LMV Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I'm just curious. Our main home is really an old style estate. On the positive side everything was essentially gutted from an insulation/plumbing/electrical standpoint when DH and his first wife bought the house originally and did their initial remodel. We've done a lot of our own projects over the years as well and have invested a lot in geothermal, solar, and wind options recently. Structurally I think there is some truth to the claim that houses just aren't built solid the way they used to be. That said our garage is detached [it was a former carriage house converted into a 4 bay/8 stall garage]. Personally, I feel that having a detached garage is a little safer for several reasons and, because of our set up, I really don't find it inconvenient but I recently had two different aquaintances comment on how they would never buy a home without an attached garage and am curious. Overall we're very happy and not planning on selling any time soon so this really is just a curiosity question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 It depends on where you live. Our first house didn't have a garage, just a parking pad. Our 2nd had a detached garage. Not so bad for 3 seasons of the year, but in the winter in Minnesota or if it was raining it was not fun to get kids and groceries in and out of the cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 No. I grew up in the Canadian prairies. To this day, my parents still do not have a garage - at all. I would not refuse a house just based on garage/no garage attached or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alef Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I like detached garages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMV Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 We do get a fair amount of snow but have a heated driveway and paths (done with a solar/geothermal trap approach so it really isn't killing the environment I promise) so even in the winter it isn't bad. Our driveway also loops around so someone can pull up right in front of the front porch to load/unload if the weather is bad. P.S. Katie---I love the quote in your signature! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I almost prefer a detached garage. Dh was in construction and he had all his tools, so it was nice not to have that to wade through. In the nice weather, I prefer to park outside. We have a 1920s bungalow. It originally had a basement garage, which would be hard pressed to fit a modern car. We also have a detached garage. It's pretty standard for our area, but most of our homes are older. Ideally, a breezeway would be nice, but that wouldn't work for the way our house is situated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We bought our house partly because it had a detached garage. I prefer them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 The house I grew up in had a detached garage and my ILs have a detached garage, I've never thought twice about it. When I was growing up we never had a mouse in the house. My mom always thought that part of the reason was because the garage wasn't attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 It wouldn't be a deal breaker but if I had to choose between a comparable home with an attached vs detached, I would choose attached for the mere fact of lugging groceries in rain if not. I'd also wish to not have a basement garage. I find it has negatives too. I'd pick a detached before garage in basement, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMV Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 The house I grew up in had a detached garage and my ILs have a detached garage, I've never thought twice about it. When I was growing up we never had a mouse in the house. My mom always thought that part of the reason was because the garage wasn't attached. We have never had mice/rats in our house either! I admit that I kind of inherited this layout when I married DH but we designed our northern vacation home together and put a detached garage at that house as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I have a detached garage. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I believe this really can be an issue in certain regions. In our area, most houses have an attached garage and people tend to steer away from detached garages. However, I have friends living in an area where detached garages are very common and preferred. In fact, houses with attached garages don't tend to sell as well. Same with fences. In our area, having a fence raises the value of your home, especially if it is well maintained and is wood or stone or something other than hurricane fencing. When we lived in Kentucky, in the area we lived in at least, fencing of any kind made it much harder to sell your home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I don't have a garage at all, just a pad, so I guess it wouldn't matter to me. DH wishes we had a garage, but I don't think he'd care whether it was attached or not. I think attached garaged are ugly, but I do like the idea of not having to go out in any form of weather to get to the car. That would be pretty cool. It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. But I like quirky old homes and not sleek modern homes, so I might not be your average homebuyer. This area mostly has attached garages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We don't even have a usable garage, just a driveway, and I live in MN. Wouldn't make a difference either way to me. If I had to pick one though, I'd actually prefer a detached garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 In our neighborhood, it's the only kind of garage there is. So I think context matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 FL here.... I wouldn't mind detached as long as it's pretty close to the house. I don't want to have to run across the yard or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 It would not be a deal breaker at all. I don't think it would even bother me. If there were no garage, I would take that into consideration with other things. In my area, no basement would be a deal breaker for me, as would living on any kind of busy street, backing up immediately to train tracks, or no master bath/shower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I prefer attached, but did live with detached for 10 years or so, so it obviously wasn't a deal-breaker for me when we bought that one. When people buy a house it is usually about a lot more than one particular feature or lack thereof, so I think you really are okay and don't need to worry about it either way. