A garage is considered an essential part of a house for many homeowners. Not only can it provide shelter for your vehicles to appear for longer but they give you extra storage space. If you’re planning to add a garage to your house, consult a home addition contractor and ask these questions.
Do I need a permit for garage addition?
Yes, garage additions require a permit. You can check with a local government employee to learn what types of permits are required and which local building codes and zoning laws you should follow. If you will be hiring contractors, you can also take help from them for knowing the about the permits you need.
What will be the cost of the garage addition?
The cost of garage addition can differ widely for different projects due to various factors involved like the square footage and the materials used in the project. You should discuss your needs with a contractor so they can give you a good estimate of the garage addition cost.
Is an attached garage better than a detached garage?
An attached garage can save your garage addition costs because one part of it will be attached to the house. This arrangement is better for people who only need a garage for parking their car and using the garage as storage space. Moreover, attached garages are preferred by people who are looking to use the space as an additional living space.
That being said, attached garages are considered to weaken the security of your house because you have another structure that is directly connected to your house. Moreover, these types of garages can block natural sunlight and air to the house as well.
On the other end, detached garages don’t interfere with the security, natural light, and airflow of your house because they are built as an individual structure, separate from the house. If you want to use your garage as a workshop as well other than parking cars, then you should opt for a detached garage. But keep in mind that the cost of a detached garage is higher than building an attached garage.
What should be the size of the garage?
You should know the local building codes before decide the size of your garage addition. The size of the garage should be determined by considering your present and future needs for parking, storage, and living.
Do you have one car but you may buy another car the next year? Then, you should build a double car garage. Similarly, alongside using the garage for parking your vehicle, if you intend to use the garage for storage or as a living space, you opt for a double garage.
A double garage will increase the cost of your garage addition project, obviously, so keep the budget in mind too when deciding the size of the garage.
Is a driveway necessary?
Yes, you need to consider a driveway for the garage as well. If you didn’t have a garage or carport, building driveway will be necessary, but if you have a carport, it will act as a driveway. Keep in mind that a single car garage driveway should be 14 feet wide while a driveway for a double car garage should have a width of 20 feet.
How to determine the garage entrances?
To make your garage functional and efficient, you should be having a pedestrian door entrance as well alongside the garage’s main door for vehicles. This will make it easy to enter and exit the garage and you won’t need to open up the primary door of the garage when you’re not using a vehicle.
Moreover, if you home was without a garage and you want an attached garage, decide which part of the house it will be connected to. The best way is to place the garage’s entrance to the house that is usually not high-traffic. Moreover, you should also consider a garage entrance that leads to a mudroom so dirt and dust doesn’t spread in your house.
Conclusion
Garage addition have many advantages, but you must plan it well to avoid extra costs and stay on budget. To ensure that, get help from home addition companies McLean for garage addition.
