Garage Exterior Ideas

Before beginning any construction always check with the building department. Building department can govern the size and location of the garage.

Garage size

When choosing your garage plans, you must determine the intention this garage will be used for. The most important decision will be the size. Make sure you will have enough room for your car or cars, and still have enough room for tools and or bicycles. Like mentioned earlier check with the building department for any restrictions on the garage size you will be choosing.

Garage location

The two most common garage styles are the attached garage and the detached garage. It is ideal that the garage be near the house. Try to choose a location where the garage driveway will be safe for children activity. Also keep in mind when choosing a location that you will have a good overall view. When choosing the location make sure the garage does not obstruct the best view of the house.

Garage construction

Because of the size of a garage more than likely you will require a building permit, and it must meet building codes.

The foundation will generally be a concrete slab. If your garage will need plumbing, this should be done and inspected before placing the concrete.

Once the garage foundation is set, you can raise the walls into position, plumb, and brace to secure. Now that the walls are up you can start building the roof. This will usually require making the roof trusses or buying pre fabricated trusses. Next step will be adding the roof decking, roofing felt and shingles. Now you can start with the garage exterior, this will include doors and windows. Next will be the siding. To finish you can install trim, soffits and facia. Moving on to the interior, the wiring will need to be installed before finishing the walls. Insulation can be added if desired, and now you can finish the walls with your choice of material.

Building the garage yourself

Before building the garage yourself, you should take into consideration if you have the skills that are required for this kind of project.

Hiring help

If you don't feel comfortable with a project like this, consider hiring a general contractor. Even if you plan to build the garage yourself, you should get two or three contractors to bid on the job. Once you have the bids from the contractors you can compare the savings to building your own garage.

Many view the garage as simply a place to park the car, store your stuff or hide out when your spouse is on the warpath. While all of these uses have merit, they merely scratch the surface of what is possible. Yes, the garage will store your car, but with the clever use of exterior wood doors and other design features, it's also the perfect vehicle for sprucing up your home's curb appeal.

By not tapping into that potential, you're ignoring a facet of your home that can have a major impact thanks to its size and location. But take heart, because it to doesn't have to be that way. It's just a matter of changing your perspective and seeing exterior wood doors in a whole new light.

Strike a Match

Would you prefer to mix or match? If you'd rather not commit on that, or you're a guy and thus incapable of committing, there's good news: You don't have to! By blending the two approaches with exterior wood doors, you can achieve much more than using either one on its own.

Where the home's façade employs a light color like cream or beige with a darker toned roof, use that same dark shade for the garage's exterior wood doors and admire the results. As well, if your property's layout lends itself to this, you might try painting the garage and shutters in identical hues. The combination of mixing and matching will be striking and a real attention-getter as long as you commit to it. Yes, there's always a catch.

Arch Your Front

The most famous arches may be golden, but your house can be almost as noteworthy if you incorporate the brick variety with exterior wood doors.