Parking Issue

[Rroff]

I think he meant even if you could have got it through the door part of the car would still be sticking out when you were in as far as it would go

The new builds around where I used to live were crazy - 2 out of the 3 new developments had tiny houses where even the master bedroom was barely larger than a box room and the garages would barely fit a hatchback but the 3rd development was fairly reasonable with much better houses (though the gardens are LOL).

 

[[TW]Fox]

I'm sure I saw a picture of a new build with a garage, and there was a fence and no drive infront of it . I know cars are getting bigger but imo being able to fit in a medium sized car should be the bare minimum, some look like they'd struggle to fit a smart car in, either straight or sideways

This will be because often the garages are built as sales offices and not converted until after the last property is sold. So, what you saw was probably a former sales office that was half way through being turned back into a garage - the driveway is typically the very last thing to be laid. No house builder will sell a house with a garage that has no driveway access to it and no solicitor would allow a client to complete on such a setup.

The amount of nonsense on the internet about new build houses really is quite significant. Until we ended up buying one ourselves I had little interest in them and generally believed the common opinion that they all have tiny room and pathetic garages where you can only get in and out of your car if you have a Mini with a panoramic sunroof. But it simply isn't true. Most sites contain a wide range of property types - some are big, some are small, some have big rooms, some don't and it might be a regional thing but every single site we looked at had garages with a minimum size of 6mx3m for a single - my double is almost 7m x 7m! By contrast our preferred era of house when we started looking - mid 90's - all had small and unusable garages and even a double was typically no more than 5m x 5m. Many councils have planning requirements that insist on cycle storage provision for example - the easiest way to accommodate this is a large garage.

Most of the stuff you read on the internet about new build houses is uninformed opinion from people with no real experience of them. However the one thing that does remain true is the road layouts - you generally find narrow roads and very little visitor parking. Off road parking provision is good - but as soon as people get more cars or visitors it does get problematic.

There are plenty of older houses with miserable sized rooms as well, but that doesn't mean its true to go around saying 'older houses have tiny rooms!'. Each house is different and fortunately they all get supplied with a floorplan so you can see exactly how big the rooms are before you even leave your sofa to go for a look...

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Thing is the developers are working to the councils housing plan, which can change over time
The council set the housing density, and the developers (above more than a few houses) have to meet that

So when they are trying to fit a decent amount in per site to comply something has to give. Great big wide roads would limit gardens etc since the space has to come from somewhere.

 

[Rroff]

The amount of nonsense on the internet about new build houses really is quite significant. Until we ended up buying one ourselves I had little interest in them and generally believed the common opinion that they all have tiny room and pathetic garages where you can only get in and out of your car if you have a Mini with a panoramic sunroof. But it simply isn't true. Most sites contain a wide range of property types - some are big, some are small, some have big rooms, some don't and it might be a regional thing but every single site we looked at had garages with a minimum size of 6mx3m for a single - my double is almost 7m x 7m! By contrast our preferred era of house when we started looking - mid 90's - all had small and unusable garages and even a double was typically no more than 5m x 5m. Many councils have planning requirements that insist on cycle storage provision for example - the easiest way to accommodate this is a large garage.

Though as you say older homes are just as varied the claim is as often true as it isn't - of the 3 major developments in the town I used to live in the ones by Barratt Homes and Persimmon are all mass produced looking houses, cramped with tiny garages, tiny or non-existent gardens, mostly straight onto the road, etc. and largely have a poor reputation from people who've moved in with complaints of sub-standard work and in some cases the developer having to buy them back due to structural issues, etc. on the other hand then there is a development by Wyatt homes which have far more imaginative designs, much more of a mix of properties with many having generous sizes and much more positive reviews by people who've moved in - though the gardens are generally a bit lacking and many are straight onto the road.

 

[[TW]Fox]

cramped with tiny garages

Out of interest how do you know this? I ask because detached garages (integral is a different matter and I'd avoid them for this reason) dimensions are not shown on sales literature. You need to either physically measure them yourself or look at the actual planning documentation to find the sizes. Only the room sizes tend to be on easily available marketing literature.

Virtually everything new build is of a standard template that's copy pasted all over the country. Which I appreciate is something some people don't like which is fair enough. But I've never found a site in the time I was looking that didn't have a good mix of house types.

