What are your thoughts on tandem garages?

[4king]

3.5 garage here. I didn't know they were putting in the curb stop and the builder told me the garage space was going to be the same as my neighbors 3+1. The curb stop is my main gripe as I would prefer to have that space as needed to my truck.

I picked my neighborhood mainly because one of the first houses on a corner lot in the first phase had a 4 car garage, 2 full size side to side. (completely filled to the top btw like a storage unit with junk as most 3rd bays are by the sheeple who are not car people. My neighbor behind me has a 3 stall with the 3rd stall being an extra car deep. He uses it again as storage space for his kids bikes and junk and a fridge

I did make it explicitly clear that the cement was to meet the edge of the corner of the garage for extra parking space. I checked when they first lad the pattern for the driveway and threw a hissy fit when they only made it line up to the third bay and they had to re dig the plot for the driveway

What really made me mad is that I took for granted that since the house had ten foot ceiling the garage would too, NOPE. 9 feet in the garage wtf.

Above the garage is a huge attic space, you step 2 feet down to it to get on the boards above the main support beams. You would think they use the same support to run the length of the house but the attic is totally seperate like the garage was built in as an exterior option

[Darren M]

I like it. Add a simple wall w/ door, some HVAC and viola, semi-secure shop!

[mk5.0]

That is where we see most of ours. Saves the 10-15k price tag of the 3rd garage bay extension and the increased lot cost!

Where they get REAL nice is when buyers do a 4 car tandem. Take the 3 car tandem and add the garage extension, combine that with 18' ceilings, and you have a VERY useful space!

Fixed..

[black2002ls]

I've seen a few houses with tandem 3 car garages. It's mostly for lot sizes that are 50 ft wide, so you can still have a 3 car garage without the extra lot size that is usually not available in certain home builders subdivisions. It wouldn't bother me one bit.

That is where we see most of ours. Saves the 10-15k price tag of the 3rd garage bay extension and the increased lot cost!

Where they get REAL nice is when buyers do a 4 car tandem. Take the 3 car tandem and add the garage extension, combine that with 10' ceilings, and you have a VERY useful space!

[lowthreeohz]

I wouldn't mind one but would always prefer a 3 wide where available.

[Rick Modena]

I've seen a few houses with tandem 3 car garages. It's mostly for lot sizes that are 50 ft wide, so you can still have a 3 car garage without the extra lot size that is usually not available in certain home builders subdivisions. It wouldn't bother me one bit.

[bird_dog0347]

Mine is a traditional 3 car... I wouldn't take the "tandem" over mine but do wish my 3rd car garage was deep like the tandem there... that'd be the shit!

[Ruffdaddy]

I would love one for the workspace and 2 cars. Or a trailer.

[snacksnack]

I don't see an attic in the pic posted if thats the case then thats probably where all your attic shit will go.

Attics aren't always accessible from the garage.

[krazy kris]

I don't see an attic in the pic posted if thats the case then thats probably where all your attic shit will go.

[GeorgeG.]

In reference to that pic you posted, that 3car is all one level. Not a bad setup if you have a smaller project like a car or small suv. The ones ive seen, the 3rd (tandem) spot was actually raised about 4-5 inches (it was an optional media room) so if your project is ever in a non running state, you'd have to push it up that curb. Also, the ones ive seen may hold a very small boat.

[whitetrash]

I had never considered a tandem garage until a friend of mine bought a house with one. He can fit his vette, trailblazer, and f250 in it. Doesn't leave work space but being able to get 2 smaller vehicles and a large truck inside has me considering them. Cars aren't hard to roll for room to work

[Big A]

I would personally go with what is cheaper and has a bigger yard. But be honest with yourself; your wife liked the new house because it is newer and more expensive. That is all wives seem to give a shit about when looking at houses. They try to make up excuses about flooring, or storage, or size to sound less petty, but bottom line is they expect new shit and for some reason want to pay as much as possible. Same shit I saw with my wife when we bought last year, and believe me I feel for what you are going through. Don't get tired and give in like I did. I ended up in a brand new house, fucking small yard, and it wasn't nearly as cheap as I wanted to go for just a house and no land. Grow the set that I didn't, find what you want, and push on that. Women do not have the ability to choose houses based on usefulness. They want it pretty, new, and not cheap. Brother, it is time to nut up or shut up!

Don't pass off you experience as gospel, not everyone has a wife like yours, and the inability to communicate with her like you do.

This is a personal decision that only you know the answer to, if you are in the garage a lot, have lotsa of tools/projects, and a definite need for one configuration over the other, then the garage should have a play in the decision. I'm also not talking about the "If I had garage X, then I'd certainly get into doing more out there," that's not enough to sway a decision on your living space, nor should you decide based on party parking for a handful of parties that you might have.

Bottom line, the family as a whole will be spending most of y'alls time inside, so choose a home that you can live in comfortably, without anyone feeling like there was an unnecessary concession made. Both garage set-ups are plenty useful,.

How much you spend is a whole different conversation, which should have been decided before you started looking, and you can expect to be pretty close to the limit that is set. In our case my wife and I both wanted as much house as we could safely afford, so we defined what that dollar figure was, and looked at homes in that range.

[David]

They pass that off as a three-car garage? I see a two-car garage with extra work space.

More or less 2.5. I've even come across a few that the only way you were getting out of the car parked in that third slot was trunk or backseat.

I always liked the traditional setup with the third slot added next to it and extend that.

[juiceweezl]

They pass that off as a three-car garage? I see a two-car garage with extra work space.

Yep. To me, that's for a boat. Just back it in and unhook and still have room to leave truck in garage.