Inventing Garage Space

BradLTL said:

oldopelguy said:

Wife gets spot 1 back.

I wish we could do that, but her minivan doesn't fit in spot 1 any more because of a pesky water heater. 

Move pesky water heater? 

Ok, so based on the feedback so far, it seems I have 2 options:

1. Post on Craigslist and hope someone has a perfect spot for me that doesn't cost any money

2. Build a second garage off the back of the driveway standing about 25-30 feet off the ground.

With the second option, I have concerns: anyone have a ballpark estimate? Are there concerns about the posts supporting the building (tilting, drooping, erosion, etc.)?

Seriously can you move the water heater?  Might be the least complex option.

glueguy said:

Seriously can you move the water heater?  Might be the least complex option.

Personally, probably not... I'm not a plumber.  But I think you are right, it's probably something that I should look into.

BradLTL said:

oldopelguy said:

Wife gets spot 1 back.

I wish we could do that, but her minivan doesn't fit in spot 1 any more because of a pesky water heater. 

Given the miscellaneous costs and complexities, moving the water heater (or going to tankless on-demand units?) might be a relatively simple solution. If it gets you a significant improvement...

EDIT: Wow, need coffee. Based on timestamps it took me ten minutes of reading and staring to come up with a duplicate answer...

I built a detached garage (ok a race car house) at my house. It seems like around here they add about 30k to your home value. I think I would keep an eye on real estate. You can probably cover realtor fees when you factor in all your costs and home values by selling your place and buying something that has what you want. 

Oh, and a 2 post lift is a cheap way to increase parking space.

With your driveway the only answer that doesn't have her doing the hokey-pokey is putting her back in spot 1.

You could also consider adding 8' to the front of the garage. Just enough to move the garage door out and get you some room in front. I'm actually thinking about doing that at my house to shift the cars back enough that I can take the front 8' or so of the garage and make it a mud room and bedroom closet.

Seems like doing a tankless water heater would be a good solution. Then you could get the wife's car into spot 1.

Plus tankless water heaters are pretty nice to have.

For this to work

Pay the plumber and move the water heater so she can use garage space #1. That's the first thing you need to make any other plan work. 

What is the goal with her old minivan?  Is it something you can trade in on your TBD autocross car?  3 cars is a simple deal with your space but 4 is challenging.

The space behind the house could be enlarged for a 3rd garage space, but that would take up your entire back yard.

Those that haven't been around Birmingham don't understand the drop.  I think I see rip-rap on the slope in the first picture.  It's not practical to build it there when it would practically be hanging over the house below you. 

The practical expansion area is along the side of the driveway away from your house.  You wouldn't have to widen the curb opening, but start there with and draw a line nearly perpendicular with the street and you could likely have another 8' at the bottom of the driveway.  That would make it practical if you want to make the garages deeper by building out.  

Sell a car. 

Use proceeds to pay plumber. 

Put remaining cash in your pocket. 

Done.