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I like detached garages. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I don't usually post on the general forum, but this made me laugh out loud. We not only have no garage, but have 110 steps to climb to get to our front door! Winter days with 60mph winds and rain and a load of groceries is par for the course. I have even done it on crutches for 9 months with a 5 and 2 year old. I guess all things are relative! Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Chiming in as a preferrer of detached garages. We actually usually don't even have one (umm, I guess I'm realizing we've never had a usable garage, LOL). I don't want a garage built in to my home. Dirty stinky cars can get their own house. (And just to note, we live somewhere with decently significant snowfall in the winters). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We won't buy or rent houses without a garage though we don't use it to park our cars. We use them for storage of outdoor gear and my dh always uses one half for his woodworking area. Because we don't park our cars in it, I think a detached garage would be perfectly fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We have a detached garage. I usually park in the driveway instead because it's closer to the house than the garage. It didn't stop us from buying this house, or the two before it, My parents always had an attached garage. As I get older, I'm thinking an attached garage would be nice: no slipping on ice on the way to the car, no foot of snow on top of the car, no sheet of ice on the windows, etc. If I were to move, I would look for an attached garage (or a house I could add one onto.) My 200 year old house without an attached garage and four cats gets way more mice than my parents 50 year old house with an attached garage and no cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I like detached garages. Our current rental has an attached 2 car garage, and it has so much stuff in it that we don't put our cad in it, so it doesn't matter on that standpoint. The housing we're looking into on post has detached garages and that's fine with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 When we designed this house, we designed it with an attached 2 car garage. Close friends in Texas had their house destroyed, by a fire, when her Honda (car), parked in the attached garage, caught fire. If one lives in "Tornado Alley", an attached garage is a very nice place to have the underground shelter. The family can leave the house, go into the garage, and go into the storm shelter, located under the garage, without going outside, where things are flying through the air. Having a car, lawnmower, etc., with gasoline in it, in a garage, is, as one of my friends (Ph.D.) pointed out to me, many years ago, like having a bomb in your garage. If there is a fire or explosion, it is not good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I've lived my entire life in a 4-season climate and have never once lived in a house or apartment with a garage. At this point, I'd be thrilled with a garage located a half mile down the road, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I've never lived in a house WITH an attached garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We've never had a garage at all, but when we shopped for this house, one of the things on our list was that we would prefer a detached rather than attached garage. I think detached garages are safer (crime, carbon monoxide, etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I think an attached garage is a negative. Fumes! But either way, it would not be a deal breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender's green Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I think it'll depend on the area, but I personally think that houses are more attractive without them. Oh, and until 1.5 years ago we always lived in apartments, so I think nothing of having a car parked outside, or lugging groceries in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender's green Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I think it'll depend on the area, but I personally think that houses are more attractive without them. Oh, and until 1.5 years ago we always lived in apartments, so I think nothing of having a car parked outside, or lugging groceries in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Yes, we would have. We made a list of things we needed and things we wanted. For Dh, an attached garage was on the need list. I didn't have strong feelings either way, but it really is nice to just pop out to the garage in your pj's in the dead of winter to grab something from the van. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Yes, I would if I could afford to be picky. I've parked in an attached garage for 20 years now, and would not want to give that up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweiss Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I can't say that I'd rule a house out for that reason alone, but I do really love having an attached garage. It is hard to imagine not having one at this point. However, I do believe that I'd be fine with a detached garage if I moved to an area where they were fairly standard. I cannot imagine living in a house with no garage at all though!! That would be a deal breaker for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I don't even HAVE a garage (although we do have an old barn -- it holds the tractor for mowing and provides a little workshop space for DH but doesn't have room for any cars), so even a detached one would be nice. Given the choice between comparable houses with detached and attached garages, I would choose attached, because of the convenience, but really, a detached garage wouldn't be a problem for me if the rest of the house was otherwise awesome. Any garage would be nice; I am over scraping snow off of cars, and I'm a little tired of trekking across the yard to get to the car. (Of course, I probably still wouldn't be able to keep a car in a detached garage, because DH would claim it for a workshop, LOL, but such is life.) So, no, I wouldn't refuse the house for that reason at all. (And I agree that houses aren't built like they used to be. Ours was built in about 1832, and the stuff that's good and solid on it? Is the old stuff. The attempts to update it are the parts that have problems, but they're mainly cosmetic -- structurally, it's solid.