What style of garage should I put on this house?

[dah328]

I am considering converting the carport on the house below into a garage. The house has some mid century modern and contemporary elements and I would like the garage to complement those. This is a small-timer project, so I can't move the driveway and I'd prefer to use the roof of the existing carport.

It seems that a common garage design for more contemporary houses is the one pictured below the house with the horizontal plank siding and the translucent glass garage door. Is that a reasonable direction to consider for the garage? Are there other designs that I should consider?

 

[Concordia]

It seems that you're pretty well stuck with four brick walls and a clean-looking door.

Unless you opt to install a Bat-cave beneath your basement.

But let one of the real architects chime in. There may be something equally useful and more cool out there.

 

[Arthur PE]

where is the house located?
what climate?

imo a garage would mess up the look

 

[JayJay]



imo a garage would mess up the look

idk, I think a garage that complements the house well will enhance the overall appearance of the house. I don't like cars parked in front of a house; thus, the garage will conceal it and will look much better than a car parked in the carport.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

I think the carport lends itself to a garage in the style that you posted. Nice choice on that.

 

[BrianVarick]

What are the two windows inside the car port that you would be losing?

 

[dah328]

Thanks for the responses so far. I'm hesitant to put a lot of money into relocating the garage or some other more substantial project because that money couldn't be recouped in resale value.

What are the two windows inside the car port that you would be losing?

Good point. It's just a small room that serves as a mudroom/playroom for kids. There is another window in that room on the side of the house to the left of the carport, so the room would still get some outside light.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Why put forth the effort if you don't plan to do it 100%?

 

[BrianVarick]

^That logic doesn't make sense in the real world. You can always take things to the next level, but you have to draw the line somewhere. I can completely understand him wanting to invest enough money to make his house more usable, but not wanting to overdo it and throw money away.

 

[Arthur PE]

again, depending on climate (no snow, moderate/temporate, like Cali) I would go for a carport, perhaps double with front storage closets
I would build it to the left of the existing, perpendicular to the current one (in the grass, not in front of the house) with a covered walkway to the house
perhaps with a matching brick 3/4 height wall facing the street (and the storage on the rear rather than in front of the cras (or both?)
matching roof to the home, sloped towards the front/street, mimic home roof

some nice things can be done, materials to match your home

 

[Arthur PE]

Why put forth the effort if you don't plan to do it 100%?

everything starts with a 'budget', based on what one can afford, value derived, other expenditures/projects and return on investment
some say 90% in 1 week is better than 95% in one month, you can never achieve 100% or perfection, the 3 extra weeks of use may be worth the 5% difference
and especially if the 90% only costs 80% as muc as the 95%

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Didn't sound like there was much added value, personally I would certainly pay more for a house with a garage, but I would prefer detached.

 

[JayJay]



Didn't sound like there was much added value, personally I would certainly pay more for a house with a garage, but I would prefer detached.

I also prefer detached garages, and one can be done nicely for not a whole lot of money. Any garage is likely to add lots of value to the house and make it more marketable.

 

[dah328]

Unfortunately, there are other houses on both sides of the house so no room to do anything on either the left or right side of the house. The back yard is small and has no access to the road, so a detached garage really isn't a possibility. I would probably do some kind of interesting carport if I were only interested in improving the external appearance of the house, but a garage is necessary for keeping things such as parts cars and the requisite tools to work on them both out of sight and secured.

On the practical side, someone did suggest using a garage door with polycarbonate or acrylic panels since they would be both less expensive and lighter weight than glass panels. The weight could be a limiting factor if I build off the existing carport structure.

 

[Britalian]

Tudor definitely Tudor. Or go subterranean. Nice