Houses in Ireland not having garages

Owen

The house I rent doesn't have one, but my Mothers house does. And I'm grateful she does, it's dead handy when it's bucketing down and I want to get something done. But in the same housing estate, people have converted their garages to extra rooms, kitchen extensions, etc.

Why don't Irish people have garages to look after their second most valuable purchase? We're looking at houses in Poland at the moment, and most house plans come with a minimum of 1 car garage, some with 2/3.

The worst example of an unused garage I had recently was painting a car for a guy, it was a wet day, was going to cancel until he said he had a garage I could put the nose inside. Has to be quite possibly the most amazing garage I've ever seen. Wide enough for 2 large cars, mechanics pit which the guy wasn't aware of - it was boarded over - downstairs coffee room, the lot. He said it just came with the house. I would give gold for something like that!

Absurdum

I don't even have a driveway :pac:

BostonB

There simply isn't the same car culture in Ireland as there is in the UK. When I was buying a house I found it almost impossible to find a house for sale with a garage. That I could afford. So few people here even wash and hoover their cars on a regular basis.

CaraFawn

Most people in Ireland do not care about cars, see their cars condition
Most of them who had a garage built with the house converted it to make an extra bedroom or so.

So yeah if you like your car and want to have a place where you can work on it, it is extremelly difficult to find a proper house. There is virtually no house with garages here.

bazz26

It would be interesting to know of those houses with garages how many of them are actually used for their entended purpose? I would say a very small percentage, most would either be used to store junk that would otherwise get rid of or they are converted into an extra room.

Squegee

Great point OP, I'm in the middle of tendering for a garage myself. An awful lot of "new" estatse barely have room for a wheelbarrow, never mind a garage.
I've also seen a fair few garages on one off sites almost completely given over to heating systems, which to me is mind boggling.

CiniO

I was alsa always wondering why is that.

Seems that just Irish people treat cars just as mean of transport, not as anything more.

As you said - in Poland probably over 90% of houses would have garages.
On the other hand, only richer people live in houses, while most of society would live in apartments and flats, which usually don't have garages.

Myself (I lived for 25 years in Poland) never had a garage near my apartment.
But my grandmother had an apartment with garage near it (couple hundred meters), so I always could leave my car in there for couple of days if I didn't need it, and I always could do some work done with my car, as the garage had a pit.
Handy enough.

-Corkie-

I built a new house 5 years ago. Had an acre site etc. I thought hard about building a garage but it started of small but between one thing and another it was costing over 30k. We scrapped the idea alltogether and bought a large timber shed for 2k!!.

I think they are a waste of money and time because there full of junk and rubbish. You rarley see people putting cars in them.

Owen

I think that's down to the size of garages here though. A garage needs to be big enough to cope with a car, lawnmower, strimmer, hedgeclippers, power washer, bags of stuff you don't need in the house, tools, washing machine, tumble drier for the concept to work. If it's only big enough for the car, pretty soon the other stuff takes over.

I've seen a steel framed workshop errected recently for 7k which will take 2 cars and a hell of a lot of space around them which looks incredible. I'd have that any day of the week.

JamBur

How could you not know the garage had a pit?????? I feel angry reading that, would give my left testicle for a setup like that.

corktina

i have a garage..it cost me a fortune over and above the price of the house 5 years ago..my "pets" live in it. Also have a two car carport which you might just sometimes find one of our more modern cars under. You dont really need to keep a modern car in a garage ..

-Corkie-

corktina wrote: »

i have a garage..it cost me a fortune over and above the price of the house 5 years ago..my "pets" live in it. Also have a two car carport which you might just sometimes find one of our more modern cars under. You dont really need to keep a modern car in a garage ..

Your one is full of cortinas:P

BostonB

Well you need to have room to play with the rubbish and junk aswell as work on the car.

Eric Cartman

i dont know why people dont like garages, I would kill for a garage, Im only renting my current house And it doesnt have one, but whenever I eventually buy a place a garage will certainly swing it for me , people are too concerned with the value of a house their not selling anyway by adding a 2nd living room or something else sh*t , instead of keeping a brilliant garage to safely keep their car and tools in

dirtydiesel

When we were house hunting a few years ago, a decent garage and space out the back were high on my priority list, missuss D.D had a a decent kitchen on top of her list.
she got her kitchen..........:mad:

ArphaRima

My plan is for a one bed house with a 3 door garage. Priorities.

