Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 27, 2012 4:05 pm Hi. We're still at the design stage. Met with an architect who suggested we could cut costs by having a carport instead of a double garage. We've sort of assumed we want a dble garage but maybe the carport would be sufficient. It would keep us dry going to the car. It would protect the car from sun, although perhaps not as much as a garage. Are there other reasons for getting a garage? I was planning to have a little storeroom at the back of the house for tools anyway. Is a garage really worthwhile? Thanks. Re: do we need garage? 2Oct 27, 2012 4:35 pm When it comes to selling later on people want garages! I know I would. Built a Hawthorne 31 with EB nessjeffdreamhouse.blogspot.com.au Building an investment now with New Living homes... We are at nearly finished... Just landscaping and driveway to go! Re: do we need garage? 3Oct 27, 2012 4:53 pm Also depends if you are building in a new estate, some won't allow carports. Re: do we need garage? 4Oct 27, 2012 4:54 pm Car insurance is cheaper if you have a garage too - MrsT Brought first house in 2008. Renovated...a LOT. Built in 2013. Our thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=67954 Re: do we need garage? 5Oct 27, 2012 5:49 pm Yes, a garage is worth it. But... A well designed carport (with a lockable shed at the rear) that can be 'walled' in later may be as cost effective option for now. Have it sit away from the house and link the two with a breezeway. Just an idea….. ----------------------------------------------- http://pab34newdigs.blogspot.com.au/ ----------------------------------------------- Re: do we need garage? 6Oct 27, 2012 5:57 pm In my opinion, I think a garage is definitely worth it! We live in a house with a carport now and it drives us nuts! It really limits the things you can keep outside as its not secure and isn't always safe from the elements! And like 1sttime said above, resale would be much better with a garage. Good luck with your decision! Re: do we need garage? 7Oct 27, 2012 6:01 pm Quote: A well designed carport (with a lockable shed at the rear) that can be 'walled' in later may be as cost effective option for now. Have it sit away from the house and link the two with a breezeway Thanks "PAB". Why have it sit away from the house? What about having it in the corner of an L shaped house, so the house forms a side & back wall of the carport. Then I would presume, we could add a wall on the other side & a garage door at the front if we (or future owners) really needed a lockup garage. We imagine having a carport instead of garage could save $40,000. Does that sound right? Re: do we need garage? 8Oct 27, 2012 6:30 pm kylie40 Thanks "PAB". Why have it sit away from the house? What about having it in the corner of an L shaped house, so the house forms a side & back wall of the carport. Then I would presume, we could add a wall on the other side & a garage door at the front if we (or future owners) really needed a lockup garage. We imagine having a carport instead of garage could save $40,000. Does that sound right? Yep, you can certainly can use the house walls as sides of the carport. Reason for a separation and a breezeway – Aesthetics (and I’m only talking a meter or two gap). It depends on how your architect wants the roof line of the house to look. A house with an integral garage will have a roof system over the entire house (standard looking house). With a carport on the side of the house the architect has two options; 1, have the roof of the carport and the house as one, thus leaving the carport look like an unfinished garage or 2, have a different roof hanging of the side of the new home being obvious that it was an afterthought or something went amiss along the way. With a completely separate carport it can have a different roof design and not detract from the look of the main structure (your home) OR it can mimic the roof lines of the main house with covered breezeway linking the two and it becomes a design feature. Where and how you’d do it, you will need to post your plans to get some input. Hope this sheds some light on my thinking….. ----------------------------------------------- http://pab34newdigs.blogspot.com.au/ ----------------------------------------------- Re: do we need garage? 9Oct 27, 2012 6:36 pm Most of the houses in my street were built 80 years ago so do not have garages. We have never had a garage so have never missed one. That said it is a pain to keep the kid's bikes in the house with the inevitable marks and scratches on the walls as they go in and out. We are looking at doing a knock down rebuild and will definitely have a garage. Also good for storing the wife's junk - shoes, clothes etc Re: do we need garage? 10Oct 27, 2012 6:45 pm free will Most of the houses in my street were built 80 years ago so do not have garages. We have never had a garage so have never missed one. That said it is a pain to keep the kid's bikes in the house with the inevitable marks and scratches on the walls as they go in and out. We are looking at doing a knock down rebuild and will definitely have a garage. Also good for storing the wife's junk - shoes, clothes etc Are you sure you didn't want to just stop with "Also good for storing the wife" ----------------------------------------------- http://pab34newdigs.blogspot.com.au/ ----------------------------------------------- do we need garage? 11Oct 27, 2012 7:04 pm kylie40 Quote: A well designed carport (with a lockable shed at the rear) that can be 'walled' in later may be as cost effective option for now. Have it sit away from the house and link the two with a breezeway Thanks "PAB". Why have it sit away from the house? What about having it in the corner of an L shaped house, so the house forms a side & back wall of the carport. Then I would presume, we could add a wall on the other side & a garage door at the front if we (or future owners) really needed a lockup garage. We imagine having a carport instead of garage could save $40,000. Does that sound right? A carport will save you as little as $15,000 compared to a double garage when building a new house. False economy not to build one. Re: do we need garage? 12Oct 27, 2012 8:06 pm PAB_34 free will Most of the houses in my street were built 80 years ago so do not have garages. We have never had a garage so have never missed one. That said it is a pain to keep the kid's bikes in the house with the inevitable marks and scratches on the walls as they go in and out. We are looking at doing a knock down rebuild and will definitely have a garage. Also good for storing the wife's junk - shoes, clothes etc Are you sure you didn't want to just stop with "Also good for storing the wife" That's why we have a shed Re: do we need garage? 13Oct 28, 2012 6:44 am We sold a house with a single garage! We would of got way more with a double. It was one of the main reasons why it took so long to sell. Seems they go off amount of toilets, and garage, space when re selling. Re: do we need garage? 