Why It’s Great to Have a Home with a Triple Car Garage

Why It’s Great to Have a Home with a Triple Car Garage

Hello, and welcome to WRX Property Group’s website and blog! As always, please feel free to look around at the real estate listings available through our website; there are many homes for sale throughout Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph.

But if you’re in the mood for something a little more specific, then we’ve got a special treat for you. Back by popular demand, it’s the WRX Property Group Garage extravaganza!

Last week, we used a simple math problem (which is greater, one or two?) as a springboard into a broader conversation about life, poetry, and garages (well, not so much poetry). The conclusion we arrived at can be summarized as follows: two car garages are great.

And they’re not just great for people, households, or families with two vehicles; no, double car garages are great for just about everyone. I believe the words I used were, “You’re really only limited by your imagination when it comes to how to use a two car garage,” and I stand by those words to this day (it is my deepest conviction).

Brace yourselves, though, because I’m about to throw another math problem your way: which is greater, two… or three? If you thought the fun stopped at a two car garage, prepare to be delighted. Because today, we’re going to talk about three car garages.

What Types of Three Car Garages Are There?

With two car garages, the two main varieties were Attached and Detached; with three car garages, both exist, but you’re more likely to find Detached models. This is more a result of the relative sizes, rather than a benefit of one variety over the other.

But to reiterate, Attached garages are fully attached to the home: they share a wall with the home, they have an entrance to the home from inside the garage, and they usually share a roofline with the home.

Detached garages stand separately from the home, with no interior access or shared wall; detached garages can be built close to the home, but this is not always the case.

Another key distinguishing feature on three car garages is the front access: you can have three smaller garage doors side-by-side, or one large garage door; you can also have one medium-sized door and one smaller door.

Triple car garages can vary in size and shape, and if you’re having one built to your specifications (or you’re building your own), you should have an idea of what you’d like to use it for (taller, deeper three car garages are better at accommodating large vehicles and boats, for example) before starting.

To give you an idea, though, a versatile three car garage would be around 24 feet deep by 33 feet wide (20 feet deep by 30 feet wide would fall on the smaller end of the spectrum).

Have You Heard of a Carriage House?

One final variety of three car garage you may come across is referred to as a ‘Carriage House.’ A carriage house consists of a garage on ground level, with living quarters on top. The front façade of a carriage house features the three, two, or, one garage doors you’d expect on a garage, but it typically has one striking addition: windows peering out over top of the garage door(s).

The name ‘Carriage House’ stretches back to the days when horse-drawn carriages were predominant.

Families who could afford their own coach and horses, as well as the coachperson and various attendants, would often have a building to house the horses and the coach itself, with living quarters on top where the staff would live.

In modern times, garage apartments are simply a great way to make use of the space on your property; detached triple car garages have ample room for guest quarters, rental apartments, workshops, and more, all in the space above the garage proper.

That said, let’s dive into the specific ways you can make use of a three car garage.

How to Truly Make Use of a Triple Car Garage

If you, your family, or your household has three cars, then the appeal of a three car garage should be pretty obvious, but it’s worth diving into a little.

Garages keep your vehicles safe from the elements; they’re also a great place to store the various tools and supplies you use to keep your vehicles shiny and healthy.

Garages also keep you safe from the elements. Whether it’s April showers or the snowy season that comes to Canada and Kitchener-Waterloo every year, three car garages mean you don’t have to get overly wet or overly cold, and neither do the other vehicle-owners in your home.

So yes, the stated purpose of three car garages is an undeniably useful one. You can also use one of the bays for any other vehicle that fits: ATVs, bikes, motorcycles, and boats are all frequently found in three car garages.

If you do intend to use the ground level of the three car garage for your vehicles, using the upper level as a workspace or living quarters is also worth considering or investing in down the line.

Making use of your property’s vertical space is both functional and helpful in the short term, and a sound investment in the long term: properties with carriage houses (garage apartments) will likely see a notable increase in value.

But let’s set aside the vehicles and take a look at some of the other great ways you can use a triple car garage.

Homeowners – indeed, people in general – tend to accumulate ‘stuff’ and/or ‘things’. And three car garages are a fantastic place to remove some of the clutter from your day-to-day living areas.

Shelving units and storage containers within the garage are great for seasonal items, sporting equipment, lawn care products, and more.

But why stop there? With the ample space provided by a three car garage, you can really let your imagination run wild. You can build your very own gym, with separate areas for cardio and strength training.

You can create a workspace for whatever it is that work means to you: woodworking, metalworking, painting, breakdancing – anything! Looking for a place to hang out? Set up some couches, bring in a table, and you’ve got yourself the beginnings of a fine place to hang out.

Three car garages are large enough that you can combine several uses, too: the far bay can be for storage, the middle one can be a workshop, and the one closest to your home can be for your car.

Really, the possibilities are endless. So if you’re looking to buy a home in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, or Guelph, I’ve got two requests: if a three car garage sounds like a good fit for you, why not take a look at homes with one (or with room to add one)?

And if you’re looking for a professional real estate team to help you out on your home-buying journey, I hope you’ll consider WRX Property Group – we’d be happy to help however we can.

Written by Will Kummer

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