Henry Ford III

I have a car parked in my garage every night.

Redisle

Old man has vintage tractors in the garage so cars can't be parked there but it is really nice to have one, Id hate to live in an aparment or something with nowhere to use as a workshop / store tools. Living semi in the country has it's benefits I guess, Id rarely see houses in estates etc with garages!

Hal1

The last car in our garage was a green fiat 128 :pac:. It was converted into a spare room though . The garage :pac:.

crossmolinalad

Last house i had didnt get planning perm for an extetion so i build a garage at the other side of the house
One year later i chanced it into a masterbedroom ensuite
At the outside it still looks like a garage

crosstownk

The house I bought had a garage with enough room to do a bit of work on one car - not too much room at the side of the car but enough to get jobs done. I used once every couple of months and decided it was a waste of space. So I had it demolished and extended the kitchen to twice it's original size, put in a utility room and playroom for the kids and all get used every day - unlike the garage.

Most people in Ireland eithe use a garage as a shed or a storage space. Not too many are concerned with having an indoor space to park the car or a space to work on the car so converting it into living space is much more practical for a lot of people.

That said, years ago when I lived at my parents place I'd have killed for a garage to do work on my MkI Golf.

cabrwab

My folks house had a garage, you could barely fit a car into it and close the garage door properly, same with my neighbours garage.

My folks turned the garage into another room with a downstairs toilet

If i had a garage it'd be used.

I know its not the same thing but we have an underground car park in our building and id say only about a quarter of the spaces are used everynight. People would rather park on the road!

buzzard

BostonB wrote: »

There simply isn't the same car culture in Ireland as there is in the UK. When I was buying a house I found it almost impossible to find a house for sale with a garage. That I could afford. So few people here even wash and hoover their cars on a regular basis.

Disagree with you there, I have a company car and even though I pay BIK and the car isn't mine it's cleaned every week and after 3 years of ownership it's a great buy for anyone. Never abused and no high mileage (less than 90k km on 3yrs)

Before anyone mentions it, I have no choice about buying it afterwards or accepting a car allowance but when my car is due for placement it's as good as new (I even get slagged about it)

Bleedin Delish

irish people just converted their garages into extra bedrooms, offices etc. Absolutely every house in my estate (about 500 houses) turned their garage into something else. Suppose it added value to a house back in the day

johndaman66

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I've seen a steel framed workshop errected recently for 7k which will take 2 cars and a hell of a lot of space around them which looks incredible. I'd have that any day of the week.

No doubt you could erect a pretty basic structure for that but most people building will want to keep a garage to the same spec as the house for whatever reason...same level, type and brand of insulation, expensive natural slate, electrics, plumbed, stone faced walls etc as the case may be. This is what bumps up the cost to whatever you like really. If one is spending easily 200k and over which they don't have on the the house you could see why they may not have or are too willing to spend 30k more on a garage. Thats more one off self builds I'm taking about. Many estates built over the last 10 to 15 odd years were thrown up as quickly as possible with priority being as much living space as possible so you could see how garages were often overlooked.

Apart from having a space to work on a car I don't see a serious need for garages for modern cars to store them away from the elements. Any car I've ever owned has croaked it from mechanical failure long before there would be any rust or serious discolouration on the body.

Owen

I don't think it's about keeping the car dry, I think it's more about keeping the car safe, and the convenience of having a garage. If it's away from prying eyes, it'lll be less likely to be stolen. The convenience thing I'd never considered before visting a friend in Perth. Bucketing down rain, he drove into his driveway, pushed the remote, the garage opened up, he drove in, and because the garage was connected to the house he was able to just walk in dry with his groceries from the shop. Surely with the miserable weather we normally get here this would be handy?

VinnyTGM

johndaman66 wrote: »

Apart from having a space to work on a car I don't see a serious need for garages for modern cars

-No vandlsim to your car.
-Less chance of being stolen--and subsequently cheaper insurance.
-Easier to service the car.
-Easier to detail the car.