14Oct 28, 2012 9:24 am Our first house had a single carport that we never used as it was sooo small, and a struggle to get my car (small Laser) in. Once in, if there was a passenger, then they couldn't open the door and get out...useless! We did have 2 sheds out the back for keeping tools and garden stuff in, but they took up extra space...and the cars were always in the elements. We were thinking of renovating the house, but we couldn't fit in a double garage without completely destroying the street appeal of the property, so we started from scratch again and knocked it down and rebuilt...with a double garage. I don't know how I lived without one for 12 years. We have an extra fridge out there, the dryer (saves all the lint and humidity from going in my laundry) and all the garden tools and sporting equipment/bikes. And the cars are safe from the weather! With the new house design, we could not have fitted 2 sheds in the back as the space is fairly small. I also love the garage entrance to the house, and we have a shoe rack in the garage where most of the shoes are, so they're not worn in the house. Definitely worth the money and space. The storage space alone is brilliant. Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: do we need garage? 15Oct 28, 2012 10:00 am I personally would not buy a house without a garage. Our first house only had a single garage and it was painful and I think we only put a car in it once. I think you will get more in resale than the cost to build a double garage Modified Fernside 38 Rawson Homes Blog: http://www.thehousethatmatandjenbuilt.blogspot.com Build Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60501 Re: do we need garage? 16Oct 28, 2012 11:30 am I'd be interest to hear exactly how much cheaper your house would be without a garage. Can your builder quote for both, a house with a garage and a 2nd quote for a house with a carport, so you know exactly the price difference. The question is....what are your storage needs now for the new home and in the future? Will your proposed storeroom for your tools also have room for things like a mower, bikes, other things you only use occassionally or may obtain down the track? Or will you have room for a shed where you can store larger things? If you do, then a carport maybe fine. As suggested, a good idea to perhaps build your carport so that later on you can change it into a garage. But check with council first if you can do this. A friend of mine wanted to do this to their carport, but because it involved structural work, the coucil had so many requirements it was going to cost a fortune to change it to a garage and they decided not to go ahead. But they do have a large shed so they have storage. Perhaps check what the cost would be to add a garage later and compare with the cost of getting it as part of the build. Adding something later usually costs much more than getting it at the time of the build. Good luck! We built the Wisdom Majestic 40 - moved in! Our blog - http://ourwisdommajestic40.blogspot.com.au/ Our H1 thread - viewtopic.php?t=54156 Re: do we need garage? 17Oct 28, 2012 11:40 am Regarding converting a garage, also if that route is taken make sure that you build with the set back as if it were a garage. The set back rules apply to garages but not necessarily car ports. If the garage is on the boundary then the guttering is expensive but otherwise i dont thing its going to save heaps and the cost of adding down the track would be many times greater as other have said. Good luck with it anyway Re: do we need garage? 18Oct 28, 2012 11:45 am If you're building in an existing estate maybe not a problem, but if you're living in a new estate where 98% of the houses have garages. Good luck selling it, or you will have to significantly drop your house in your value compared to others with garages to compete in the local market. I personally would not consider a house without a garage in new estate. The amount you save to build a carport instead of a garage, won't come close to cover the resale value if you were to have a garage instead. So the question you have to ask yourself is. Short term gain for long term pain? You also run the higher risk of your car being burgled, because the majority of houses are locked away in garages these days, putting more focus on your cars as the easier target. Re: do we need garage? 19Oct 28, 2012 4:07 pm Thanks everyone! Lots of advice there. We originally thought it would save a heaps -figuring $1500 x 36 sq metres - but of course garages would be cheaper to build than other parts of the house. We need to find out how much it would really save. The two options were are considering: 1) 2 story house with double garage (6x6m) in one corner with rooms above it. Internal access to house. 2 cars & bikes to be kept in garage. Gardening stuff (mower etc) to be kept in shed in backyard, as it's on lower level. Other tools & things to be stored in storage space attached to mudroom. OR 2) 2 story house with double carport in one corner - same as (1), but no rooms above (same size house though). Carport same as gargage would be - attached to house with door to mudroom. protected from sun by house on north & west & by roof. Storage as above. Only difference is no south wall or front wall/door to carport/garage. (and changes to upstairs layout). Not worried about security (or insurance) of cars or bikes as we've never had a garage and it's never been a problem in our area. I figure with the roof & the 2 story house on north & west of carport, the cars will be pretty well protected. (We haven't even had a carport last 10 years.) Rebuilding in an old area with a great mix of houses. Not sure that resale is such an issue. We won't sell for 20 or more years, & who know what people will want by then. A couple of advantages I see in a carport instead of garage - not having a wall on one side actually allows more room to get in & out of cars. With the cars in the street, the carport can be used for games by kids - true also of a garage, but a bit nicer in open carport. So, I'm not convinced we need the built-in garage, but it will come down to price. Great point about the setback! Did consider bringing carport forward if council allowed but prob best to keep to garage setback allowance to allow for conversion if necessary. Re: do we need garage? 20Oct 28, 2012 4:25 pm Yeah I think by the time you're ready to sale in 20 years, all cars will be electric with in garage chargers. I think you have convinced yourself that you don't need a garage. So I reckon just role with that. A two storey house with a carport would look pretty unique, give your house the x-factor. I reckon a garage would between 10-15k differance to a carport. My garage door has started playing up recently. 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