I’d never had my own garage before; not a real one anyway. When my wife and I bought our first condo, we had a parking lot, but no garage. Five years later we moved into a townhouse that had a single bay, but neither car would get past the door-frame without folding the side mirrors in like the ears on an angry cat. So that space became my workshop. With a door big enough to drag plywood through, not all was lost.
A few years later, we discovered affordable new construction just within the limits of the circle we drew on a map determining the distance we could live from work. The idea was to reside in an area where we did not have to leave Sunday night in order to arrive on time at the office Monday morning. Immediately outside that circle is open farmland, and beyond that (I imagine) is the edge of the earth.
New construction that far from civilization meant we selected upgrades we couldn’t otherwise afford in suburbia. My wife’s requirements included hardwood floors, premium countertops, stainless steel appliances, built in microwave, cherry cabinets, ceramic tile floors with matching backsplash, master bath suite with soaking tub and glass shower, a master bedroom with cathedral ceiling and a live-in maid.
I Had Only One Requirement
My list consisted of a two-car garage. That’s it; the only must-have. But this magnificent structure is twenty-four feet wide and twenty feet deep, with an alcove on one side. Connecting to the back corner of the house, it has a two bay entrance. The single wide-door variety only allows, theoretically, two sub-compacts to squeeze in there together. We can open the doors of each car and comfortably egress as long as we don’t do it at the same time.
It’s completely dry-walled, and I’ve painted the interior an appropriate color. I installed cabinets on one side to contain the polishes, cleaners and additives I use for my Porsche Cayman. The alcove includes matching cabinets to hold an assortment of bee sprays, fungicides, plant food and other supplies for my wife’s gardening habit. I installed composite interlocking floor tiles with a diamond pattern which will support a Super Duty pickup loaded with cinderblock, and is impervious to gas, oil, grime and beer stains.
But What Makes It The Perfect Garage?
There are no bicycles, projects, or storage boxes; no freezers with 200 pounds of frozen hamburger patties and chicken fingers. No workbench with dusty tools and paint cans. No outdoor furniture and patio umbrellas. No lumber hanging from the rafters and no rusted barbecue grill stacked in the corner. I may have the only two-car garage in the neighborhood that’s actually used for storing our two cars. Absolutely perfect.
What’s your perfect garage?
About the author: David Newton is an active board member of the Riesentöter region of the Porsche Club of America (PCA) and a regular contributor and columnist to their newsletter Der Gasser. He doesn’t race and is not a mechanic or an engineer, but he draws from his unique perspective as an enthusiast who loves everything and anything connected with exceptional cars.
