Following on from le thread de L'escargot, I've been thinking about the use of garages.
As I thought about it, three things struck me.
1. It seems that back in my childhood (1960s and 1970s), people in Britain were a lot more likely to use garages than they are today.
2. The use of garages in Britain today seems to be age related. Most people I know who garage their car regularly are retired. Among those under 50, few do.
3. I live in an area where very few houses have garages - even though all houses are either detached or semi-detached. And I suspect that this may be true of many parts of the country. And even those who do have garages often choose not to use them. In my village and the neighbouring village I can only think of 3 people who garage their car.
Why is the use of garages declining? And more to the point, why did people actually use garages in the first place? L'escargot comments "I like to go to bed at night and sleep soundly in the knowledge that my car isn't being tinkered with by some miscreant."
Obviously, in some parts of the country, that will be a consideration - but most people, it would seem, never consider it.
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We used to use our garage regularly when we lived in a low-rise apartment block. There was only space out front for everyone to park one car, so anyone with two cars (like us) had to use the garage available to each flat.
Amazingly, everyone with more than one car did indeed use their garage as intended.
Now we live in a detached house with a garage, we only use the garage when we have "spare" cars, e.g. we've bought a new one and are trying to sell the old one privately.
Other than that, I do use the garage to work on the cars myself, a dying hobby, especially amongst younger people who can't spell spanner, let alone use one.
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>> Why is the use of garages declining? And more to the point why did people
>> actually use garages in the first place?
Cars don't rust any more (apart from Mercedes). They used to dissolve within minutes of leaving the factory. And they used to leak. Lots.
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Our car is always put in the garage, which luckily is 'almost' a double ... I can't stand coming out in the morning and the windows are covered in frost or dew, + it'll be cooler when the Summer *eventually* arrives.
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I have more important things to keep secure abd dry than a couple of modern cars.
The Jowett sits in one with plenty of space round it, the middle garage has 3 motorbikes, a push bike and various other items. The double is divided into 2 rooms, one is the main workshop and the other houses the model railway with storage under it.
The Suzuki and the Note take their chances in the drive.
I try not to leave a car on the road at night, I've had two parked cars written off !
I think another thing may be that people store things in the garage and are reluctant to put a wet car in there with them.
Ted
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I use the garage to keep the rays off my paintwork. Red paint and the sun (still) don't play well together.
Last edited by: gmac on Fri 12 Mar 10 at 16:58
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All the 1930s houses in my street were built with intergral garages suitable for cars of that time. My garage was about 16 feet by 8 so Cortina plus freezer = no go !.
About half the houses in the street have converted the garage to living space.
It is often a company car so leave it in the drive and hopefully it will not rot in its 3/4 year tenure.
Pave over the front garden to avoid street parking. At least we are a not open plan where all front walls, fences and hedges have been removed for the car god.
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It might be more of a mundane reason. Modern cars are so much bigger than older cars so they may just not fit in the garage. Shoebox housing estates with stupid small garages have also sprung up so people have to leave the car on the driveway. Also modern families have more junk than they used to and smaller houses so it all goes somewhere....
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Our house is a 1982 3 bed detached and on the estate Im on, the vast majority of the houses are the same as mine. I would say atleast 80% of these came with detached garages aswell. They are all pitch roofed and long enough for a 16 ft car, maybe slightly bigger at a push. It was actually one of the major selling points when we bought our house in Oct. The roofspace is huge and very useful for storing stuff.
We put atleast one of our cars away most nights, usually mine. I always wanted to store my car away at night, its just that instinct to protect it from prying eyes I guess.
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>> Shoebox housing estates with
>> stupid small garages have also sprung up so people have to leave the car on
>> the driveway.
Why do they buy the house if the garage isn't big enough for their car? A suitable garage size is high on my list of requirements when looking for a house. If people accept small garages in new houses then builders will never make them any bigger.
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Our 1980s house has a double garage, but I don't feel the need to put cars in it. No point stopping, getting out of the car (possibly getting wet) and getting back in again just for the fun of it. So I don't, and now it would take a good weekend's work and perhaps one or 2 trips to the dump to make room for any vehicles. (There's plenty of room on the drive.)
I partly justify this approach by believing that any moisture on the car is going to take longer to evaporate in an enclosed garage than it would out in the open air. Of course I ignore the fact that if it rains, it only gets wet if it's outside.
