "What's the Frequency" is not apathy, it's "withdraw in disgust."[V]

[WesGurney]

rharse - What are the dimensions of your garage?

[rharse]

WesGurney,
The dimensions are 19 x 20. My old house in MA was 20 x 20 and it made a world of difference. But the garage in MA also had only one door as opposed to the two we have here.

I must confess that I did cram both cars in today because of the snow. The operation to actually get the family in the car will be tricky though. I will have to pull the minivan out to get our little baby into his side of the car.

[flynnibus]

what are you guys qualifying as 'fitting'? Mine is less then 19' wide inside.. 2 doors.. and I fit a full mini-van in fine on one side.. getting in and out of both doors fine (driver's side a little tight).. and in the other stall I have a full size car that I get in and out of the driver's door no problem, but no access to the passenger side.

I have 3-4 feet of 'stuff' at the front of the garage including shelving, and I can still get in and out of the trunk of the car inside the garage. The Van can not open its hatch w/o opening the door through.

I can see if you have SUV's etc.. but what are you guys having such trouble fitting?

-Steve

[Zansu]

In our garage the problem is the 2 steps down from the house that project into the parking space. If you take into account the fact that you have to climb around the handrail to get to the other car from the door, that greatly impacts how far the car in front of the door can pull in. We also have a winterset, so there's a couple of feet cut off with a diagonal wall in the other parking spot. Not a big problem, even for my station wagon. the third problem is the stuff that ought to be in the basement, but we won't get into that!

[jthiewes]

We have a VM Fitzgerald I, and they did something strange with the cement steps that lead down to the garage from the door. They come straight out, and that intrudes on the room for one of the cars. Currently my dad has an Infiniti I35 that fits on the left side, and my mom gets the short side of the garage. When we moved in we bought her a new car because her old one (88 Nissan Sentra) was getting up there. Turns out we had to find a vehicle that was 180 or less total inches long. The Ford Escape was the only decent smaller-scale SUV that would fit. The Lexus RX300... nope. That was the other one she really liked. Now when I get my license and the Escape, it'll be a real toughy trying to find a convertable that fits in the garage. Heck, it's hard finding anything to fit on that side. Van Metre really pulled a fast one on those who bought our type of house.

[flynnibus]

What's the front to back measurement? In my townhome.. we have a mini-van on the side with the steps coming into the garage.. we don't leave any room behind the van, and in front of it its tight, but I go through every day to get to my car :) Its that same space from the steps that allows us to have 30" deep shelves along the rest of the front of the garage. And in front of my other car (normal sized car.. not van or suv) there is room in front and back of the car.. just no room for the passenger side door.

Funny that my townhome has more room then the SFs :)

-Steve

[WesGurney]

rharse - Mine is also 19x20. I agree that it is a tight fit, but definitely not impossible to put both cars in.

I find that I usually just keep one car in the garage anyway because I am not the most organized person when it comes to my garage.

Of course with all this snow, it would have been nice to have both in the garage.

Good luck with it!

[Lisa]

I also can't fit my car on one side of the garage because of the stairs that protrude. Someone suggested buying a SUV since it is higher it will make it over the first step. For now just leave 2nd car in driveway... definately not what I expected when bought 2 car garage home.

[T8erman]

If I could not fit a reasonably sized vehicle in one of my bays due to stairs protruding, I would be all over the builder!

[GCyr]

Why would you be all over the builder that built the home model the buyer selected with known dimensions? One reason I picked the Ryan Victoria model was because it had a 2' bump-out option on the side of the garage which I selected just so the garage would be wide enough. I also compared the length of the garage to my previous home to insure the steps wouldn't be in the way like they were in my previous home.

Obviously, this doesn't help current home owners (or town home owners) much, but prospective buyers need to do a little research before buying a new home.

quote:Originally posted by T8erman

If I could not fit a reasonably sized vehicle in one of my bays due to stairs protruding, I would be all over the builder!

[L0stS0ul]

For some models like the winterset, parkdale, and others in that line (not sure about the other lines) VM actually had this problem of the stairs brought to their attention. They decided to move the stairs one foot into the laundry room in our house. Now we could not fit a washer and dryer in that room so we had them undo the change. If you go over to stone ridge they have actually modified all of the floorplans to take the stairs out of the garage. Interesting that they now see it as a problem and fixed it in the new models being built in another place but not here.

[shamm]

We fit our Sienna and a car in just fine, but my car is a corolla.

We rented a large van when we first moved out and it wouldn't come close to fitting - too wide. So, I didn't even get to see if it would have fit lenght wise.

Does anyone have a suburban? Does it fit in these unbeliveably small garages? We came from a three car garage. Had a nice workbench in the third stall. sob.

[Neighbor]

I think VM fixed the "steps" problem on the newer Parkdale models. I can fit standard "kitchen" cabinets in the garage front plus a 98 Honda Accord. On the other side (closest to the door), I can fit my Volvo wagon with room to spare. I remember the builder mentioning that they moved the steps in. I guess our rear hallway is slightly smaller becuase of it (I am not 100% sure if it is smaller). Either way, I agree that the garages are smaller than they should be. I am going to try a full size GMC Suburban this weekend. Oh also, I have no problems with the height. It looks like their is lots of room for storage up above becuase part of the garage is at least 9' tall. I can finally hang a bike without hitting my head on it!

[Merlin]

They moved the stairs in on the Sinclair as well, at least on certain plots of land. They said the driveway couldn't be more than a certain percentage grade upwards from the street, so we had more steps than what was standard. They pushed them into the house so that we didn't have an issue in the garage. VM ended up removing a second coat closet from the hall that was on the floor plan -- which they didn't communicate to us at all until we asked where our closet was. The laundry room ended up being bigger as a result of the change, which was a good thing.

