Fundamentally, your garage should be accommodating enough to house your car, giving you ample spaciousness to move your car in and out easily. Squeezing around your garage for lack of space, spoiling your paintwork, damaging your bumpers, and even hurting yourself isn’t funny. This is why you need to get the befitting garage size for your car(s).
Averagely, a single-car garage can be 12’ wide and 20’ deep. A two-car garage has an average width of 18 feet and 20 feet deep. A three-car garage on the average is 32 feet wide and 22 feet deep.
The size of your garage depends on the number of cars you will be parking there as well as if you have auxiliary functions in mind for your garage like heavy equipment storage. It is essential also to consider the clearance of your garage and if you want to go for attached or detached garages. If you get it wrong, you may end up spending much more money unnecessarily.
1-car Garage Dimensions
One-car garages have the smallest sizes. They basically serve as shelter (or parking space) for one car. This can even be converted to a mini-tool room or even a small bedroom. Averagely, one-car garages have an interior width of 12′ and a depth of 20’. The garage doorway width is also consequential here, and for one-car garages, the optimal doorway width is 9’.
We will not forget to mention the clearance too, as you need adequate space to move your car about. For a single car garage, a 2.8′ clearance will do on each side of your car. There are some common sizes of single-car garages. This includes 16 x 24, 14 x 24 and 14 x 22.
1.5-car Garage Dimensions
A 1.5 car garage doesn’t necessarily mean you are parking one and a half cars there. It means that the garage size would be between that of a one-car garage and a two-car garage. That implies it will be bigger than your traditional one-car garage but yet smaller than a standard two-car garage.
This is becoming a popular option for smaller homeowners who may not have the spaciousness (or budget) for two-car garages but want it a bit bigger than the regular one-car garage. It is easy to renovate a one-car garage into a 1.5 car garage if you have a bigger vehicle.
This means that the size of the 1.5 car garage should be wider than 12 feet but lesser than 24 feet. Most 1.5 car garages are between the width of 20 feet and 16 feet. This would be befitting if you have an oversized truck or even for boat owners.
Urban residents are now increasingly upgrading to 1.5 car garage sizes to avoid the risk of street parking. In such urban areas (and relatively congested areas), especially famed districts, it may be challenging to procure the space for a typical 2-car garage hence the need to make do with smaller spaces.
Another advantage of 1.5 car garages is the additional space it gives you for unloading and loading. This is cool for young families where you regularly have to load your kids. The extra clearance of 1.5 car garages will give you and your kids more spaces between the car and the walls of the garage to hop in and out. If also have loads to fill in, it makes it more convenient as well.
2-car Garage Dimensions
Just as the name suggests, two-car garages are designed to accommodate two cars. This doesn’t necessarily into owning two cars – it is more about having additional space in your garage even for storing other things. An interesting survey showed that 25% of American homeowners store just so much in their garage that they are forced to park their vehicles somewhere other than their garages.
This makes two-car garages much more preferable than one-car garages if you are not too constrained financially. The typical interior width of a two-car garage should be somewhere around 18′. The depth is also in the 20’ region while the garage door – preferably double door – should have a width of 16’.
This would be well suited to two regular cars. There are several variations in the sizes of two-car garages. The commonest includes 20×22, 20×20, and 22×22. This will allow sufficient room to open the doors of your car conveniently
2.5-car Garage Dimensions
Some vehicles wouldn’t readily fit into a standard two-car garage. For example, a 20×20 two-car garage may not readily fit two Plymouth Fury 3 cars, or even combining one Plymouth Fury 3 with an M-37. Your garage would be stacked up with insufficient space for maneuvers. This is why you could consider stepping up just a bit to a 2.5 car garage.
This kind of a garage can be about 4 feet wider than your two-car garage. Standard 2.5 car garage dimensions include 24 X 26, 22 X 26 and 20 X 28.
3-car Garage Dimensions
Three-car garages along with four-car garages are the biggest garage size among standard garages in homes today. When you have a sizable family with children coming of age and getting their cars, then you may want to go for 3-car garages. There is much more storage space as the garage could be as spacious as a living room.
Three-car garages usually have a depth of 22 feet and a width of 32 feet. If you go for double doors, then the garage doorway width should be about 16′. If you prefer a single door, then your three-car garage doorway should be about 8’. Bigger cars and trucks can easily fit into the 3-car garage.
The spaciousness allows you to keep even more in the garage, including your boats, extra refrigerators, and even your outdoor equipment like lawnmowers.
Having three-car garages is not all about storage. You can even use it as an entertainment space like a barbecue party. Additionally, the space left after parking your cars can be better put to use as a workroom for your Do It Yourself projects. Typical sizes of three-car garages are the 32×22, 38×26, or even more extensive options like 40 x 30 feet.
4-car Garage Dimensions
The four-car garage is the ultimate and is most times interpreted as in the class of luxury. This is much more encompassing than your two-car and three-car garages. Four-car garages can accommodate a half bath or can even be transformed creatively to serve as a recreational spot or home office.
The standard width of a 4-car garage should be 16’ each for a double door. The interior width can be 36′, while the bay depth is suitable at 22′.
