Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rootes75]

Well, after the last few years renting we have finally found a house in our village to suit us as a family.

It ticks all the boxes apart from the size of garage for me. Our current rental has a huge double length garage, it houses my 47 Hillman Minx and the 37 Hillman 80 Limousine, you can image it is very long.

The new house though has a single integral garage, ok so far. But where the stairs are situated they form a recess into the garage space, it comes in 3ft from the wall and is approx. 3,7 ft from the floor. From my measurements I can get the 47 Minx bonnet just under the recess, it will be very tight though.

This is one reason we sold the Karrier truck, it has therefore freed valuable space in our shed for the storage of the Hillman 80.

Storing our vehicles is always a headache....
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[Rick]

Good stuff, is there any room behind the garage to potentially knock-through one day?

RJ
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Rick - Admin
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[Rootes75]

No room as the garage is integral to the house. Long term we are thinking about looking at renting a larger shed but that is a goal/wish more than reality at the moment.

My way of thinking is that at least the one car can be stored at home. I simply couldn't have gone for a house without any garage space at all.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[badhuis]

You never know what might happen with you neighbours.

Almost 30 years ago, after some years renting a house, we bought a cheap small house, end of a row of three, no garage. Garage rented opposite in the street. Then 6 years later, the building next to our house (an old communal bath house) came for sale. We could just afford to buy it as it was in a bad state. After 8 years of using that space as a garage / shed for my old cars I converted the building into our living room, merging the rooms with our existing house.

In the end, after tearing down an old shed which was behind the bath house, we got a nice living house with a good sized garden and newly built 3-car garage next to it. The new garage was even extended a few years later when I was able to buy a small piece of land next to it. Doing most of the building works (brick laying, pouring concrete floor, putting up wooden beams for the roof, electricity and waterworks) to house and garage myself saved a lot of money and made it possible to realise. I am not a builder or anything like that, but understand the mechanics of a building and am not afraid to learn.
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment

[Ray White]

When my wife and I found this place 20 years ago (a 3 bed detached house with a separate licensed boarding cattery) I thought I would have a really nice spacious garage; after all, we have several acres of a Derbyshire hillside including a small paddock - so space is not the problem.

What I hadn't appreciated was the extent to which 'green belt' regulations would limit my ambitions. All I could get planning permission for was a replacement for the existing small (but delapidated) double garage.

Dealing with the local Council jobsworths can be very frustrating.

[Rick]

I'm sure that many of us have based house buying/renting decisions on the storage/parking space available

RJ
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Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
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[mikeC]

[Ray White]

In my experience many "non car" people regard a garage simply as extra storage space and the car is never kept in it.

If attached to the house, most Estate Agents will promote a garage as potential accommodation; ie. a Granny Annexe.

[Rootes75]

Two houses we looked at had had their garages converted into extra rooms, carpeted / plastered walls etc. One was converted into a games room with a nice pool table inside.

You are right, a lot of people these days simply don't want to garage a car and therefore use the space for other things.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[alastairq]

Following my 2nd divorce, my instructions to my local estate agents were, find me a big garage with bedroom attached.

Saved a lot of hassle......the agent's boss being a car enthusiast, knew exactly what I meant.

Ended up with a double[lengthways], but wider than normal garage, and a nice nearly new one bed bungalow, almost attached.
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Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
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Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[Keith D]

Fifty years ago, cars were far more prone to terminal rusting than a modern vehicle is. In those days it was important to keep the car under cover in a garage. Nowadays most cars don’t rust and a modern cutter/polish will restore the shine relatively easily.

And if the mem sahib wants an extra room in the house.........

Keith
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1926 Chrysler 60 tourer
1932 Austin Seven RN long wheelbase box sedan
1950 Austin A40 tourer
1999 BMW Z3
Its weird being the same age as old people.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution

[alanb]

Back in the 90s I had an American colleague visiting us and he was amazed the British people were the only people he knew that kept a"$100s worth of junk in their garages and $20,000 worth of car on the drive" or street.
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old tourer


Morris 8 two seater

[Rick]

[alanb]

I've often thought about moving but I feel we've left it to late, we have friends and close family near by and are central to other friends and family that have moved farther afield, halfway between Norfolk & Devon, Cambridge & Somerset, Kent & the Cotswolds. One big draw to moving away from this area is house prices, we could buy a similar house to ours in Norfolk for less than half the price, similarly in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, but as we are getting older and just have our first granddaughter I feel we shall remain where we are.
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old tourer


Morris 8 two seater

[BigJohn]

I had my new garage built to building regs, insulated floor, ceiling, double block insulated walls etc. so if I ever decide to sell my house there is an easily converted 40'x13' granny annexe next to it.

(But I don't intend to move as it's a nice place to work in).
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1974 Mk1 Escort.