Can't fix stupid.

OTOH - can you even get a garage door that small? Pretty crappy on the part of the builder to act like this is a real garage.

For the hovercar!

This made me laugh!

Obviously didn't start a discussion on Houzz.

"It's sorta important to look at the plans and specifications before signing a construction contract..." I look at this pic, and I see brilliance. I see it as a way to get a wall to a room that you can open and close at will, without paying for some expensive glass door solution. It's not the most elegant solution, but I bet it got around the local codes and allowed them to get what they wanted.

I've heard of poor depth perception, but these two must have poor width perception. How could neither one of them notice how narrow it was from day one?

Back in the 90s, we rented a cute little two bedroom bungalow with a tiny basement garage. To fit our mini cargo van in, one of us had to get out first so the driver could pull closer to one side. Fortunately, the sliding side door lined up with the basement door, so my husband could load our musical equipment without a problem. To get in the van, however, he had to go up through the house, out the front door, and come in the garage door, squeezing to get in. We were well aware of the garage size before we moved in, but since we didn't own it, it didn't bother us.

The designer drove a schwinn.

My friend had a garage like that in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood. All passengers got out before she pulled in, then she hugged the right side really close and ever so slightly angled to the right. She then had room to open the door and squeeze out (but she is not on the chubby side the way the people in the pic are...). And she realized that is what you get when you are only paying $4000 in rent in PacHts for 700 ft2 !

Actually it appears that all the houses in the development were built with the garage that small.

My own basement garage is not all that different. Passengers on the right side must get out before I must BACK IN to the garage - no room to get out on driver's side if I pull in front ways. The garage on the other side is equally narrow and not tall enough for an SUV - we have always used it for storage. Of course, the house was built in 1948 and the previous owner put shelving in on the driver's side, which took away about 12-18" of space. We could have removed them, but frankly I need this shelving and one learns how to back in - easy coming back out in the AM - straight forward!

I can't say that I would have thought to measure the garage before we bought the house. The previous owner didn't use it for their cars - just for storage, but we assumed that someone had since 1948! Now, if I'm leasing a new car, part of my "test drive" is to see if it fits in the garage!

They did not realize it for months because they were using the garage for storage, and most of the neighbors only realized it after they did, because none of them were actually attempting to use the garage for the car.

There is a garage in my neighborhood that has a sliding door on the driver's side. Everyone gets out, the driver pulls in and someone has either opened the exterior sliding door in advance or the driver must slide open the door through the car window. Then the car door swings open out the side of the garage, and the driver gets out.

palimpsest that was my thought when I saw this also. It looked like that concrete block wall could have some sort of an opening put in so that you could enter and exit the vehicle.

I'm wondering how the folks, in Mr. Virgil's photo, put their trash bin out there (far left).

Rocket launcher? Transporter beam?

At least they can drive into their garage!

Famous Georgia Driveway

"...They did not realize it for months because they were using the garage for storage, and most of the neighbors only realized it after they did, because none of them were actually attempting to use the garage for the car..."

I've come to believe that Earth is populated by three categories of people: 1) People who understand the intent for garages and keep their cars in them; 2) People who have the belief that garages are giant storage areas, and cars are to be parked in the driveway and at the curb; and 3) Aliens, for whom strange lights and music emanate from the garage space at night.

Look around in your neighborhood to see who you are living with...

Anglophilia: one learns how to back in.

I've had many cars, but I learned one does NOT back in using a Hyundai Santa Fe. There's a built-in blind spot (the car is a 2014, before they went to a rear camera system). No, I haven't done damage, but with one or two close calls... I'm savvy enough NOT to back in anywhere.

My car is smart enough to deal with a driveway.

Virgil, in my old house I was in category 2. The car lived in the driveway, the workbench, treadmill, and yard equipment -- and the upright freezer -- lived in the garage. Here, once I get the chicken electrofence netting up, my car WILL BE BACK in the garage!!! (Facing front to enter.)

Worthy, two doors down from my parents in the 80s, that neighbor had the reverse driveway. In Connecticut snow country. In winter, they had to make sure the garage door was open when coming home, otherwise.... um, no garage door...