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Are you kidding? A FOUR BAY garage? If you don't want it, could you mail it to me in pieces? TAKE IT!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I live in the upper midwest -- rain, snow, you name it. I'd take a detached garage over an attached one. I just think attached garages are weird, smelly, and not safe. And I am super jealous of your 4 bay garage. Not that we'd ever keep a car in there, but just think of how that would clear my husband's junk out of the house. And I'd be able to get my bike in and out of the garage without climbing over all his important garbage. However, I WOULD like a garage that actually opens in the winter. Ours has been freezing shut for years. Right now we can't get out the ice chipper, or the salt we know we have, because no one remembered to get them out before things froze. I'm thinking repairing those doors is going to be very high on our priority list this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 It wouldn't be a deal breaker but if I had to choose between a comparable home with an attached vs detached, I would choose attached for the mere fact of lugging groceries in rain if not. I'd also wish to not have a basement garage. I find it has negatives too. I'd pick a detached before garage in basement, lol A basement garage was a deal breaker for me in a house we looked at several years ago. It was a lovely home, but I couldn't imagine having to lug packages and groceries up a steep flight of stairs to get to the kitchen (and the front door wasn't an option because of the driveway layout.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 My last house had a detached garage. Never again!! It was the #1 priority on my list when I was looking for a new house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Where I live now, many houses are in the 80-100 yr old range and do not have garages. When I lived in Houston, having an unattached garage was assign of a more expensive house (newer houses). The builders use attached garages to make smaller houses look bigger. When I was a kid, we did live in a 100+ yr old house that had a carriage house that had been used for actual carriages and wagons and stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I would like a garage, don't care if it's attached or not :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbelle Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I also live in an old home with detached carriage house. I prefer it. I find some people just don't like old homes. I find many people love to give unasked for suggestions/opinions about old homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Ha! I have a carport. All of the aesthetic and safety drawbacks of an attached garaged, but none of the storage benefits. Though it is attached, we still go down a rainy sidewalk to get to it. Genius! At least we don't have to wipe snow off the one car that fits in it. I got a van this week and the van gets the carport as per the WTM Ice Removal from Too of Vehicle standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I prefer having an attached garage, but a detached one wouldn't be a deal-breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I would actually prefer a detached garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophiasapientia Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 DH has mobility issues and we live in a place with harsh winters so an attached garage was on our short list of "must haves" when we bought our home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We went from a house with an attached garage, to one with a detached on an alley. And I live in Minnesota. I dont mind at all. The back door enters into our kitchen, so in some ways bringing in groceries is more conveinent than the layout of our last house. In terms of aestheics, i actually hate houses designed with the garage as a prominent feature from the front. Our current house was built in 1915 and its adorable! I know that is not everyone's cuppa though. We are urban in a historic area and you would be hard pressed to find many attached garages in this particular neighborhood. Our last house was much newer and there was nothing with detached in that area (more suburban). ETA our detached garage is 3 stalls with a full walkup attic space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 As someone who has already had 120 inches of snow this winter so far, an attached garage would be high on our list. I wouldn't say it would be a total deal breaker but the house with the detached garage would need to have a lot more positives to make up for the lack of attached garage. our first house didn't have a garage at all but we build a detached 2 1/2 stall garage as soon as we could afford to and then a few years later we build an attached stall that joined the house to the other garage so we had a 3 stall garage that was attached. In a mild climate it wouldnt' matter so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I have a detached garage, and I like it. One thing that I've often thought I would like is a breezeway type cover between the house and the garage. A detached garage would not be a negative for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyLady Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Honestly, when my DH and I were looking for a home I passed right by any house that said the garage was detached. I've actually wondered if I ever found my perfect home if I'd be ok with a detached garage and I don't think I would be. I love having an attached garage. I grew up in the city where I had to park sometimes blocks away from my house and hated it. As an adult I had an apartment with a detached garage and hated it. When we bought our home with an attached garage I was in heaven. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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