Roody

One city might make it illegal to use a garage as a "living space"-- including summer usage as a social or recreational space.

What do you carfree people do with your garage? Or, what would you do if you were carfree and if you had a garage?

GodsBassist

I had a garage that I used for my bikes. It was nice to be able to sit in it and work on them with the garage door open.

If the statute says that I have to be able to park my car in it, then I'd be happy to show anybody that all of my cars fit easily into my garage. =)

FenderTL5

no more garage bands

Randolfo

I would very much like to park my two cars in there, along with my bicycles. The beer fridge can stay.

wolfchild

I don't have a garage because I live in a high rise building...If I did have a garage I would make it into a gym and a workshop. Right now I do all my bike maintenace and I also workout in my living room.

wahoonc

Last garage I had had the owner's stuff stored in it... I had one house that had a 3 car garage, it was old, had a dirt floor and was too short for all but a sub compact car. We parked a car in one bay and I had stuff stored in the other two bays.

I have 3 carports, two barns, a connex (shipping container) and a 40' storage trailer now, not to mention the 3 sheds.

Aaron

Smallwheels

The house I lived in most of my life had a garage. It was filled with lawn tools and a bit of clutter that wouldn't fit into the house. At age 15 I got a car and I cleared away enough space to keep it inside with my two bicycles. My parents never did want to keep their cars in it because it was too much effort moving cars around to access the one inside. Eventually the garage went back to storage.

In Montana I had a tiny garage where my motor scooter fit and the lawn mower along with very few boxes and a household refrigerator. It had a roll up door but no regular car would come close to fitting inside.

Now I have a storage unit that is as big as a garage. There is no car in it, only household stuff that I want to sell and give away. I'm working on some projects now so getting rid of those things is on hold. I'm allowing myself to keep that space for four more months at the most. I don't like leaving things unattended.

I don't believe any city can tell a home owner or renter what they can do with their garage as long as they aren't making structural changes or installing new electrical or pluming into a space. If that is allowed then they could hypothetically tell people how to place their furniture or that people can only sleep in their bedrooms and not in the living rooms.

Roody

Strange that you say this. Just yesterday we had a city inspector in to check out some electrical work. On his way out, he said that we have to move a chair in the living room because its blocking the path to the front door.

z3px

My house was built in 1950 with a single car garage which is probably even smaller than a single garage that would be built today. I've been able to squeeze a car or small pickup in the garage if everything was up off the floor...but it's not practical for car storage. Once the car is in there you basically have no room to open doors or access any other items. However, bicycles, a work bench, some shelving for storage and a few yard tools fit just fine, especially when it's well organized and tidy. I think most garages fall victim to being a dumping ground and as a result loose a lot of practicality for being a useful space. Anything that ends up in the garage from the main house that doesn't get used in say..6 months will get tossed, except for a few boxes of children's clothes that gets re-used.

Roody

I used to have one half of an enormous two-car indoor garage in a duplex.

That was a beautiful garage, fully heated and air-conditioned. It was really nicer than the apartment I lived in. I felt like a king when I activated the door opener up on the street, then swooped down the driveway into my palatial garage just as the door rolled up for me.

My neighbor's half of the garage was packed with an SUV, a Harley, and all sorts of clutter. He kept putting his stuff in my half, but I would just put it back. I, on the other hand, thought it looked cool to have that vast swath of empty cement flooring, with just a single bike parked exactly in the center. That bike surely felt like the bike of a king!

My neighbor would complain to the landlord that I was wasting space, and he needed more room for his stuff. He got really exasperated about it. The landlord thought this was very amusing. He gave me a rubber shop mat to park the bike on, but I told him it looked too cluttery. So then he hung a couple ropes from the ceiling-- "to get the bike out of your way."

Dahon.Steve

The house that I purchased came with two garages! LOL!

What's so funny is that my neighbor who has a beautiful large home next to mine has no garage! They think I'm insane because the only thing that comes out of those garages are old bicycles! I've been offered to rent them and I might be able to bring in $100.00 dollars a month from each. I just might do that but I'm not desparate for money pluse I'll be forced to shovel that huge driveway during winter snow storms. No thanks.

I'll also lose some of my privacy and since I live alone, I'm not too thrilled about others knowing this as they walk past my home.

I also found out that other neighbors leave their cars outside of the garage. When they open them up, they are filled with junk!

wahoonc

In Boston you could get mega bucks for those garages My brother pays $550 a month EXTRA for a garage in the Boston area. My son gets a rent credit and a transit pass because he DOESN'T need a parking space.