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I keep mine garaged in winter because I really do hate getting into a cold car. And it's 10 years old now so it doesn't do it any harm to be tucked up closely to a nice warm radiator.
Our street is about 3 or 4 years old and of the 40-odd houses only two opted not to take the garage but to have a larger living area. An old girl at the other end of the street and the young couple opposite me. She's not even 30 and a high court judge and quite the most stunningly attractive girl I have ever laid eyes on. Kind of cat-like in her features. I drink with her husband a couple of times a month and I find myself mesmerized by her, although this could be down to his lethal home-made vodkas. Anyway, I always try to reverse the car into the garage, and tuck it tight against the wall in one stylish manoeuvre, just in case she's watching. Girls are impressed by these things are they not?
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Well I manage to fit both the Landcruiser and the pickup inside it, and with room to open all the doors. But there's also space for the lawn mower, log splitter, snow blower, all my tools, chain saws, engine crane, the side panels for the trailer, and 3 sets of winter tyres. But it's still too small - so this summer I'm extending it so I can get my winter car under cover as well. Ha, not bragging or anything.
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>> But it's still too small - so this
>> summer I'm extending it so I can get my winter car under cover as well.
>> Ha not bragging or anything.
Well, since you mentioned it...
The discussion in our house at the moment is whether or not to get a fourth car. The question has arisen because the 'weekend' E class, the 'supermarket parking / dogs to the vets' estate and the 'school run' Fabia all fit quite neatly into our garage - leaving a sad looking space which could fit an entire other car.
SWMBO is entirely unconvinced... I however think a 5 year old LWB land cruiser would be an idea vehicle to fill the gap. Practical, convenient, great in bad weather, and 8 places if needed. I genuinely believe I'm just one vehicle away from creating the perfect fleet ;)
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>> I partly justify this approach by believing that any moisture on the car is going
>> to take longer to evaporate in an enclosed garage than it would out in the
>> open air.
My solution to that was to buy a dehumidifier for use in my garage.
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>> L'escargot comments "I like to go to bed
>> at night and sleep soundly in the knowledge that my car isn't being tinkered with
>> by some miscreant."
>>
>> Obviously in some parts of the country that will be a consideration - but most
>> people it would seem never consider it.
>>
Car thieves/vandals don't necessarily live in the area in which they operate. In fact, regardless of where they live, they're more likely to operate in an affluent area because there will be richer pickings there. I've heard of occasions where thieves have travelled umpteen miles along a major road to get to the area in which they want to do their dirty work. They then make a swift getaway. They don't always sully their own doorstep.
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"Car thieves/vandals don't necessarily live in the area in which they operate... "
Quite so, L'escargot. Though my understanding is that only the intelligent thieves are more likely to operate in affluent areas, and that on balance, if one lives in a rough urban area, you are far more likely to have nasty things happening to your car than if you live three miles up the road in a more genteel neighbourhood.
And yes, perhaps some miscreants travel umpteen miles to get to their place of operation, but most people still seem to have no concerns about converting their garages and parking in the street in front of their houses. And most of these street parkers seem to get away with it - otherwise the popularity of the practice would decline rapidly. They perceive, correctly it seems, that the level of risk is tiny.
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Maybe on the garage scene we have to make compromises much the same as in other parts of our lives.
The perfect garage wouldn't be a deal breaker for us good bonus though it would be, if it has to live outside on the driveway instead of in a nice warm heated carpeted and sterile garage then so be it, got other more important considerations in choice of home.
Somewhere to park several out of sight off road is my own situation, and more important to me.
As for low life's you have to choose quite carefully where to live, and/or be prepared.
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When I lived in the UK I had a mid 70s 4 bedroom detached house. The integrated garage was long enough to accomodate a Toyota MR2 but not a Mercedes C-Class which is by no means a big car. It wasn't something I thought about when I bought the place, but I wouldn't buy another house without a garage sufficiently large to accomodate at least one modern car.
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When I move a decent sized set of garages will be an absolute must, either that or a good sized double and space for a big shed instead.
'good size' = able to fit modern car in without closing the mirrors when reversing AND being able to get out of it without using the sunroof or taking all the paint off the door edges.
Where I am now, space is at a premium and i've nicked part of the garage for a utility room and an office, leaving only space for one car, which isn't enough... and explains why the bike had to go in a garden shed in the back garden.
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On the use of garages - oilburner
