In Praise of Garages

[Tom]

"They don’t need to be huge—just big enough to store all your gear and all your dreams."  A woman's perspective.  Show this to the missus, the next time there is a fight over the garage.   

"The garage is a literal and figurative mudroom, a staging area for life. It affords space for the messy experimentation that happens when you’re trying and failing, fixing what’s broken—and growing into new versions of yourself."

https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/essays-culture/in-praise-of-garages/?utm_source=GetTheElevatordotcom

[lucian]

I've been a builder for 40 years . There's' a reason the customer and I always agree the garage or barn must go up first. It's existence facilitates everything that follows. I have a saying at work that I live by,  " If you can't perpetuate, facilitate" That is  , if you can't complete a task, complete what you need to to complete the task. The more you set the stage ,the easier the show becomes.   

[Muzz]

My wife's car must go in the 20 x 20 garage.  My 4wd Mistral lives outside. Not long ago we put up a 10 x 8 shed to house two electric bikes, my road pushbike, my offroad push bike and the Guzzi.  Also has a bit of storage.  The remainder of the garage has storage for all my "bits" plus all the welders, benders, lathe, comptessor, power tools etc.

Without my garage I would go nuts (some might say I am already ) very quickly.

[willowstreetguzziguy]

My job calls for me to work in customers homes. Sometimes I pass through the garage. Seeing inside the garage tells me quite a bit about them.  I can tell if they are…

Perfectionist
Do it yourselfers
Mechanics
Green Thumbers
Slobs
Executive types
Hoarders
Athletes
Hire professionals for maintenance

[Scout63]

I can decide what goes where in the garage.  My wife is in charge of all else.  Seems to work.

[Canuck750]

My two and one half stall garage served me fine for many years but I slowly seemed to just outgrow it and was very fortunate to have a reasonable area of space at the back of the small office building I own with my former business partner that was unleased and not a practical rental area. The space is my church, refuge, gathering place for like minded gear heads that drop by and my shop and bike storage area.



Without it I would have gone even crazier years ago.



I feel sorry for those whom use a garage just as a covered shelter to park a vehicle in, be it woodworking, welding, cars or bikes or any other hands on hobby, a garage is as essential as food and water.

[Stretch]

There's' a reason the customer and I always agree the garage or barn must go up first.

The German settlers in Pennsylvania almost always put the barn up before the house - sometimes living
in it with the animals for a year or two.

I knew a  guy in metro Boston who had an (illegal!) apartment that he could park his MG in. Kitchen, bath
and bedroom above with a balcony looking down on the spacious living room with wood stove and MG!
And yes, he was a bachelor........

                                                                              -Stretch

[cliffrod]

We looked at this property.  Who cares about the house- there's two shops out back. Done deal.  Then I built my studio.  Sometimes I don't even start a vehicle, much less leave the property, for a week and that has nothing to do with -.  I'm in my shops doing my thing while the world does whatever it does.   

I'm very fortunate.  Life has been a lot worse.

[Gliderjohn]

Nothing fancy but have shelter, light, air and heat.



GliderJohn

[Guzzi Gal]

The other half of the garage is for our old V-Dub convertible. My Anni is hiding in the upper right-hand corner by the bikes.

[krglorioso]

The former owner of our house had a large boat and he wanted to keep the boat indoors when not in use (We are on Lake Buchanan, TX).  The garage measures 28' x 33' and the FO left the stainless top work bench, parts and paint cabinets, pegboard wall and a half-dozen double fluorescent lights in place.  Lots of wall outlets, 120v and 240v. 

What do you mean, "What's the house like?"  How the hell would I know?

Ralph

[fotoguzzi]

[Dirk_S]

Oh, to have a traveling garage. Maybe it’ll be the reason I settle down one day and get a house. My bikes and my DIY ethics certainly yearn for one. When I lived back home with my grandparents (until I moved away in 2016), the barn was where I stored and worked on my first few bikes. And did some photography. And climbing, etc.

[larrys]

My job calls for me to work in customers homes. Sometimes I pass through the garage. Seeing inside the garage tells me quite a bit about them.  I can tell if they are…

Perfectionist
Do it yourselfers
Mechanics
Green Thumbers
Slobs
Executive types
Hoarders
Athletes
Hire professionals for maintenance

True, dat ^^^^. I visit peoples homes every day at work. Seen a lot o' cool stuff, and a lot o' junk... The numbers of unfinished projects that will never be completed is surprising.
Larry

[Dave Swanson]

Great thread!  Peeking into other man/woman caves is always very interesting!  No matter how well appointed or spartan they all have a magical appeal.  I would love to take a bike trip routed to tour these one day! 

I am lucky to have a largish 2.5 "car" garage and a wonderful ground level shop on the exposed basement side of my house.  The original owner of the house (who I knew) was an engineer, amateur inventor, and tinkerer.  He designed and built the basement shop in 1960 that has been the focal point for countless bench racing sessions and provides the space for restoring my machines.  I will forever be in his debt, because I know I couldn't have built it to his quality level.  I am very much a C- grade carpenter. 

[berniebee]

I like the last two lines of the article: "I knew I’d never park my car here. It’d be a waste of a perfectly good garage." So true.

I built a detached garage in the backyard of our fifties suburban home. No, I didn't hire a contractor. I hate it when people who you KNOW have never lifted a hammer in their lives say: "Well, I built my house...". I sketched out detailed plans for permits, hired my teenage son and a crew of his friends to help me shovel the gravel base, rake the concrete as I handled the pumper hose, and lift the roof trusses up onto the walls,etc. I installed the electricals and blew insulation into the attic. My one concession: I hired a roofer to do the roof shingles, because it's a steep sloped roof and frankly I was crapping my pants when sheathing it. One of the most satisfying projects of my life.





To get a car into there, you have to zig left around the rear corner of the house  and then zig right to get into the 8 foot wide door. Very doable for a semi skilled driver like myself, even with a GM minivan, (But watch out for the outside mirrors.) Now that I have just the widdle Kia Rio hatch, it's a breeze. But not convenient for daily use. And I'm fine with that.









It's a refuge, a meeting place with buddies and a happy mess that is my wood/metal/paint/mechanical/electrical workshop. My son's friends still drop by occasionally  with their friends, point to the garage and casually say "Well, I built that..."

[rtbickel]

The garage is full, but I have a 12x18 storage shed where I ride through the back gate and across the deck.  Works great, but if I add another bike, I may have to move.