Aaron

gerv 

I have a one car garage that is normally full of bikes. I stored 30 bikes for the co-op last winter and guess that might be also be next year's karma.

I also have too many bikes. I have starting adopting bikes that I intend to fix up and ride or gift, once I locate the required missing parts.

Maybe I should move my garage to Boston and retire on the rent!

TomCat_Ford

I never completely understood the people who give up garage space for "living" space or who just fill their garage with junk; however, I'm of the mindset that it's you're garage, do with it what you please.

I have a 2.5 stall garage. I've got our kayaks hanging from the ceiling, the bikes are mounted on the wall, both of our cars are in there, my yard working equipment is out there, I've got a workbench and all of my larger automotive specific tools out there, and so on. It would have a lot more in it (both cars wouldn't fit) if I didn't have a primary workshop (approx. 500sqft) in my basement. I couldn't imagine owning a garage and not being able to mark my cars in it--but that's just me.

Roody

Nobody will take away from your right to park cars in your garage! The question is, what would you do with that garage space if you didn't have cars parked there?

TomCat_Ford

I apologize, I digressed a bit! Assuming that it was insulated and heated (it isn't currently), my basement workshop would be out there. I certainly wouldn't use it as "living" space--it's a garage.

fietsbob

Making the Man Cave Illegal ?..

lasauge 

Right now I live in a townhome and share the attached one car -sized garage. I have three bikes, boxes of parts, and my small shop setup in there, but keep the majority of my collection inside, which still leaves room for my housemate's car to be parked inside, though occasionally I'll ask her to park the car outside for a couple hours while I'm using the workspace. It's a win/win since I have a pretty decent shop and storage area and she still gets to store her car out of the elements. I wouldn't mind having a full bay myself so I could have a big, solid workbench to mount a vice and grinder to, but I'm content with my current setup.

Dahon.Steve

I would do nothing with them. It's alot of work in the winter and would force me to shovel the entire drive way so that my garage tenants can park their vehicles. Let me tell you, that is ALOT of work and would force me to buy a snow blower. I would also lose privacy and all those motor vehicles could wreck my lawn.

Then again, for 2 hundred dollars cash per month, I just might change my mind.

gerv 

I guess the bigger picture question is why we have garages, lawns, big backyards... what's the point? My quality of life wouldn't be much different if I had one or ten bicycles, so having a large storage and turning it into a mini bicycle shop... well.. I just wonder.

goldfinch

You could make it the tenant's responsibility to keep the driveway clear of snow.

alhedges

I have a large 2 car (maybe 2 1/2 car) detached garage. My car occupies about 1/3 of it; the rest is for my bikes, tools, bike stand, kayak, bike trailer, etc., plus some space for a lawnmower and various yard equipment. Plus a grill and some camping equipment.

When I was growing up, we almost never used the garage for the car; it was pretty common not to. We were in the south, so the snow issues we have in the north weren't as much of an issue, nor were garage door openers as common or as cheap as they later became. (I really think that the garage door opener may have been the main reason why they weren't moved - I had to have some electrical work done before I could install an opener in my garage, so for the first couple of months I lived in my house, I tended to park in the driveway, since it was otherwise kind of bothersome to deal with the garage door.

I had a friend who lived in a neighborhood where guys hung out in their garages (although they weren't as fancy as those described in the article; they basically just sat out with a few lawnchairs and a cooler). I think that they kind of fulfill a cultural need that the large covered front porches on bungalows used to fill in the pre-air conditioner days. It's a place to hang out, see what's going on on the street, and have mild social interactions with the neighbors who are doing the same thing.

gerv 

I think the guys are just trying to get away from The Good Wife (I mean the TV show... )

alhedges

It did seem to be an all male activity.

charbucks

I used to have those things, and I sometimes I wish I still did.

Garage: all the dirty sloppy stuff like beer making, bike maintenance, ski waxing, etc. My poor skis went unwaxed many times last winter because it was too cold to wax them out on the balcony!
Lawn/big backyard: Garden! I have a plot at a nearby community garden, but I definitely cared more for my garden when I could just pop out for a few minutes each morning. Also, you don't realize how much you use a hose until you don't have one.

I admit, I have far too many interests, and they all come with "stuff" and space requirements. Some people are happier knowing that they could put everything they own in a backpack and walk away; I am happier knowing that, should the urge strike me, I have the necessary equipment to go skiing, or to sew a quilt, or bake a cake, or go for a bike ride, or go camping, or... well, you get the idea.