hey all,

i'm potentially going to be building a house next year and need to hash out some details on the lot & plan. i have a dilemma as follows:

i have 40' worth of length to include a front attached garage and driveway. the standard plan on the only lot available is 20' garage, and 20' driveway. i want a bigger garage in case i have to work on the truck in the winter time so i'll have more room to do so. problem is - the driveway becomes very short.

so as it is right now, the garage is 20' and the driveway is also 20'. would you all leave it at 20/20 or would you bump the garage length to 21' or 22' and shorten the driveway to 19' or 18'.

also, the width of the garage is maxed out at 20 as per the lot size, but the driveway has room for a 4' extension on one side.

i know it would be nice to have a bigger lot, but this is ALL we have to work with. i'm looking for opinions . . .

tia,
jason

 

i would bump the garage lenght so the truck will fit with room to get around it

 

Around here the standard turn around off a garage is 28'. For the resale market, I'd keep the turn around as big as possible.

 

What is the required setback. If it is more than 20' you will lose some of your garage already. I have a 40' setback requirement from the road and I think 20' side and back property line.

 

this was my original idea, to take it to 22', which would give me a total of about 3' extra room. problem is - it only leaves me with an 18' driveway, which i wouldn't be able to park the truck on without overhang onto the sidewalk.

 

i'm assuming a turnaround is what i reffered to as a 'driveway'.

on the other hand, a large garage will resale better. having both big would be ideal, but i'm limited to a length span of 40' no ifs ands or buts about it.

basically what i am asking your opinions on is what would be a happy medium.

i know it's my decision, but i am having trouble deciding, so i thought i'd throw it out there to all of you.

thanx for the replies so far

 

standard setback is 20' not sure what min/max numbers are though . . .

 

I just went through a similar situation.

I made the garage 2 feet longer - from 22 to 24'. We moved the house back 2 feet on the lot, as well, made the driveway 2 feet longer. I believe the driveway is going to be 22 feet.

This will be the first time Ive ever had a garage that I could fit the trucks into...Im stoked.




BTW, it was an extra $5600 to make the garage wider...



City life kinda sucks doesnt it?

 

Just a thought, you could do a garage with front and rear doors (drive through). JM2C

 

X2==Overhead door on both ends. Maybe even more driveway out the back side. Then you can have a driveway the length of your entire lot with a garage in the middle. You might can even add a cover over the back side. That would be sweet.

 

In that case I would work the garage into the house, build a family room over the garage, heck I would build the house on top of the garage....... but seriously, think about incorporating the garage in some of the footprint you have set out for the house.

 

all good and well guys, but as you can read in my first post - this is a FRONT ATTACHED garage house plan. i really don't like the idea of putting a door on each side, unless i am going to use my tailgate as a kitchen table . . .

the plan already has a bonus room (bonus room = room built over garage)

 

However you settle it, don't build your house for resale unless you are just building a spec house or are planning to move soon. Build it for yourself!

Why build your home to suit an imaginary person that you will never meet and who you have already assumed will not like it the way you like it? That concept never has made much sense to me. I like to see homes with unique features. And here's your chance to make it the way YOU want it.

It seems pretty important to be able to park in front of the garage without blocking the sidewalk. And code may require 20 feet just for that reason.

 

yeah, city lots suck. btw - the lot is in okotoks

the house is already pushed back as far as it can go. fact of the matter is, the house plan fits comfortably on the lot - but at the expense of a small driveway/garage - just looking to find a happy medium here. no changes are going to be made the living quarters plans . . . just have to make up my mind on the garage/dw lengths

your dw is 22'? does it seem pretty short, or could you do without another 4'?

 

With 40' total, you're screwed.
Even a 20' inside dimension garage is going to be about 21' outside, assuming 2x6 studs and thin siding.
Cut the frame and put a shortbox on the truck?
In our subdivision, the one thing they don't b!tch about or hand out tickets for is hanging over the sidewalk. Maybe see if it looks like you can get away with a 22-18 combo by talking to the neighbors.