Building a new home is exciting, stressful, invigorating, and, dare we say, also fun. The key is to balance having all the things you want and need with your budget. The right budget will include bells and whistles while also having space to invest in things that will also be beneficial in both a practical sense as well as boosting the resale value of the home. Many new home builders struggle with whether to install a 3 car garage, even if they have the space for one. Is it necessary? Does it provide a useful service? Is it worth the cost? What they may not realize is that a 3 car garage that is the appropriate size comes with several benefits that make it worth the minimal additional cost of the extra square footage.

Storing Vehicles

It’s pretty simple. If you skimp on your garage, then you might not have enough room to store your vehicles. Having a small garage might mean that you have to make the choice between extra storage space for random stuff you might own, and your cars. Even if you only have one car and feel there is space in the garage for it, you may not have enough space if you someday decide to buy another one. Not only that, but when you go to sell your home, potential owners might want to store their cars in a garage. Besides, doesn’t it seem kind of silly if you are providing inside storage for things that you may never use and don’t have much value, while leaving your car outside, which probably costs many thousands of dollars?

General Storage

If the garage is big enough, you should be able to make space for your vehicles and your stuff. Too many people are paying monthly bills to storage companies just to hang on to stuff they do not want to part with. With a 3 car garage, you can save on the monthly costs and keep all of your possessions on-site.

Resale Value of Your Home

Let’s face it. While you are certainly building your home to be a place for you to live for the foreseeable future, you will probably want to sell it at some point. When that happens, you will enter a competitive marketplace where you need all the advantages you can get. While most buyers definitely look at things such as kitchens and bathrooms, a large garage that can hold all of their vehicles and belongings make the home much more attractive.

What Size of Garage is Appropriate?

To get at the right size, you have to take into account the average size of today’s personal vehicles. The average car is approximately 16 feet long and 6 feet wide.Then you will want to leave some extra space between where cars would go. This leaves the optimal 3 car garage at 24’x36’.

With a garage that’s 36’ wide, you will have space for your vehicles, along with extra space in between them. There should be around 4’ of room for shelving, and another 3-4’ for storage of “stuff”. Standard 3 car garages are often only 31’ wide, which can be very tight if you want extra storage.

The 24’ depth gives you plenty of room for an average 16’ car, with space to spare if you have a larger vehicle, such as a pickup truck. Unless your vehicle is very long, you should have room for an accessory such as a workbench or even an extra fridge or appliance.

How Affordable is the Extra Space?

You might be surprised at how affordable it is. Let’s start with that traditional 3 car garage sizing we mentioned above. 31’ wide by 21’ feet deep is not very big. If your home mortgage is $200,000 over 30 year at 6%, for example, your approximate monthly payment is $1200. Bumping the size of the garage to 36’x24’ means you will have to pay for an extra 213 square feet. If you’re paying $50 a square foot, then it works out to $10,650. Over 30 years, that ends up being about $63 a month extra. If you factor in what you are already paying for storage, plus the additional value it will add to your home, it’s really a no-brainer.

A 3 car garage that is the right size can provide you with so much value, even if you don’t ever sell the home. It can make for more comfortable living, and provide a place to keep all of your vehicles. Keeping your vehicles inside will also protect them from the elements and keep them looking and running their best at all times.

So, to go back to the question “How important is a 3 car garage house plan?” We would say “very!”