Are you embarking on the construction of your new home and are you wondering about the design of your garage? Would you like to dedicate it to parking one vehicle or several? Do you plan to store equipment there or to dedicate it only to the warehouse of your furniture and seasonal tools? Do you see it as a workshop to host your activities? Discover our tips for designing the garage that suits you and the alternatives available to you if you cannot achieve your desires.
What type of garage to design?
It is essential to define your garage needs. It’s up to you to see if you want to access it from your home, if you want to park your vehicle or several, store equipment, etc. These criteria will make it possible to define the surface necessary for your needs and the future location of your garage. Indeed, to accommodate a car, an area of at least 18 m² is to be considered and up to 32 m² or more for two cars. Take into account the space you will need if this room is also intended for storing equipment, if you need electrical outlets, a water supply, ventilation, or even heating.
All these questions are essential to properly identify your needs. Depending on your answers, you will be able to define the type of garage that suits you.
The attached garage
This solution is the most frequently chosen, because it is the most practical and the easiest to build, while being the most economical! The attached garage is included in the plan of the habitable house and consists of a room extending or leaning against the wall of the dwelling. Access to the room is often possible from the kitchen, pantry or living room, away from the bedrooms.
The underground garage
The underground garage is built under the house and completely installed underground. Complex to build and expensive, it is on the other hand a well insulated space, which does not distort the dwelling and which is often well insulated since the earth keeps it cool.
Access is via a staircase that connects it to the house. Note, however, that this type of garage does not have natural light and that it can be humid, which does not allow it to be converted into a decent living room one day.
The semi-buried garage
This in-between is a solution often adopted for the development of sloping land. The garage is thus built under the house, but it is not entirely buried. It can thus benefit from a supply of natural light while being less humid than an underground model. Also, it often stays cooler. Be careful, however, because its development is expensive in terms of foundations. It is not uncommon for the roof of these semi-above ground garages to serve as an outdoor terrace.
The independent garage
As its name suggests, the independent garage does not touch the house. It is located at a distance and has the advantage of keeping noise and odors away from the living space. This is a solution increasingly adopted by individuals who wish to have a separate garage space. There are large models capable of accommodating several vehicles, but also of acting as a garden shed or storage space.
These freestanding garages can be built relatively easily and come in wood, brick, cinder block, metal or PVC models.
The carport or carpark, the alternative to the garage
When embarking on a new home construction project on a tight budget, the garage is not always a priority. Many homeowners prefer to spend their budget on living space. However, parking your vehicle under cover is an interesting solution to better protect it from bad weather, cold and frost in winter or heat in summer. It is also a good way to reduce wear and tear on the car.
The problem is the same for owners who one day have to transform their garage into a living room, which is common when the family is growing with a new child or if it is necessary to welcome a loved one. Whatever the reason, the need for a garage can arise at one time or another.
If some opt for an independent garage, others do not have this possibility. It must be said that the construction of a garage is regulated in terms of distance from public space and the neighborhood, but also constrained by the space available on the plot.
To overcome the impossibility of designing a real garage, it is possible to opt for a carport or carpark. These open or semi-open structures make it possible to shelter vehicles from bad weather. The carport can be attached to the house or built separately, independently. It can be completely open and composed of a roof held by posts or closed on one, two or three sides.
Some carport models incorporate a closed space that can be used as a garden shed or storage space. It is an inexpensive solution, since it takes between 800 and 10,000 euros on average, and which is available in multiple materials and colors to satisfy all desires and all budgets.