ShiresV2

VinnyTGM wrote: »

-No vandlsim to your car.
-Less chance of being stolen--and subsequently cheaper insurance.
-Easier to service the car.
-Easier to detail the car.

Also, you get the nice car smell in a garage.

johndaman66

VinnyTGM wrote: »

-No vandlsim to your car.
-Less chance of being stolen--and subsequently cheaper insurance.
-Easier to service the car.
-Easier to detail the car.

I appreciate your point of view and can recognise the other advantages you mention. Still though do these justify the often enormous additional cost of building a garage. No more often than not I'd be thinking. As for servicing the car more often than not people don't attack it themselves and as for detailing a car most Irish people would hardly know what you mean. Not intending to be argumentative if thats the way its coming across, just pointing out the reason why more often than not were not inclined to bother with garages here.

PrettyBoy

Would love to have a garage myself when I get my own house, just great to have somewhere where you can work on your car day or night.

A lot of house around my area had garages but most have been converted over the last 10 years or so. Easy to understand really, most people would rather have an extra living room or bigger kitchen which would increase the value of their house rather than a bare, unused room where they put all their junk.

Lando Griffin

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I don't think it's about keeping the car dry, I think it's more about keeping the car safe, and the convenience of having a garage. If it's away from prying eyes, it'lll be less likely to be stolen. The convenience thing I'd never considered before visting a friend in Perth. Bucketing down rain, he drove into his driveway, pushed the remote, the garage opened up, he drove in, and because the garage was connected to the house he was able to just walk in dry with his groceries from the shop. Surely with the miserable weather we normally get here this would be handy?

Umbrellas are handy things too but very few Irish people bring them with them even when its threating rain.

johndaman66

Lando Griffin wrote: »

Umbrellas are handy things too but very few Irish people bring them with them even when its threating rain.

We just tend to make a bolt for the door of the shop!

ghostdancer

VinnyTGM wrote: »

-No vandlsim to your car.
-Less chance of being stolen--and subsequently cheaper insurance.
-Easier to service the car.
-Easier to detail the car.

-the first 2 are unlikely to happen for most people. parking the car in a driveway is usually fine for preventing vandalism for most people. sure, they're less likely to happen when the car is parked in a garage, but most people would rather take the chance given the cost/space of a garage.

-saving a few quid in insurance every year isn't a decent reason for having a garage for a car for most people.

-barely. a dry day outside does me just fine to service the car, regardless of how infrequently servicing is required.

-99% of people don't do this.

EPM

So houses aren't jusy designed around the garage by you lot, eh?

Losebags:p

PaulKK

I think the reason majority of people don't utilize their garages is laziness. Most couldn't be bothered stopping, opening a garage, diving in, and closing the garage each time they use the car.

Where I live now we have a one car garage in which a car is always parked, it does very low mileage, mine unfortunately is left outside.

When I get a house I will try my best to have a garage with a pit, and automatic doors.

I know people are saying that a modern car doesn't need to be garaged, but a car that is garaged for 5 years ownership will definitely be fresher than one that isn't. Think of sunlight and frost attacking the paint over that period, and all components being dry instead of wet, it can't but increase some components longevity.

Paparazzo

Good post OP, garages are very important. During the property boom garages were forgotten about because developers want the highest amount of houses per acre. Ironicly, if some of those houses that they can't sell had a garage, it would be a major plus and they'd probably be sold!

If you have a motorcycle they're vital. My parents house has one. But I wouldn't put my car into one if I had one. I'd use it to have a proper workbench (vice, bench grinder, bench drill etc) and store all my tools and bits and pieces. Work on the car outside. Obviously the big garage that can easily store 2-3 cars with loads of room for a work bench is the ideal situation, but for that you have to either be very rich, or live in the country and know a few builders.

Can you search on DAFT for houses with garages? A garage would dictate where I live!

Bonito

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I have a car parked in my garage every night.

Fair play on getting your wick wet every night, but I think you're doing it wrong.

Unless you're female?

