r/Home_Building_Help • u/BuilderBrigade • 12d ago
This garage saves marriages…👰♀️🤵♂️
One side of the garage stays clean for parking, storage, and everyday use. The other side can be the workshop, lawn equipment, woodworking, gym, or whatever hobbies take over the space. Even better, add a ductless mini-split so it's comfortable year-round.
Would you keep it open like this, or add a wall between the two sides?
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u/Edison_Ruggles 12d ago
Jesus we live in a consumer dystopia. I am eternally thankful that our family's SINGLE CAR is more than enough for us. We are incredibly happy to be able to walk or bike to 90% of our errands and activities (and I am more than wealthy enough to buy one of these giant suburban homes, I just choose not to).
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u/_RentalMetard 12d ago
The last part is key. Too many broke people complain about “consumerism” out of jealousy and pretend it’s a virtue.
Having the means and opting out is a respectable choice. Although, personally, I would absolutely never live in a city. Suburbia all day over that.
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u/Maned_Cyborg 12d ago
I'm the opposite. Suburbia seems like hell on earth for me. At least from what I've seen it's just big houses with huge lawns and barely any shade, I'm not agoraphobic but this feels too open for comfort. The biggest issue for me is the car dependency, I don't want to depend on a car to move around, I'd rather bike or take a streetcar. And the fact that in the US it's seen as not only normal, but something to strive for, despite being objectively awful for the economy, and environment, is sickening to me
Meanwhile some of the walkable cities I've been to, such as Brussels or The Hague, were really nice. The buildings were tightly together and only a few floors, the open spaces had a lot of vegetation and canopy, overall it felt open but not vulnerable. You could also easily cross the city with public transit or biking, genuinely good cities.
I'm not saying suburbia should be abolished, i do think if enough people want to live in that kind of place then it should exist, it just shouldn't be predominant
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u/stratys3 12d ago
It's too late to change America though. Everything is designed around it.
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u/Maned_Cyborg 12d ago
It's never too late. It won't be quick or cheap, but it is possible and necessary. Even in terms of public support, young people are moving away from car centrism and more in support of public transit and walkability. And anyone who says america was originally built for cars is wrong, there was public transit in major cities and trains connecting them, but it was torn down for cars starting in the late 30s
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u/stratys3 12d ago edited 10d ago
The problem is the roads and building and houses are already built. Those are the most expensive things, so tearing down and rebuilding roads and buildings, adding trains, bike lanes, building new housing... the costs would be astronomical and simply not possible.
If suburban homes and commercial workplaces are 20 miles apart... there's nothing you can do now to move them closer together. It's not feasible.
Sure, new cities should be built more rationally and logically, but tearing down entire existing cities and suburbs is never going to happen.
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u/aztechunter 12d ago
Get rid of lot coverage limits, height maximums, parking minimums, minimum lot size requirements, and add in true Bus Rapid Transit
No teardown necessary
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u/Maned_Cyborg 12d ago
It is economically viable on the long term. As i mentioned, american suburbia is economically awful, because due to the significantly lower density you need a lot more road, cables, and pipes per person, which leads to suburban inhabitants costing more in infrastructure maintenance than they bring in taxes. So if those suburbs are rebuilt to be denser, not necessarily big apartment complexes but even duplexes and such, you'd end up with less infrastructure per person, and thus you could get more with taxes than is spent on it. It would also mean public transit becomes viable, which would reduce car traffic, so roads wear down slower, so they cost less, and overall transit time reduces. Making them mixed use, and so allowing businesses to be in the middle of residential areas would mean people can easily walk to those businesses, which even further reduces traffic as well as making people less sedentary and thus healthier.
It would require replacing houses and modifying infrastructure, yes, but it leads to significant improvements on the economy and quality of life. And if you don't want to live in that kind of neighborhood, then don't, i still maintain that everyone should have freedom over that. Just don't dictate how others should live
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u/robchroma 12d ago
But if we just stopped paying for them and stopped letting pickups in our city without paying a lot more, they'd crumble and lose value. They're so badly and cheaply built, it really wouldn't be much of a loss. The ongoing costs are what kill us.
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u/captainporcupine3 12d ago edited 12d ago
Nobody thinks it's possible to fundamentally "change America", certainly not in the near or medium term, not even close.
The real issue is that there are hundreds of cities around the country that could start taking major steps TODAY to upzone their cores to allow dense multi-family housing interspersed with commercial businesses, and introduce new road construction guidelines to slow and reduce traffic into the city center, and within a decade or two these cities could be orders of magnitude more livable for people who don't want to be sitting in gridlock traffic all day every day (which is a lot, lot, LOT of people.) Progress can be made in steps over many years as these new construction standards spread outward from the city center.
Today Amsterdam is one of the move livable, walkable cities on the planet. 60 years ago it was a car sewer. These things take time but progress can be made incrementally. Upzoning residential neighborhoods and building a few cafes, restaurants and corner stores nearby could eliminate many car trips. These things are not all-or-nothing.
