Home buyers usually prefer buying a home with a garage. They use the extra space for parking vehicles or even as a living space. Be it an attached or detached garage, the garage size matters.
Garage builders often go by standard garage sizes as a rule of thumb. The standard dimensions are in square feet which refer to the width and depth of the garage. This varies depending on your need and the usage of the garage. If you use the garage for storage, you have to add to the dimensions to make for extra storage space. Similarly, if you have garage organization plans for fitting storage shelves, you should change the size to allocate extra space.
By and large, it is good to know the standard garage dimensions before planning for the perfect garage tells our garage door repair technicians in Littleton.
Reasons why the depth of a garage matters
How deep is your garage and does this really matter? What is special about garage depth? Apparently, it does for the following reasons.
- You need enough depth to accommodate the vehicle. The depth must exceed the length of your vehicle.
- Larger vehicles need extra depth to fit in and so do heavy vehicles.
- You need extra depth if you want to park one or more additional vehicles
- The depth should be enough to ensure you do not close the door on the trunk.
- If you want an organized garage, you must fit storage shelves and this needs extra depth.
- If you intend to use the garage as a living space like a den, you must fit custom shelving, benches, etc. and this needs extra depth.
- You need ample depth to enable you to walk around your vehicle freely. You should have space to walk around without bumping into the bumpers or any garage shelves.
Factors to consider before deciding the depth of a garage
Deciding the garage depth should be based on the following considerations.
Number of vehicles
Single car garage
A 1-car garage is normally 12 feet wide and 20-24 feet deep. The garage door can be 8 feet wide.
- 1 car garage width = 12 feet
- 1 car garage depth = 20-24 feet
- 1 car garage door width = 8 feet
Two car garage
In a twin-car garage, you need enough space for 2 vehicles plus extra space between both. So, it is best to expand the width. The depth remains the same as for a single-car garage unless one or both of your vehicles is a long vehicle like a limousine.
For a double car garage, you need a width of 18-20 feet. Yet, the depth can be 20-24 feet, the same as for parking a single vehicle.
- 2 car garage width = 26-28 feet
- 2 car garage depth = 20-24 feet
- Single garage door width = 8 feet
- Double Garage door width = 16 feet
Three car garage
A 3-car garage is special because it has some extra features. It is not just about fitting 3 vehicles. The 3-car garage has a central post or door between the vehicles. This post is usually placed between the 2 vehicles and the third one.
- 3-car garage width = 34-36 feet
- 3-car garage depth = 20-24 feet
- Single garage door width = 8 feet
- Double garage door width = 16 feet
Four car garage
The 4-car garage is the rarest and largest of all garages. It is often found in the most luxurious or palatial houses. These are custom garages tailored to suit the owner’s preferences. It has a center post between 2 sets of doors each 16 feet wide. You can add extra depth if you want but the minimum depth for such a garage should be 24 feet.
- 4-car garage width = 18-20 feet
- 4-car garage depth = 20-24 feet
- Garage door width = 16 feet each
Standard Garage Dimensions for Depth
After all these considerations, we can sum up the depth dimensions of a garage as follows
The standard range for garage depth is 20-24 feet
Minimum depth of garage = 20 feet
Depth of garage shelves or Cabinets- 1 to 1.5 feet each
Vehicle dimensions to be considered to decide the depth of a garage
In order to calculate the depth of a garage, you should take into account the dimensions of the vehicle.
Average-sized vehicles have a width of 8-length of 14-16 feet and 6-7 feet. These are usually standard cars and sports cars. Nowadays, cars are more compact and shorter in length being 10-12 feet long.
Larger cars and luxury vehicles are bigger in size as they have a spacious trunk and front bonnet with a dashboard, etc. They are 16-18 feet long and 6-6.5 feet wide.
Large trucks and SUVs are 16-19 feet long and 5-7 feet wide.
Depending upon the type of vehicle, its dimensions vary. These dimensions have to be taken into account while deciding the depth of the garage space.
Whatever the size of the vehicles, leave at least 3 feet of space between the vehicles. This space must be enough to open the door on either side, without dashing the wall or other vehicle.
Besides these considerations, you must also take into account any steps that might be in front of your garage. Each step might be 10 inches per tread in depth. If we consider that there are 2 steps, you have to factor in another 20 inches and add it to the garage depth.
When you build your dream garage, make sure you have the size of the garage right. Use the above pointers given by our Littleton garage door repair experts to arrive at the calculation for the depth of the garage.
Call Littleton garage door repair professional to know more about garage door repairs and other services from Spark Garage Doors at (720) 902-4081.
