A plot plan would be very helpful. Something that shows the existing layout. The outline of the house showing front etc. Driveway and existing garage. Also any trees or other that you would not want to remove.

>>> I am afraid it will look like addition after addition

That's part of the charm of a farmhouse. It's how they often develop as more kids/money comes along, the home is upgraded/expanded.

I totally agree with ppf. A plot plan would be really helpful. Photos are nice but they don't show how the whole picture (no pun intended).

The plot plan can be just a drawing showing the relationships of things. Draw one up, take a picture and post it :)

Better check with your zoning first. In Toledo, OH, you can tear down your old garage but IF you want to build a new one in it's place, you HAVE TO KEEP INTACT THE WALL THAT IS ON THE PROPERTY LINE. Otherwise, you will have to build with new restrictions that may place the new garage where you do not want it to be. My friend did this; she tore down 3 sides, supported the property line side, rebuilt the first 3 sides, then put a new wall on the outside of the property line wall. Problem solved. If it was ALL torn down, she would have had to stay 6 feet from her property line and the garage would have been in the middle of her back yard. If you don't check first, and go ahead with your plans, the city CAN MAKE YOU TEAR IT DOWN.

Check out the effect on property taxes. In some locales, an attached garage is taxed as part of the house so much more expensive than a detached building. Another factor you may wish to consider is insurance cost and coverage.

If you live on a farm, you are probably going to be outside in all sorts of weather regardless of whether the garage is attached or detached. I would be more likely to vote for an attached garage for a normal property in a town, but with unlimited space available, I would probably go with a detached space.

Unless your garage has a "carriage-house" appearing garage door, I personally do not care for garage doors on the front of the house; sometimes the land does not allow for any other option. The very best garage we ever had was a 4 car garage - however from the road it only appeared as a 2-car garage with 2 separate oversized single doors. Most never consider today's vehicle size versus the size of a garage door versus being able to open the cardoors inside the garage! It allowed for multiple uses: a 4-car garage as 2 vehicles were bumper-to-bumper with ample room to spare. We actually had 2 SUVs bumper to bumper on one side, the other had a boat and snow mobiles which were rotated for the seasons. The garage also provided a large workbench across the "back wall" with a bumped out area between garage and house for extra storage - from Christmas supplies to camping to boating. We later added a small cedar closet for snowmobile outerwear. Kept a garage refrigerator for easy access during boating season or simply working in the garage. The cost of 4-cars versus 3 cars can be minimal compared to the storage advantage.

Attached, Check local zoning By-Laws as they normally have their own rules and setback requirments

Great forum for a variety of opinions! What caught my eye however was the misspelling of attached & detached in the heading. A couple of extra "t" s in there.
Grayson

Started reading comments and just blanched at the one suggesting 3 car garage in FRONT of the house. This house has a beautiful facade, in my opinion there's nothing LESS attractive than garage doors facing the world. Tuck it away! Back or side, and if you have space, open it tomthe back or side also.

Attached garages often have to be fully drywalled and insulated per code, thus $$$.

Beautiful home maggieyork!! As someone in the midst of construction on two additions on our century home in the country, one being a 2 car garage, we opted to attach via a heated passageway/breezeway. We live in southern Ontario (Canada) and the past winter was really hard. Many, many times during the winter as we trudged into the house through deep snow and bitter cold we commented on how nice it will be when we can drive in and access the house from the garage. Not sure where you live but another consideration. We had an architect design our additions and so far we are very pleased with how it has been integrated into the aesthetic of a 150 year old house. He designed the garage with the use of attic trusses which has allowed us to have a large (12'X16' with 8 ' headroom) room above the garage. This enabled us to change our plans from a 3 car garage (one bay was to be a workshop) to a 2 car and use the attic loft as the workshop. Considerable savings. Good luck!!

I would opt for the carriage house building set back from the house. To me a far more appealing option when it is possible. And to be clear I mean a good looking building on its own...not just a crappy utility type garage structure.

From a design standpoint, the existing home was never intended to have an attached garage. There are many examples in houzz of detached garages with a breezeway or other covered walkway.

I'm a firm believer in detached garages if at all possible. Items kept in garages are not the type of items I would want in or near my house. Lots of combustibles that can burn a house down, not to mention yard and garden chemicals.