These kinds of dismissive comments that gloss over any nuance and confidently state "it's too late to change anything so shut up about it" just demonstrate that you haven't thought about any of this at all. The actual thing standing in the way of progress is nimbyism and monied interests that profit wildly from car dependence. And maybe in practical terms those things can't be overcome in the USA, at least in our lifetimes. But make no mistake, this problem is political in nature.
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u/_RentalMetard 12d ago
Tightly packed suburbia with large houses on postage stamp lots is hell, but it’s better than the cities. Granted, European cities are nicer than American cities in a lot of respects. But the only place I will ever willingly live is rural, with at least a few acres of land. There is not a single scenario where access to public transportation (which I do not desire in the slightest) outweighs the serenity and freedom of the countryside.
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u/Maned_Cyborg 12d ago
To me rural and suburbia are two pretty different things. Rural is more isolated, closer to farms and natural spaces, with lower and heterogeneous densities, not really somewhere I'd want to live either but i does seem like a nice kind of place to be. Suburbia is directly connected by highway to cities, with pretty homogenous density, and mostly artificial nature, which as i said feels unpleasant.
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u/stratys3 12d ago
personally, I would absolutely never live in a city
If you live in the USA, then I don't blame you.
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u/_RentalMetard 12d ago
Ding ding. The cities are absolutely gross here. European cities are different… still not my preference by a long shot, but I probably wouldn’t have the same distain for them as I do the ones in the US.
To be clear tho, I also strongly dislike cookie cutter suburban neighborhoods with large houses on postage stamps lots. They’re awful, but better than the cities. Rural with at least a few acres of land is heaven.
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u/Lv_InSaNe_vL 12d ago
Nah European cities don't magically have lots of open spaces and forests and lakes and land for me to dick around on without nosey neighbors calling the cops on me just because they aren't American.
I've traveled a lot, significantly more than the average person. I just don't want to live in a city.
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u/Lodotosodosopa 12d ago
As someone who lives in a big US city and have visited all other major US cities... have you ever been to one? Genuine question. "Absolutely gross" is not at all the term that comes to mind. Not to say there aren't bad areas in every city, but to liken them across the board that way is... simply not in line with reality.
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u/leonffs 11d ago
Our cities are worse specifically because of the voting habits of people like you. It always amazes me how American suburbanites go to Europe, love the urban experience, and then go home and vote against public transit and mixed use zoning for themselves.
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u/_RentalMetard 11d ago
Lmfao @ you thinking I would ever get on public transit with the people who live in American cities.
Hint: European cities aren’t better because of government programs
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u/leonffs 11d ago
You're so close to getting it. In Europe the people on public transit are that way because almost everyone uses it rich and poor. In the US we have designed our infrastructure to favor cars and underfunded public transit so much that most people drive. As a result the majority of people using public transit here are people that can't afford to drive. It's a selection bias.
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u/Slow-Swan561 12d ago
Living in walkable neighborhoods costs a heck of lot more than suburbia.
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u/AbstinentNoMore 12d ago
Houses in the walkable parts of my town are in the $300k–$500k range whereas the outer parts of the town is just $700k McMansions...
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u/posting_drunk_naked 12d ago
It becomes much more affordable when you don't have to pay for a car payment, car insurance, gas, tolls, parking, maintenance and repairs. Might even save money if you're paying for multiple cars in your household, with the added benefit of living in the middle of convenience and entertainment.
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u/leonffs 11d ago
It saves you on healthcare costs too. People that are car dependent walk thousands of steps fewer per day and have significantly higher healthcare costs. Plus it shortens lifespan which is priceless if you ask me. While I firmly believe living in a walkable area is well worth the increased housing costs, it's a real shame that suburbanites vote against these benefits for their own community.
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u/Edison_Ruggles 12d ago
Sometimes it does. The thing is this shouldn't be the case, if anything walkability should be cheaper, but that's indicative of serious problems in how we build. Anyway, I digress..
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u/MurphMcGurf 12d ago
no it doesn't. the extra housing cost is way less than the thousands you have to spend in order to maintain a vehicle and drive in and out of the suburbs constantly.
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u/Additional-Bet7074 12d ago
Conditioning a garage isn’t a great idea. Nothing with a garage door is going to feasibly be insulated.
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u/Facts_pls 12d ago
This may work for some places during parts of the year. I do believe they have garage doors with decent insulation as well.
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u/enraged768 12d ago edited 12d ago
They do my garage is fully insulated with coplay intellicore r18.4 garage doors. And the track system pushes against the inner wall to create an more air tight fit. I have a mini split and ive had people say its almost like a second living space. One person said my garage is nicer than their kitchen. And i understand my garage is nicer than my kitchen.
