Garage how small is too small?

[Rich76_911s]

What is the smallest garage you have worked in?

My wife and I are looking at a place with a garage that is 10ft x 19ft.

Anyone here successfully worked in something so narrow?

Right now I am working out of my parents barn which is a 45 minute drive, but nice and big. The barn will still be avaliable when / if we buy the new house.

[Scuba Steve]

That's basically one parking space + 6 inches on both sides. Where there's a will, there's a way I guess. I've worked in a garage about 12 or 13 feet wide and always had to angle the floor jack in when the car went up or down. But the garage was also a foot or two deeper. It can be done, but you'll spend some time trying to figure out how to get around the car to get to the other side a lot.

[imcarthur]

That's basically my size & I have a freezer stuffed at one end. I have done suspension & normal maintenance on the 911 but I wouldn't want to work on anything larger.

Ian

[sammyg2]

Garage how small is too small?

I'd say anything under about 15,000 square feet

I had a single car garage once, it was almost useless.
My current garage is listed as a 2 1/2 car and it's barely adequate.

[Rich76_911s]

Thanks for your thoughts and experiences. Pretty much exactly what I have been thinking. Possible, maybe. But not a lot of fun. Might have to leave the big stuff in the barn and use the garage as my component repair shop.

Unfortunetly in the area we are looking and our price range results in a 1 car garage 95% of the time.

Sammy I like the way you think. If it were up to me, we'd be looking for garages with a house attached.

Here is a photo of the house:

[Oh Haha]

We bought our house based on the garage size. Seriously.




Is there room on the property to build a decent size garage? If so, then deal with the one car stall until you can build one.

That is, if you like the house/property.

BTW- That is a cozy looking house. I like the stone front fascia.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Rich76_911s

What is the smallest garage you have worked in?

My wife and I are looking at a place with a garage that is 10ft x 19ft.

Anyone here successfully worked in something so narrow?

Right now I am working out of my parents barn which is a 45 minute drive, but nice and big. The barn will still be avaliable when / if we buy the new house.

Mine is too small. I have about 20" on each side of my car, and about 24" behind it. Of course the 928 is super wide...

It's basically a parking spot.

[VaSteve]

Paging Rick Lee.

He had the narrowest garage I've ever seen and turned out some world class projects. I'd have gone nuts in that tiny space.

[Rich76_911s]

A success story, yeah that's what I need.

I remember one pelican, an Englishman I believe, did some pretty awesome work out of a tiny space.

OH haha to answer your question. The property is too small to build a proper garage, possibly to make it longer, but wider I am sure would go over the building envelope of the property.

Trust me when I say I know that NO garage is big enough. The barn I work out of now is at least 40 x 30 and gets claustrophobic at times.

[imcarthur]

Not a good picture but you can see the side walls. I keep cardboard/wood there to help with door edge dings.



That's my camber tool resting on the bumperette.

Ian

[Noah930]

10x19 is too small, IMO. You can do it, but it won't be fun. It's more covered parking for the car, rather than space for you to actually get projects done.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

Paging Rick Lee.

He had the narrowest garage I've ever seen and turned out some world class projects. I'd have gone nuts in that tiny space.

You should have been there when Charlie and I were both smoking and knocking back a case of beer while doing my SC full suspension job. We almost ran out of room for the beer bottles and ashtrays.





This is my spare garage now.


This is my main garage and I have plenty of room.


Eric Coffey and I did his BMW brakes in it yesterday and it was such a luxury to have so much space.

[LakeCleElum]

I had a garage that small when I was in college. Got my m/c and MG Midget in it....Pulled the engineof the MG and took in in the basement of the unit to rebuild....

Recently built a new home on 3 acres......Garage is 48 X 32....3 rollup doors on the front and one on the rear.......With 16 m/c, 4 snowmobiles, 2 911's, 2 riding mowers, a Camry and P/u, it's still too small.............

[TGTIW]

Are you staying in Bucks County? Beautiful area, I grew up in Carversville.

[Rich76_911s]

Originally Posted by TGTIW

Are you staying in Bucks County? Beautiful area, I grew up in Carversville.

No we'd be in Delaware county. We moved out of Bucks this summer, because my wife's commute was very long and very frustrating. I guess I should update my status.

Bucks County is a great place, for both 911's and bicycle riding. I ride in the Carversville, Point Pleasant, Frenchtown area. It is beautiful, particularly out in that direction. If I could I'd buy a big farm out there with a giant barn for playing with the cars.

Imcarthur, I had a dream last night about having to put padding in on the walls to eliminate the chance of door dings.

Thanks again for the stories. Running out of room for beer bottles does sound like it could be a real problem. I had not thought of that yet.

Rich

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

I had a garage that small when I was in college. Got my m/c and MG Midget in it....Pulled the engineof the MG and took in in the basement of the unit to rebuild....

Recently built a new home on 3 acres......Garage is 48 X 32....3 rollup doors on the front and one on the rear.......With 16 m/c, 4 snowmobiles, 2 911's, 2 riding mowers, a Camry and P/u, it's still too small.............

One can never have enough.... I have somehow nearly reached capacity with my 50x100 hangar/workshop plus my 2 car garage. I have to park some of my stuff outside when I get a customer's airplane in for service.

[Rich76_911s]

Tim, you were the first person that comes to mind when I think, "no garage is big enough."

[Scott Douglas]

Swimming pool noodles work great for preventing door dings/scratches. Cheap too.

[GH85Carrera]

At my old house the garage was very small. I could not even park my El Camino in there and get the garage door down. The Elky stuck out several inches with the front bumper pressed against the wall.

My Porsche at that time was a 914. If I had a passenger with me I stopped in the driveway and had them get out. I would park real close to the wall on the passenger side so I could open the door far enough to squeeze out.

I managed to do a lot of work in there. I dropped the engine & transmission and did a clutch job in that tight space by myself.

The main reason I live in my current house is the garage. It is an oversize 3 car garage with a bathroom & workshop area. When I saw the garage I fell in love, I assumed there was a kitchen and bedroom attached. it did not really matter.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by Rich76_911s

Tim, you were the first person that comes to mind when I think, "no garage is big enough."

I did manage to build an ultralight in my parent's two car garage many years ago.... where there is a will, there is a way.

But like I said, no garage can ever be big enough