It's like complaining that new Audi's are cramped and tiny inside and then pointing at the A1 to support the point. I mean, yea, but other models are available..

My garden is rubbish though

 

[Rroff]

Out of interest how do you know this? I ask because detached garages (integral is a different matter and I'd avoid them for this reason) dimensions are not shown on sales literature. You need to either physically measure them yourself or look at the actual planning documentation to find the sizes. Only the room sizes tend to be on easily available marketing literature.

Virtually everything new build is of a standard template that's copy pasted all over the country. Which I appreciate is something some people don't like which is fair enough. But I've never found a site in the time I was looking that didn't have a good mix of house types.

It's like complaining that new Audi's are cramped and tiny inside and then pointing at the A1 to support the point. I mean, yea, but other models are available..

My garden is rubbish though

One of the developments took over the field behind my old house (one of the reasons we moved) one of the detached garages backed up to our old property. Several colleagues bought houses in the other though I can only go on what they've said and complaints in local news. (You only have to look at them though it is fairly obvious they at the very least aren't generous).

 

[Dis86]

I'm sure I saw a picture of a new build with a garage, and there was a fence and no drive infront of it . I know cars are getting bigger but imo being able to fit in a medium sized car should be the bare minimum, some look like they'd struggle to fit a smart car in, either straight or sideways

There's a town called Blyth in Northumberland. I looked at some new builds there about 6 or 7 years ago. The driveways in front of the garage weren't long enough to fit an old style Ford fiesta on and the garages weren't long enough to fit one in. Literally no point in having them. The sales woman tried to explain it was so you could back your car up to the garage to unload things. I pointed out that if you did that the front would be half in the road and obstructing it. She just shrugged and asked me if I was interested. No. No I was not.

 

[kai]

I spoke with highway agency this morning (on site) and they confirmed its a very strange setup. How it got signed off, is a mystery. He admitted it's an issue but was not willing to drop the kerb as no one else on the street has this, although i am the only house with a turning/parking spot outside. A small dropped kerb he believes does not resolve the issue.

His unofficial answer was for me to artificial grass the entire surface to allow for easier access or put slabs down. I explained, this is merely circumventing the issue at hand. However, it would resolve my issue of having access to my front door. I was also told to simply park my car across my drive. This was then block people in. Not the answer i was expecting!

As a side note: For us, this was a small contractor who built around 20 houses on the estate. Each house has a double drive and the garage is also a double (length wise) with large back gardens. As such i have done a conversion and split 50/50 into an office. It's not your typical box room mass produced new build. It's just this issue outside!

 

[adam cool dude]

I spoke with highway agency this morning (on site) and they confirmed its a very strange setup. How it got signed off, is a mystery. He admitted it's an issue but was not willing to drop the kerb as no one else on the street has this, although i am the only house with a turning/parking spot outside. A small dropped kerb he believes does not resolve the issue.

His unofficial answer was for me to artificial grass the entire surface to allow for easier access or put slabs down. I explained, this is merely circumventing the issue at hand. However, it would resolve my issue of having access to my front door. I was also told to simply park my car across my drive. This was then block people in. Not the answer i was expecting!

As a side note: For us, this was a small contractor who built around 20 houses on the estate. Each house has a double drive and the garage is also a double (length wise) with large back gardens. As such i have done a conversion and split 50/50 into an office. It's not your typical box room mass produced new build. It's just this issue outside!

I understand the stand and bang but it really is simple as putting slabs down in a diagonal way to put you onto the path as even if you do win you're stepping onto road from your house which is silly in itself.

 

[Deleted User 298457]

I understand the stand and bang but it really is simple as putting slabs down in a diagonal way to put you onto the path as even if you do win you're stepping onto road from your house which is silly in itself.

Agreed. Shouting at the clouds because people are parking infront of your daftly placed path isn't going to fix the fact your path is daftly placed.

 

[roadie]

This is from memory of the image and information posted earlier in the thread and I am not going back to double check, but Highways suggested that you lay artificial grass or put paving slabs on land in their ownership?

 

[Rroff]

Out of interest how do you know this? I ask because detached garages (integral is a different matter and I'd avoid them for this reason) dimensions are not shown on sales literature. You need to either physically measure them yourself or look at the actual planning documentation to find the sizes. Only the room sizes tend to be on easily available marketing literature.

