In a message dated 4/7/1 11:03:06 AM, mikegrafton@home.com writes: << I don't know, but is there a MINIMUM width for a "bay" to be usable for parking (in general, not just 356s) and an optimum size? I have several cars and am slowly looking for a porsche, a 356 or 912 (sorry) probably. >> A typical residential garage door is 8' wide and has a 10' clear space bay. A door for a two-car garage is usually 16'. If you're going to build a garage to work on the car you should consider the width to be at least 12' and 14' (clear) or more would be better. Many two-car garages are 20' deep and 20' wide (400 sq. ft.). Give lighting and ceiling height a lot of attention. We recently converted a portion of a professional mechanic's shop into a sales showroom. (the best Porsche mechanic in these woods by the way). Very interesting project. Daniel Macdonald AIA NCARBDaniel Macdonald AIA Architects, Inc.1595 Grant AvenueSuite 200Novato, CA 94945(415)899-0050FAX (415)899-0055DMacdonald@DMAIA.com
In a message dated 4/7/01 2:03:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mikegrafton@home.com writes: << Subj: garages Date: 4/7/01 2:03:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: mikegrafton@home.com (Michael Grafton) To: 356talk@356registry.org I don't know, but is there a MINIMUM width for a "bay" to be usable for parking (in general, not just 356s) and an optimum size? I have several cars and am slowly looking for a porsche, a 356 or 912 (sorry) probably. Mike Grafton 85 Jeep Wrangler 89 Jeep Grand Waggoner (love the fake wood sides) 91 Acura Legend plus the 4 nonrunning corvairs of course >>-----------------------------Hello Mike; Your architectural answer is YES and NO. On private property there are usually no "laws" that regulate the size of garage spaces. There are laws that say you have to have parking spaces for 1or 2 cars (usually 10'x20' ) but no law that you have to park the cars in the garage - th driveway will meet the code requirements.. Vehicles can be 3.5 feet wide (driving tractor, or 10' + (a small Boat on the trailer) so every garage is unique. The "typical" developer (tract house) will settle for a standard 8' wide x 7' high overhead door into (typically) a 10' x 20' area on the floor for a car. Typically, there will be a 4" diameter steel 'lally' post to support the beam or attic framing EXACTLY where your door will open on the drivers side (or worse) on the kids side of the car. Also, the typical garage will have ceiling lights over the top of the roll-up door so you can only work on something with the door closed. Personally I have never done a typical garage, preferring instead to anticipate the clients future prosperity, and using 9' wide or larger doors and 8' in height as a rule - and I have no columns inside. (Halfway thru a residential design my client bought a boat and wanted to keep it "inside" the garage on the trailer. The overhead door became a sliding barn style door 10' high with a peak at about 13'- 6" . Later, as the house was being built he got married, and his wife hated boats so out it went - and we redesigned the garage into (get this) an indoor Handball/Squash court - 20' deep x 20' wide x 40' long - without being noticeable from the street. He parked his cars in the driveway. Fun with architecture. In the future he can probably get 20 cars inside on two levels and a moveable NYC parking lift. (Another client wanted a garage for his 20 classic cars -then- added his house on top of it - all build into the side of a natural slope on the property (and some rather interesting construction to protect the occupants from the hazards of the garage.) Heck, Bill Gates has a 30 car inside garage in his house for staff and guests. (His house took almost three years to get the foundations done - all under an existing woodland that stayed (or was replaced) intact - mose of his 50,000sf residence is below grade for security and idio(t)sincricy. It all depends on what you need....its only money. Architect Charles Weiler
Mike,This'll probably get laughs from pros on the list, but there's a book called Architectural Graphic Standards that list standard, minimum and max sizes for about anything you can build. It's a bit spendy (abt $100 when I bought my one-year-old issue some years back), but if you're planning any further building projects, it'll keep you from all sorts of mistakes.Ron LaDow