Artemis, how do you then BACK OUT of the garage if you go in face first? I assume at some point you must put this car in reverse?

I've come to believe that Earth is populated by three categories of people:

Oooooh I love lists like this!

1) People who understand the intent for garages and keep their cars in them;

School buses don't fit in standard garages. Not even the short ones.

2) People who have the belief that garages are giant storage areas, and cars are to be parked in the driveway and at the curb; [...]

Too. much. junk.

3) Aliens, for whom strange lights and music emanate from the garage space at night.

Does the symphony of a table saw, a hammer, and the occasional cursing, count as music?

How could neither one of them notice how narrow it was from day one?

Yeah, this is the closest to my own thoughts. They went to see the house, right? They drove their car and parked in the driveway. Were they both too stupid to see the problem?

"...Were they both too stupid to see the problem?..."

Well...guess each of us has to draw our own conclusion...YES!

Ms Pete.....that doesn't surprise me. Developers will do ANYTHING to make a profit!!! WOW......Worthy.....that doesn't surprise me. Again.....developers will do anything to make a profit.That's the BOTTOM line. How much money they can put into their pockets!!!!!!! It's sickening.

Worthy...I’d like to see someone put a basketball hoop on that driveway.

I think my husband cared more about garage sizes than anything about house. There is no way we would be buying or building a house without him making sure the garage was adequate size. In his world our attached 23.6x23.6 attached garage is going to only be sufficient for a “single car” garage, being my car. And no, we are not people who store a lot in our garage. Just kayaks, bikes, camping gear, some tools...and whatever tires we are not using that season. Overhead storage and shelving wherever we can. He wants a separate detached double garage off back lane for his own truck.

@Virgil is correct though. Around here it seems a lot of people do not actually leave room in garage for vehicles, even those with behemoth triple car garages. I know some people reserve their garages for project cars and such, but most of the time when I drive by open garage doors they are just packed full of stuff. And this is the land of full basements and such which generally allow plenty of storage room. I think it is something like 1 in 4 people have too much stuff in garage to have room to park, but around here I question it that number is not flipped the other way!

"...And no, we are not people who store a lot in our garage. Just kayaks, bikes, camping gear, some tools...and whatever tires "we are not using that season. Overhead storage and shelving wherever we can..."

I think I see the problem...

Too funny. The driveway is killing me--trying to imagine that the neighborhood kids don't need to build a skateboard ramp.... they could charge admission for sledding if it snows there.

It takes a lot of skill to pour a slab at that steep of a slope. It takes a lot of something else to design a driveway like that.

There's a house not to far from us with a Drivewy like Worthy posted...only it slopes down into the garage. So not only is it steep, but narrow. We used to live in a house with a downward-sloping driveway. It was steep enough that when we bought a minivan, we drove it home first to be sure the height would fit at the entry point. We had to get one without roof racks; they wouldn't have fit.

No one (well, generally) measures the size of a garage on a whim. But 2300mm and no one realises that's tight?
That's as narrow thinking as the garage width, but more likely dishonest than mistaken on the part of the builder.
But hey, who puts a car in a garage anyway?
Generous of them to propose the conversion to a room. People have been taken to court over coffee being hot.

"...It takes a lot of skill to pour a slab at that steep of a slope. It takes a lot of something else to design a driveway like that..."

And what does it take to see this and still buy the house...?

A lot more of that "something else"
And/or a lot of money to burn up.

Our last house was built in 1919. There was something like a foundation at the back that might have been for a garage. How wide was a Model A? I don’t know, but a modern car would not have gotten a door open! We parked in the driveway. It rarely snows in Seattle (and not a good idea to be on the roads then). We got waterproof cars and kept all the toys in the basement. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the American garage obsession, but my new house and I have different quirks...

Where did you find a waterproof (or sun proof, or bird proof, or squirrel proof, or kid proof) car...?

It qualifies as a useful, well-designed garage... for cars manufactured by Mattel.

Speaking of Mattel cars, did you know Lego is the largest manufacturer of tires in the world?

did you know Lego is the largest manufacturer of tires in the world?

Do they roll, well? Without small pieces flying off in all directions?

Impressive. What about bricks - Are we going to get dilemmas about variegation of Lego on the external wall?