On topic. I'd love a garage, especially with a pit!

unkel

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Why don't Irish people have garages to look after their second most valuable purchase? We're looking at houses in Poland at the moment, and most house plans come with a minimum of 1 car garage, some with 2/3

Very original thread - worthy of discussion!

There are a few angles here. Back in the day (up to the early 90s I guess) where cars rusted like bejaysis and dry storage (in the garage) was a great help in keeping cars in shape

More recently the value of keeping cars in shape for the average family was worth less than the value of using the extra space of the garage in the home as a playroom / additional reception room, so garages lost out there too.

And nowadays, cars don't rust anymore, so there really isn't any point to shelter them

CiniO

unkel wrote: »

Very original thread - worthy of discussion!

There are a few angles here. Back in the day (up to the early 90s I guess) where cars rusted like bejaysis and dry storage (in the garage) was a great help in keeping cars in shape

More recently the value of keeping cars in shape for the average family was worth less than the value of using the extra space of the garage in the home as a playroom / additional reception room, so garages lost out there too.

And nowadays, cars don't rust anymore, so there really isn't any point to shelter them

They do rust, maybe not as much as they used to, but they do.
Besides, people don't use cars for as long as in older days.
Now lot's of less then 10 years old go to scrapyard, which would not happen 20 years ago.

I think, it's still worth to keep car in a garage.
You save the car body from weather conditions and rust.
Car which was garaged for 10 years, might look like brand new, while at the same time the same car left outside will look like disaster.
It saves you time for scrubbing the frozen windows in winter.

corktina

you joking? Not so long ago it was very common for cars less than 10 years old to be terminally rusty. Cars now last much longer than they did.

keithclancy

unkel wrote: »

Very original thread - worthy of discussion!

There are a few angles here. Back in the day (up to the early 90s I guess) where cars rusted like bejaysis and dry storage (in the garage) was a great help in keeping cars in shape

More recently the value of keeping cars in shape for the average family was worth less than the value of using the extra space of the garage in the home as a playroom / additional reception room, so garages lost out there too.

And nowadays, cars don't rust anymore, so there really isn't any point to shelter them

Forget the rust, its the dust and bird shat that annoys me.

Manual even says "Remove bird faeces as soon as possible otherwise it may damage the paint"

CJhaughey

I think Carports are very under utilised, they don't collect shíte like a shed does, wet cars driven under them dry off quick with airflow and they cost very little to build.
That said a garage is a nice place to work on a car or bike if it is windy, and a shed offers security for tools etc.

corktina

i prefer working under my car port and agree with all you say about them..havent found a way to keep the cat out yet....

Lando Griffin

Has anyone here been to the More Obnoxious parking thread.
Can you imagine the damage these idiots would cause to their cars if they tried to park in or reverse out of a garage?


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055438379

Del2005

CiniO wrote: »

They do rust, maybe not as much as they used to, but they do.
Besides, people don't use cars for as long as in older days.
Now lot's of less then 10 years old go to scrapyard, which would not happen 20 years ago.

I think, it's still worth to keep car in a garage.
You save the car body from weather conditions and rust.
Car which was garaged for 10 years, might look like brand new, while at the same time the same car left outside will look like disaster.

A 10 year old car will be worth very little regardless of having decent paint or not, keeping it garaged will only make it slightly easier to sell.

CiniO wrote: »

It saves you time for scrubbing the frozen windows in winter.

I just use tepid water.

Paparazzo wrote: »

If you have a motorcycle they're vital.

Proper side access and a shed does the job for a bike, garage doors are generally very insecure.

Paparazzo wrote: »

Can you search on DAFT for houses with garages? A garage would dictate where I live!

You can do google search of Daft.


The problem with garages in this country is that unless it's a self built garage you can't properly fit a car into most of them.
The builders never made them big enough so you can park your car in it, but can't get out without whacking your door off the wall and have no hope of working on a car.

no1beemerfan

I've told the missus when we can eventually afford to go looking for our own place the garage comes 1st on must haves. For some reason she hasn't mentioned house hunting for a while now

Wossack

hah, looking at houses at the moment, and garage is #1 on my list - for the bike(s)

houses that have em tend to be older ones, and cars have been getting bigger over the years... doubt you could fit a modern car in on the majority of them

monkeypants

Houses used to come with garages, go back a couple of decades and you'll see it. Then it just became too expensive.