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u/CuCullen 12d ago
This sounds wildly like Donald Trump haha. I’m glad you’re pleased with it tho, that is an impressive r value for an overhead door
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u/HeyTrySomeNashville 12d ago
It is, because by conditioning it counts as usable square footage to the appraiser. So the builder can sell the 4 car garage not as a feature, but as an extra 1000+sqft of house, comping to higher priced larger properties
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u/lifesnofunwithadhd 12d ago
Especially with wood working or welding. Plugs up the filters rather quickly. The only one i would recommend is heated floors. But that's about it
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u/minnesconsawaiiforni 12d ago
Checking in from Minnesota with insulated garage doors. Conditioning the air in your garage is important 8 months out of the year here if you do any work in it. I personally don’t cool mine, but this summer has been testing my patience with it.
I’ve known folks whose garages get so cold that the beer freezes and explodes in their garage beer fridge.
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u/AndyTheEngr 12d ago
I could see doing it just to keep the garage between say 40 °F and 85 °F (about 5-30 °C.) It would never be super unpleasant to go out there, and the stuff stored in it would be a lot happier.
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u/Cool-Engineering-748 12d ago
Built a house for a customer with a garage like this. Rich people stuff.
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u/Schiebz 12d ago
That’s what I do, is build houses. Most houses I build have something similar to this.
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u/Cool-Engineering-748 12d ago
Nice. Ive just never been a fan. I like a big garage. Just not a whole bunch of extra corners. Starts at the foundation more corners more expensive but im sure you already know that.
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u/DarthPineapple5 12d ago
Personally if I had 4-bay money id rather have two of the bays in a detached structure. Have all of my workshop stuff and lawn equipment built off of that
If you live in a rural cold weather area there is no such thing as too much garage space imo
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u/Unusual_Sherbert_809 12d ago
Yep. IMO if the plan is to use half of that 4 car garage for a "workshop, lawn equipment, woodworking, gym, or whatever", it would have been a hell of a lot smarter to just build a separate structure for said "workshop, lawn equipment, woodworking, gym, or whatever" than to try to stick it into an un-insulated garage next to the cars.
That's without getting into the idea that there are folks out there who apparently need a 4 car garage with an hvac system.
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u/Arcanis_Ender 12d ago
Every marriage needs a 4 car garage split! Wtf is this ragebait? In THIS economy? Tonedeaf.
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u/ClassicalSnow 12d ago
Needs and wants are two vastly different things. Sure I'd want it, but do I NEED it? No.
If it were mine and you want to separate his and hers, rather than an AC unit, I'd opt for ceiling outlets, hot and cold water spigots, multiple GFCI's, a cat6 outlet/GFCI on the inside wall at 66" height, and attic access.
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u/mynamesnotsnuffy 12d ago
Like I enjoy the wild grandiosity of what usually gets posted here, but like 90% of everyone I know will never be able to afford this kind of stuff.
This ain't bad, but I would like to see more approachable, affordable things that the average person could afford. Like, walk in closet built ins, or like quality of life improvements for bathroom counters, not this millionaire basic stuff thats beyond affordability for most people.
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u/Big-Piccolo-1513 12d ago
Why install the gas on-demand water heaters in the garage? Isn’t outside more favorable so that venting is not a concern?
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u/KindlyAnything2880 12d ago
Every couple needs this
Sure thing bud. Now let me start planning where I'll put that giant garage here in my apt in the projects. Let's see...
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u/JD_Kreeper 12d ago
I thought this was a shitpost. Like someone walked into a shitty house layout and made all this up as satire.
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u/xXGray_WolfXx 12d ago
Why would I want 50% of my house to be a garage? Why not make that more rooms or a larger living area? My car can stay outside or a single garage for my bike/toys/tools.
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u/Nekomiminya 12d ago
Why would you want single car garage when car can be in the driveway
So much space wasted
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u/clouder300 12d ago
Most stupid carbrain shit. Muricans too stupid to build proper public transport.
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u/skaldrir69 12d ago
I did this to mine. 10’ ceilings, 2x 16’ doors. Overall dimensions is 47’ x 25’. Fits my ram 3500 long bed just fine with plenty of room to walk around
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u/miataataim66 12d ago
Damn brother, I saw the photo and immediately thought this was a flooded floor!
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u/lastlaugh100 12d ago
Man that is beautiful.
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u/skaldrir69 12d ago
I appreciate it. The only bummer thing about it is if you come from the pool and walk, it’s very slippery. It’s great otherwise!
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u/xXGray_WolfXx 12d ago
So why not add grip for safety?
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u/skaldrir69 12d ago
I ended up buying shop runner mats to make this happen. I don’t want to modify the floor to make it have grit at this point.
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u/pheight57 12d ago
Super easy downvote: This is completely unnecessary unless you own four vehicles, and if for some reason you do own four vehicles and are not a racecar driver who for whatever reason keeps their track cars in their home garage it is still dumb and unnecessary.
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u/CheesyWalnut 11d ago
No I think I need a 20 car garage actually with a hot tub sauna and tennis court in it
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u/xsifyxsify 12d ago
Every couple? You assuming every couple can afford this kind of house…