A 3 car garage with a workshop and loft above is mighty large scale - more like a barn than a house. Why not keep your mudroom and attach a covered/enclosed walkway to connect to a detached garage behind your house?

I used to bring my groceries from the garage to the house with ease - bags on each arm. Now I have to keep a grocery cart in the garage so I can put the groceries in the cart and drag it from the garage to the house. In my seventies now, multiple trips back and forth are more difficult now. Wish I had an attached garage.

Suzanne803, I with you. Attached garages are a fire and carbon monoxide hazard, especially since no one ever seems to even think about these hazards. They are also a break-in hazard since a thief can enter the garage and break into the house without being seen. I've seen too many attached garages that have only an interior-type door into the house. The door into the garage needs to be just as secure as any exterior door, and it also needs to be fireproof. A detached garage with a covered walkway is much safer and really just as convenient.

I haven't read all the posts, sorry if this is a repeat -- I vote for attached with a mudroom, behind or in the background to the house.

Back of the house, ------local codes dictate design----go for it!!!

Although we have an attached 3 car garage, being a car collector I needed even more garage, so we built a 2 car free standing garage, in the same design and materials of the house. We then added a spacious breezeway attaching it to the main house. We took advantage of the space above the new garage and built guest quarters, calling it the loft. The loft has a balcony deck that looks out over the lake and makes a wonderful place for visitors to stay, yet due the breezeway, still feel apart of the main living quarters.

Although there cost in building an upstairs over your garage, it's incremental in comparison to building quest quarters from the ground up. So if you can use more space for guests you might want to consider adding above the garage whether attached or free standing.

In cold or wet weather an attached garage is always going to be more practical. Talk to the folks at your city to find out what you can do. We have a small metal shed on our property that we keep gas yard equipment and most chemicals in so they are not in the attached garage. Here in CA you have to have the part actually attached to your home has to be a firewall so there is a stop between your living space and cars.

Attach!!! The first time I pulled into our new attached garage that opened into a mudroom with a big load of groceries in the middle of a blinding snowstorm, I knew I had found Nirvana. You will never regret being able to enter the house directly from the garage.

Detached. It improves the air quality in your home. We built with a connecting roof. Gives me an outdoor work area during poor weather. The door facing the garage enters the mud room. http://houzz.com/photos/11825372

I cant believe padmaramachandran suggested ruining the front of a lovely house by putting a garage there !!!

I vote for back of the house and attached. Schlepping out to a detached garage in inclement weather gets to be tiresome. I attached a two car with studio above to my mudroom and half bath. The old detached garage is where the gardening stuff goes now. Much better! But keep the design sensitive to the proportions and architectural elements of the existing home.

I've had a detached and several attached garages. Attached is the way to go, here's why: you can go from your car to your house without stepping outside in the elements. Just think of carrying several grocery bags through a rain storm because you have a detached garage. From a selling point perspective--attached is also the way to go.

I would attach it if at all possible. Or a close detached like RKoreis shows in his/her picture. The house I grew up in was a ranch that had a garage attached with a "breezeway" - similar to what rkoreis is showing, only with both ends enclosed in windows. It's just so much safer - especially if your country location gets wild animals or icy weather - and results in less tracked in dirt.

Loved the homes I have had with the garage detached and roofed walk to the house.

I vote detached! Your home is beautiful. I would not turn the look of it into something it shouldn't be. Garage out back...not up front. Covered walkway if you want, as mentioned above.

People use the "inclement" weather reasoning all too often. When you leave work, a grocery store, a friend or family member's home...you're not covered. You're in the weather. It happens everywhere & cannot be avoided. A garage is a utilitarian structure.

Your home is your haven.

just my .02

"The other option would be to be have the garage, right in front of the porch and have the formal entry on the other side."

I cannot even comment on this because the visual in my head is so disturbing.

Our solution was to put up a barn. Our house had a small garage connected to it, which I am going to repurpose. The barn has room for all the cars, and a full second floor. Attached a photo of the half-painted barn taken this week on a misty morning, and one from earlier this Spring. That's a small guest house next to it.
Whatever you do, keep the building in character with your house. Regards, S*

Since you have a beautiful facade on the house and you live in the country I say detached with a breezeway or something similar. You won't have the construction mess in the house to deal with either. Now if you are really wanting this so you get a new laundry room out of the deal that is another issue. my .02 worth, I don't want to live in another construction zone ever.

when we moved into our house there was a breezeway between the house and 1 car garage. i demolished it all and built a 2 1/2 car garage that was roughly 28 feet square. plenty of room for a work bench and extra storage. perhaps your mudroom could be incorporated into the garage as well.