The garage seems small, but I'll reserve judgement until we can actually unpack and put two cars in. :)

[Carol Al-Ajroush]

We're in a Spruce and have had the same challenge in that we can only get one car (barely) into the garage and that is also having to back it in and with the side mirrors folder. Our problem is not only the narrow garage with 2 separate garage doors but the width of our driveway makes for too small a turning radius to put a car into the garage closest to our front door. Next home we now know to test the garage before making a decision!

[fidothedog]

I do not understand why you folks would need to put 2 cars in the garage...I mean what are you going to do with your kid's bikes, electronic jeeps, basketball goal, Little Tike toys, soccer nets, etc. Just grin and bear it. ;)

In all honesty, we have looked into adding to our garage but with current pricing and poor quality out there it is not something that I want to go through today. We did get 3 quotes for adding a third car garage to our house. All of the quotes were in excess of $70K. This was for a basic third car add-on with a small extension to the back of the house for additional storage.

It seems that we all get to pay the “Broadlands” premium to our contractors.

I have another example of the high contractor prices we are paying. I have a very large mound of dirt (birm) in the back of my yard (120 feet long by 10 feet wide by 6 feet high) that the developer/builder put in to control water coming onto my property from a large commonland hill behind my house. I wanted to replace the birm with a French drainage system and had 5 estimates from different contractors JUST to remove the dirt. The estimates ranged from $40K to over $55K. These estimates did not include anything but removing dirt (no landscaping, no retaining walls…nothing but removing dirt). Each contractor said that it would be a three day job. This was much more than I figured on spending. I figure that when my kids get older, I am going to give them shovels and have them shovel their way to college!

Also, we know that we live in strange times when the home contractors drive better cars then their customers.

As we all know, the building industry goes in cycles and we are currently in a high cycle. The DC area has historically had a very defined cycle of rapid growth, rapid contraction and level periods. The last cycle was rapid growth (1988 to 1991), rapid contraction (1991 to 1993) and leveling (1994 to 1999). This same ten year cycle has repeated itself for the past 30 years in DC. Now that the building developers are back to building SPEC homes (rather than contract homes), it makes you wonder how much longer this growth cycle will continue….then again it is possible that our market is now more similar to the Silicon Valley area than the old DC market with continually increasing demand with limited resources.

My brother is looking for a SFH (moving from a TH in Ashburn Village) in the Ashburn area. He told me that the final buildout section in the front of Ashburn Village (facing toward Route 7) has over 2,500 people on the waiting list. He is number 2,562 on that list. I do not see the growth cycle ending here for a few more years.

Fido, proud dad of 5

[T8erman]

Carol, we also have a Spruce and have no problems fitting in a SUV and a full-size Volvo sedan. Granted, it is a snug fit but we have not had any problems since.... :-) My wife struggled for a brief time until I showed her the best manuevering path to get the SUV in.

[Carol Al-Ajroush]

Do you give demonstrations??? [:I]

quote:Originally posted by T8erman

Carol, we also have a Spruce and have no problems fitting in a SUV and a full-size Volvo sedan. Granted, it is a snug fit but we have not had any problems since.... :-) My wife struggled for a brief time until I showed her the best manuevering path to get the SUV in.

[T8erman]

Sure! Only take a sec and you are close to where we live. I would be very happy to stop by on my way home and give you a quick demo. Send me an e-mail if you wish with your address and when you would be home.

Now, the manuever does require you to back up once. And I am also assuming (uh oh) that our driveway sizes are similar. But hey, VM built our homes! (:-))

[Carol Al-Ajroush]

Cool! I've just sent you an email. With 3 vehicles at the moment, driveway space is at a premium. I'll be curious to get your perspective on our driveway. Personally I think it is very narrow although when we challenged VM they measured and said it meeted the specs -- barely!

quote:Originally posted by T8erman

Sure! Only take a sec and you are close to where we live. I would be very happy to stop by on my way home and give you a quick demo. Send me an e-mail if you wish with your address and when you would be home.

Now, the manuever does require you to back up once. And I am also assuming (uh oh) that our driveway sizes are similar. But hey, VM built our homes! (:-))

[volvo_nut]

we can fit our '03 Volvo XC90 and our '05 Odyssey minivan in the garage. we can't get out the passenger side of the minivan because you can't walk forward because of the stupid step placement nor can you walk backwards because of the minvan is just inside the door. The XC90 opens to the wall but is a little tight for an 8mo. preggy wife. There is enough room in between the cars to strap in the kid but we need to be careful no to open the door too wide to hit the minivan. There might be 3' infront of the minivan but it is beyond the steps so we have to step off the right side of the steps and around the minivan.

My former Mini Cooper S was a perfect fit in the garage. :)

I have a ballpark quote from my contractor $70-75k to add a room above and slightly extend the garage and convert it to a single door. I am waiting for a final quote back as he was waiting to hear back from the guys doing the truss work.

I saw a house in the neighborhood that look as though it had a 3rd garage door added; as though it was stuck on to an existing garage. I want to go back and see if its a full-size door or something for a lawnmower.

[kholbert]

I've noticed that some people BACK their cars into their garages. What is the advantage other than being able to leave in a hurry and get someplace like 30 seconds earlier.:( Perhaps these people have a superhero (Batman racing from Batcave)[}:)] complex. They'll need superpowers to overcome the CO2 poisioning the first time they leave the engine on "while they dash back in the house" for something they forgot (brains perhaps). Once I backed into my garage to unload groceries closer to the kitchen door. In just the time it took to back in, enough fumes collected to make me light headed.[xx(] My CO2 sensor in the kitchen went off when after I opened the door to the garage. Honestly, why risk CO2 poisioning, backing into an object in the garage, etc. just so you can pull forward out of your garage?[?]