Virtually everything new build is of a standard template that's copy pasted all over the country. Which I appreciate is something some people don't like which is fair enough. But I've never found a site in the time I was looking that didn't have a good mix of house types.

It's like complaining that new Audi's are cramped and tiny inside and then pointing at the A1 to support the point. I mean, yea, but other models are available..

My garden is rubbish though

Found a plan which includes garage dimensions for the build behind where I used to live https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-p...l?prop=53418283&sale=87818571&country=england actually seems reasonable length but the main complaint was actually getting out the car once it was inside.

My colleagues who live in one of the other estates say their garages are 4m by 4m so reasonable width but you can't even park a Micra inside and close the door.

 

[[TW]Fox]

My colleagues who live in one of the other estates say their garages are 4m by 4m so reasonable width but you can't even park a Micra inside and close the door.

This would be a very unusual garage size to build. Too short yet a metre wider than a standard single?

That one you've linked too is fairly narrow I agree and isn't wide enough to use of for a car daily whilst also storing things. But more recent ones tend to be 3x6 for a single which is much more usable. I think it's since local authorities started asking for cycle storage etc

 

[Rroff]

This would be a very unusual garage size to build. Too short yet a metre wider than a standard single?

That one you've linked too is fairly narrow I agree and isn't wide enough to use of for a car daily whilst also storing things. But more recent ones tend to be 3x6 for a single which is much more usable. I think it's since local authorities started asking for cycle storage etc

I can't find dimensions on a floor plan for those but they don't look square on the floor plan and Google street view doesn't look 4m wide. Nearby similar pattern but not identical houses are 2.69x5.12 which is kind of random.

They claim you can't even shut the garage door with a Micra inside though.

EDIT: Can't quite match up the same houses they live in, not updated yet on Google or houses with plans online but these are basically the houses https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-p...l?prop=73837775&sale=26245104&country=england

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-p...l?prop=73837775&sale=26245104&country=england

Doesn't look like 4m by 4m but they aren't exactly the same as where my colleagues live.

 

[DanTheMan]

I've found the design of new builds has changed quite a lot over the past decade, with more emphasis on off street parking / garage at the front and side, but smaller back gardens.

It seems sensible as although I'd love a big garden, I probably only use it properly for ~20 days a year, whereas having somewhere to store things and potentially convert to an office is much more useful.

Regarding the parking issue, neither but of advice from the highways agency sounds very helpful! It looms like that bit of road was a poor attempt at creating a turning space at the end of the estate and not designed for frequent parking.

 

[Deleted User 298457]

Car ownership is on the decline and people are waking up to the vast waste of cash a multi-car family really is; especially where I live in the London commuter belt. The garages here are normally totally external/around the corner with no option to power or water/waste. They are specifically for bike/sports gear storage rather than car storage.

 

[koolpc]

Buy a run down caravan and park it in front of their house.

 

[DanTheMan]

Car ownership is on the decline and people are waking up to the vast waste of cash a multi-car family really is; especially where I live in the London commuter belt. The garages here are normally totally external/around the corner with no option to power or water/waste. They are specifically for bike/sports gear storage rather than car storage.

I think that's quite specific to the space limited South East. Even here, 6 miles north of Manchester City centre, the average 3 bed semi new build comes with a detached garage and / or driveway for 2 cars.

 

[the-evaluator]

Milton Keynes council are about £2k for a dropped kerb, it's disgusting what they charge for a days work.

I know this post is quite old, but as I've recently had a dropped kerb extended I thought it was worth mentioning current costs.

Having had our driveway widened we needed another 6 kerbstones dropped and the all in price (so including the application fee and so on) was £2.6k from Ringway (MKC Contractor). We paid a shade under £2k to have a different contractor do it. It was an easy half day job for 2 people.

 

[LiE]

I know this post is quite old, but as I've recently had a dropped kerb extended I thought it was worth mentioning current costs.

Having had our driveway widened we needed another 6 kerbstones dropped and the all in price (so including the application fee and so on) was £2.6k from Ringway (MKC Contractor). We paid a shade under £2k to have a different contractor do it. It was an easy half day job for 2 people.

Mental isn’t it! We paid £2.8k for our drive to be block paved. 4 days work.