Useful Tips on How to Build a Perfect Two-Car Garage

This is not easy to build a good garage even for a single car. But what if you have got two vehicles? The task is getting harder. This article is a little guide for those who are going to build a 2-car garage.

Some people have only one car but plan to buy another one in the future. It may be a separate vehicle for a second spouse or grown-up children. In this case, it’s necessary to build a larger garage in advance. Whatever the goals are, the most important question is about dimensions.

What Are the Dimensions?

They depend on many parameters. But the smallest 2 car garage dimensions are 20×20. Yet the average recommended dimensions are 24×24. This is related to the size of the vehicles. Probably, they will fit in 20×20 garage, but there won’t be enough space for the storage.

It’s hard to find a car-owner who has nothing to keep in the garage except the car. To place shelves and drawers, you will need extra room. That’s why the average footprint is 24×24 or larger.

The width parameter depends on the door size mainly. This will be covered in the following passages. Some cities and regions don’t allow to build too wide garages. Before planning, check if your city sets any limits.

Now let’s get to the length. The longer a vehicle is, the longer garage should be built. Still, most families have bicycles, motorcycles, and even boats. If your budget allows that, plan extra room for all this stuff. Even if a family has nothing but cars, shelves and workbenches are always necessary.

It might seem obvious, but some forget about it. The length is determined, according to the longest vehicle. For some people, a garage is not only a place for their car storage. They work there or use the extra space as a studio. Many artists and musicians do this, not to bother the family with noise. In this case, a garage footprint can be as big as 30×30.

When it comes to height, many don’t think a lot about it. Naturally, the ceiling should be several feet higher than cars. The average height is about 8 feet. But what if you’d like to build a loft? Besides, it depends on the kind of roof. There are at least a dozen of them. It can be flat or curved, A-shaped, or even pyramid-like.

The more unusual a roof is, the costlier it becomes. To reduce the price, it’s recommended to build simple roofs.

How to Define Required Space?

Logically, that first thing to do is to find out the dimensions of two cars. Use any suitable tool, for example, a tape measure. Length, width, and height should be measured. As for the width, the measurements should be as accurate as possible. Good, if two cars fit in. But there should be also space to open all the doors without damaging them.

Too narrow garage won’t allow people to move inside. They should be able to walk around the cars freely. Ideally, every dimension of a car should be increased by a few feet (30 or more).

Storage, toolboxes, and other items should be accommodated as well. In that way, a future garage expands even more. 2-3 extra feet will be enough to keep all the necessary things.

Some people use their garage as a place for work or rest. In this case, two-car garage dimensions should be large enough to move freely. Take into account that every extra foot increases the price.

What If I Have Limited Space?

There are situations when local lows restrict building large garages. Besides, your budget can be limited as well. Even if you have a small piece of ground, it’s possible to build an excellent garage there. But it’s necessary to determine a 2-car garage size thoroughly.

The way out is simple. Shelves, hanging on the walls, will occupy less room. Since length and width cannot be changed, increasing height will help. One can go further and attach a loft. It’s better to add a staircase, but an ordinary ladder can be applied as well. This will significantly save space in the garage.

Those who can afford it may add a second store. It can be an entire room with a small window. No matter if it will be an extra room for guests or working area. We believe that you’ll find a use for it.

Garage Door

Along with the garage construction, building its door should be planned properly. The average double door width is 16 feet. Otherwise, the car mirrors or the walls can be damaged. The interior width should be about 18 feet.

A wide double door will cost less. But if it’s not convenient for you, plan two single doors for each car. Their width is usually 9-10 feet. But this method requires a 24-foot-garage. That’s a costly option, so the width can be reduced to 22’.

Let’s sum up. 2-car garage door dimensions are 16×9 feet. These are just middle values for a single door. It can be wider or narrower. If you are going to make a double door, you should increase these dimensions.

Price

There are two common ways to determine the price. In the case of the limited budget, it should be determined first. Every little and big expense should be considered in advance. Otherwise, it’s highly likely that they will exceed the budget.

If you have enough financial means, there’s another way. Set the price and add the acceptable sum of possible costs. For example, the supposable price is $10,000. But you are ready to pay $200 over in case of something.

So, a small two-car garage costs about $10,000. This is a perfect price for a garage that accommodates vehicles only. Of course, there won’t be much room, but it’s extremely cheap. The dimensions of such a garage won’t exceed 20×20.

Building a 24×24 garage will cost just a little more expensive. The price is around $13,500. If there is a loft, add $500-600 over. This price includes storage space and a staircase. The same garage with two floors costs $23,200.

The ground, chosen for building also matters. If there are trees or bushes, they have to be removed. This costs some cash. Ideally, the surface should be flat.

How to Reduce the Cost?

We believe that everyone would like to save money, if possible. Even if your financial position is fine, there’s no need to spend extra cash. There are several ways to make the entire process less costly.

1. The price depends on how big a 2-car garage is. While planning, consider the space you need only. We’ve written a lot about 24×24 garages. Indeed, most people prefer this size for two vehicles. But some have two tiny smart cars and don’t plan to change them. If you’re one of those, it’s not necessary to build a large garage. We’ve paid attention to various storage, drawers, and places for keeping tools. When you have nothing to keep but a car, why pay more? Another way is to build an attached garage. That means, one of its walls is adjacent to the wall of the house. Apart from the wall, the house can supply electricity to the garage. A detached garage with its own electricity and water systems will be much more expensive.
2. A widespread decision is to hire a work crew. People believe that professionals will do their work better. There is some truth in it. Still, many of those work crews do their work carelessly. There are many stories about low-quality constructions. Customers paid a lot and got a garage where something always went wrong, be it a water system or a flooring. If you know how to do something, do it yourself. Invite your friends or relatives to help, if they don’t mind. Read special books and guides because some firms try to cheat their clients. The more you know, the less likely you are to waste money for nothing.
3. Avoid firms that offer building custom garages. They may be perfect, but won’t be cheap for sure.
4. Buy cheaper materials. Cheap doesn’t mean bad. Some materials are expensive just because they are branded.

Design Ideas

Let’s suppose, your garage is finally built. In most cases, they don’t look attractively in this stage. Bare walls, flooring, and doors – that’s it. Here are some 2-car garage ideas.

Try to stick to a chosen style strictly. If you want to paint the walls blue, a red drawer will look ridiculous.

Paintings, plants, and other decorations will liven any boring garage up. If you’re skilled enough, make a bench or a storage area by yourself. This will be an exclusive design.

Just be creative and do what you think is right. This is your garage, and nothing can stop you.