Perhaps you might consider a garage both attached to but separated from the house by a screened porch.

Like several people have pointed out, a massive modern 3 car garage would destroy the cute farm house look of your home and be visually jarring. IMHO, there is nothing worse looking than a house where the visual focal point is a huge garage with multiple doors. A detached garage at the back would be more in character with your house (love the barn look idea) and as some have pointed out, a breezeway can connect both if you live in an area with inclement weather. This would also help deaden the sound of workshop noise in the house. Another thought: why not save part of your old (attached) garage as a laundry/mud room addition? That would be in keeping with an old farmhouse and a breezeway can connect both.

detached 'with' a covered walkway settles the score on so many levels and can I take the opportunity to say what a lovely lovely home you have!...the front has so much appeal !... that would be a shame to compromise! ... add a garage to the side or back with a covered walkway that attaches to the main building but does not detract from the wow factor and appeal of the front of your home ... it is simply gorgeous ! ... don't cover that up .. its just too lovely !

Please please do not attach a three stall garage onto an older two story farm-house-style home. Speaking as an amateur preservationist, I'm appalled at the sins people commit against vintage architecture. As in medicine, "first do no harm". Additions to older homes can be well done, so look around the internet for ideas. Old House Journal is just one excellent source of ideas. If you feel you must attach, at least have a transition/connecting space like a breezeway/mudroom/portico type thing between. You might also seek the advice of architects who are fans of vintage architecture. They are out there.

You want to see a great, period correct addition, watch "Darryl's Restoration Over-Hall"
*of course, he also has the funds to have it done! But he's done old house restorations for over 30 years!

http://www.diynetwork.com/daryls-restoration-over-hall/show/index.html

You all have been so helpful and I want to thank you all for your input!! That's what makes HOUZZ so great!! I have been in contact with an architect to work on this project. We are definitely leaning toward a detached garage and considering the breezeway option. We have gone 8 years without an attached garage so I don't feel the need to attach it at this point. Now what I need to consider is whether I want the garage directly behind the house where our 2 car detached is now or if I want to place it at the end of the driveway slightly set back and to the side of our home. There are positive aspects with both placements.

Maggie, we're looking for a house right now, and an attached garage is an absolute requirement. I won't even look at a house with a detached garage. A "breezeway" is fine if it's a structure--but it can't be open to the rain and animals.

I would just do a detached - especially if you are used to going outside....when we built our house, we wanted the garage under the house, and the builders - which were schmucks - said they couldn't do it unless we paid this outrageous sum, so we will be doing a detached, hopefully next year - it is not a big deal to me, I can walk 5 feet outside ;)

We have an attached 2 car garage and wanted an additional 1.5 stall extended out to the side. Our carpenter told us he could build us a cute oversized 2 plus stall detached garage with attic for less than it would cost to add one onto the existing garage due to the extensive roof changes. And he was right. Maybe do detached off at an angle from the back corner with a covered breezeway?

Do the environment a favor and downsize the number of cars you need. Three cars!? FYI, detached is lower insurance.

rjbrackett, they might want the 3rd bay for a work area -- mine is a real boon for that, and I have only one car and park on the street!

Maggie, I'd make the decision on exact positioning based on what kind of landscaping possibilities the alternatives offer -- you might have the opportunity to create a nice rear courtyard area.

Thank you Mary Dillon for your positive feedback. I appreciate it!

Have you considered attaching a one car garage to the house and building a second garage apart from the house w/workshop and upstairs room suitable for an office or guest house?

Rjbracket, rather judgmental? What difference does it make how many cars we have...we can only drive one at a time.

Rjbracket... it's an unfortunate fact of life that often families have to have 3 cars... dad to get to work, mom to go to work and/or run household errands + run kids to doctor/dentist, etc, and 1 for the teenager(s) to get to school, work, school functions, date, etc. Unless ofcourse you enjoy being the family on call 24 hour chauffeur, which I'm guessing falls on your wife. This BTW, comes from a former 1 car family wife and mother.