What is the Standard Width for a Driveway?
The standard width of a driveway depends on the number of car traffic (not ignoring the standard codes of the city you are located). If you want to build a single-car driveway, you can opt for a width of 15 feet. You can even go as low as 10 feet depending on the size of your car, and if it is open; that is not bounded by walls. If your single-car driveway is bounded by walls, then go for 14 feet width.
If you have a two-car driveway in mind, then 18 feet width is beautiful if walls don’t surround it. But if your driveway is to be walled on either side, go for a width of 24 feet so you can conveniently step out and swing your car doors. Bigger driveways for three cars should be wider – optimally 30 feet if you want to make it a parking area as well.
A four-car driveway in the same sense should be around 40 feet width. Your driveway can increasingly accommodate more cars so long you make sure to expand it by 10-15 feet for every additional car (side by side) to the traffic running through the driveway.
This will allow for seamless transport without having to squeeze your car through the edges of your driveway. Such activity will reduce the longevity of your driveway, cracking the asphalt too soon.
Circular Driveway
If you have a circular driveway, the width would be understandably different. For circular driveways, we should be focusing more on the radius of the driveway, especially for those horseshoe-shaped driveways.
12 feet is suitable, but the driveway spray (for the design) must be applied so that the builder can clearly map the needed radius before he starts digging. This will significantly reduce the chances of error.
Remember that driving on the edges, as said, will crack the driveway and even accelerate the spread of the cracks if you don’t quickly pay restorative attention to them.
Commercial Driveway
City codes will majorly determine the width of a commercial driveway. However, it yet keeps to the rule. If it is an open commercial driveway that is not walled, 10-12 feet is okay for a single-car driveway. Depending on the number of cars that would be plowing this commercial driveway side by side, the construction team can be adding 10 feet more for each extra car parking spot.
How Wide is a 2 Car Driveway?
The width of a driveway is a crucial consideration for every homeowner. Would you be parking cars side by side and yet be spacious enough for you to open the door? A 2-car driveway should best be at least 20 feet wide. But if you want to park two cars side by side as described, then you should be going for a width of 24 feet.
A width of 24 feet is ideal if the driveway is bounded on both sides by walls as opposed to open edges. This way, you can conveniently open the doors of the car without smashing them against the walls.
If there is no parking and it is just a passing lane, you can manage a driveway width of 18 feet for two cars. There are indeed two-car concrete driveways 16 feet wide (in most cities, there is a standard code for driveway width). However, we will not advise you to go as low as 16 feet unless it is the last resort.
For a single-car driveway, a width of 15-16 feet is fine, but definitely not for a two-car driveway. Otherwise, you will be stepping out of your car right onto your lawn. We will advise you to make space for your car door swing.
This is why we will recommend leaving a minimum of 2 feet of space close to your driveway before you start bringing in your planters. Another smart idea to improve the width of your driveway is using decorative bands.
If would be helpful to add a one-foot buffer space on either side of your walled driveway. This will protect your cars from inadvertent collisions with driveway walls. It is all left to you, the buffer zone can be paved, or you can leave it unpaved. It all depends on what you are willing to spend – or what you like.
How Wide is a 3 Car Driveway?
If you are going to have three-car traffic (side by side) on your driveway, then the width of 16 feet will not do anymore. You should instead go for extended driveways that can even allow you to turn around and even drive backward through your yard. For such the three-car driveway, a width of at least 30 feet would do. It is optimal to go for 40 feet if you can afford it.
Examining Attached Garages vs. Detached Garages
As a homeowner, you would have to decide between installing detached garages or going for attached garages. Many homeowners are caught between the two these options. Hence we will explore both so you can be better informed to choose between attached and detached garages.
Attached Garages
Many homeowners like attached garages principally for the convenience. Numerous homeowners are not comfortable having to go far from their house to get into their car. Also, you have to factor in the cost of construction.
Attached garages tend to be cheaper because they are built from already existing walls in your home. This way, you don’t have to spend afresh while still saving cost on ventilation and even HVAC. Ventilating detached garages can be more expensive.
The Downsides to Attached Garages
There are however some disadvantages that could dissuade you from choosing attached garages. First, most attached garages may not give you the amount of spaciousness or clearance you desire. In the big cities which can be relatively choked up (with houses adjoining each other), it is difficult to find satisfying space on the side of your home to attach a garage to.
This is why aside high-end locations, attached garages are rarer downtown. Zoning could also turn problematic when procuring permits to attach garages to existing buildings. This brings us to detached garages.
Detached Garages
You want more space, and you can afford it, then go for specially designated detached garages. Agreed, it won’t always be convenient walking from your home to your garage, but the bright side is that it can accommodate your car and even further store items for you, especially as you can even construct a deck above it.
If you are living downtown where the houses appear bumped up with much-reduced space, then you should go for detached garages. You can even go as far as hosting parties in your detached garages.
The Downsides to Detached Garages
It is going to be challenging finding the ideal position for your detached garage, considering that it is supposed to be close to your house. It is more expensive as there are no preexisting structures (as in the case of attached garages) to build on. Also, you will have to take care of HVAC and ventilation again to combat varying weather conditions like snowing and heat.
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