MetzgerMeister

My parents' house has a garage as part of the main structure. Could fit 1 car if the garage didn't have the usual stuff in it.

When I build my own house, my dream is to have a garage to fit 2 cars and have a workbench around it too. It's dead handy to be able to bring your car indoors when you want to wax it etc. when it's lashing outside.

galwaytt

ooooh, good thread !

Being a) in the building business, and b) being into VeeHickles, generally,....this is a subject that's close to my heart.........

Remember, most estate houses built in the '60s and '70s did have a "garage", but usually as a 'house grant' ploy. You would get a grant to have a house up to (iirc) 1200sq ft. So people made their houses 1199 sq ft, for example , + garage. Then, finish the house, get the grant, and then convert the garage and TADA ! - 1500 sq ft house........


Outside of that, the single biggest reason for the absence, is cost. Developers could lose 1 x whole site in a short row of houses, if each had a garage.........so, well, they're not going to do that, are they ? And there's a cost of the building itself.

Right now, a fully insulated pre-fab (metal) garage, 8m x 5m, supplied and erected, is about 11.5k. Add in your foundation slab under that, btw, so add 2k. It's fine, works well, but looks like a shed. If you want to have a similar garage that looks/matches your house, you're looking at 16k.

16k, spent once, with a life of 60 years, is €5/week. Call it less than 2 hours parking in Dublin in a multi-storey. Whatever it is, it isn't expensive.......

PaulKK wrote: »

I think the reason majority of people don't utilize their garages is laziness. Most couldn't be bothered stopping, opening a garage, diving in, and closing the garage each time they use the car.........When I get a house I will try my best to have a garage with a pit, and automatic doors......

I know people are saying that a modern car doesn't need to be garaged, but a car that is garaged for 5 years ownership will definitely be fresher than one that isn't. Think of sunlight and frost attacking the paint over that period, and all components being dry instead of wet, it can't but increase some components longevity.

Paul - you've hit the nail on the head: the reason most garages are ****-collection areas is because of the door thing. Buy an electric door and you will use them all the time. I do. Mrs Gtt does, the kids x 2 do. And they're not expensive. Elec doors come from only € 600, now, fitted. Insulated sectional doors are a bit more - €1400 approx.

Oh, and you DON'T want a pit. Fire hazard. Fumes -petrol (and paint ) solvent collects in it. No house insurer would go near it..........

+1 on the longevity. My old car - ripe 17 now - lasts well because it's garaged. If it was outside, it'd have deteriorated much, much faster.

Paparazzo wrote: »

Good post OP, garages are very important. During the property boom garages were forgotten about because developers want the highest amount of houses per acre. Ironicly, if some of those houses that they can't sell had a garage, it would be a major plus and they'd probably be sold!

If you have a motorcycle they're vital. My parents house has one. But I wouldn't put my car into one if I had one. I'd use it to have a proper workbench (vice, bench grinder, bench drill etc) and store all my tools and bits and pieces. Work on the car outside. Obviously the big garage that can easily store 2-3 cars with loads of room for a work bench is the ideal situation, but for that you have to either be very rich, or live in the country and know a few builders.

Can you search on DAFT for houses with garages? A garage would dictate where I live!

If you want to move to Galway, I'll sell you mine !

bazz26 wrote: »

It would be interesting to know of those houses with garages how many of them are actually used for their entended purpose? I would say a very small percentage, most would either be used to store junk that would otherwise get rid of or they are converted into an extra room.

Junk obeys the same Law of Physics as gas, i.e. Boyle's Law - it expands to fill the available volume......:p

JamBur wrote: »

How could you not know the garage had a pit?????? I feel angry reading that, would give my left testicle for a setup like that.

...as mentioned - buy a lift - it's cheaper, safer, and you can bring it with you !

ToxicPaddy

My parents have more of a small warehouse and a garage, garage holds 2 cars but full of junk, warehouse will hold about 8 - 10 cars is being used for my fathers business at the moment so its full of junk too, but that will change once he retires.. *rubs hands*