O.T. Sort of... Garage Probs

Ok, here's the deal. Wife and I just signed on to get a new house. Great lil house, should be built by the end of July/Beginning of August. Coming with a 2 car garage. Sounds great. Except for one thing. Garage is only 17 feet deep. Fuggin Caddy is 19 feet plus. Don't think it'll do it on a diag. either, being the cad is 80- inches wide. So... I dont wanna leave in in the driveway to rust, or in the backyard to do the same thing. SO.. I had a crazy idea. Since they won't let me build a garage for it, howabout something similar. A kiddie house, just big enough to hide the caddy, doesn't have to be anything for a kid to go in, just the shell. I could tint the windows. Make a lil door so my son could use it as a playhouse when the car's not in it. Just design it totally hollow. I could set it up on a hinge, with one hydraulic prop to lift it enough to drive the caddy in and out. Anybody done something like this? am I fuggin nutz? What yall think? Any ideas? suggestions? lemme know.

 

since the house is that far away, i would try to make the garage 20 ft. it can be done.

 

Since i'm sure you're spending a ton of dough, why not spend it on something that really meets your needs?

 

tuff shed.
make it "PORTABLE"

 

Wife is sold on house, loves location, is already friends with some neighbors, and builder won't budge on dimensions of garage. Trust me I've tried. I suggested several ways to the builders that they could extend the garage 2 or 3 feet and hide it very well. By using a cutout similar to one made for a chimney they could extend it only on one side. Or by adding a mini shed, halfway up the side of the house, and cutting out the inside so the caddy could slip in. Even putting the garage door on the front of the house, instead of the side, since the garage will be 19 feet wide. But the builders are determined to keep the neighborhood "congruent". What a crock of ****. Anyway, I know that there is a 15 foot ea*****t between my house and my neighbors, where niether of us can build or fence anything. So.. that's the access I need to my backyard. If I can build some sort of cover for it, so that it doesn't look like a garage, I think I could get away with it. These gawd darned housing "clubs" make so gawd darned many rules, you can't hardly sneeze in your front yard without a neighbor calling it a noise violation. So.. back to my question, does anybody think it's possible to build a cover/shack/shed/garage that resembles a kiddie house, so I could cover and hide my caddy?

b.t.w. what's a "tuff shed"

 

That's why they built the PArk Avenue.
For those who don't know, a Park Avenue was a Cadillac with a shorter trunk so that it would fit into a smaller garage.
I still see one regularly (a 1962), and it DOES have Park Avenue badges.

Aside from that, you may really be stuck, as, as others have said, you really should buy something that meets your needs.

This isn't a way of your wife telling you to "grow up" and stop playing with cars, is it??

Cosmo

 

I think you can count on a neighbor to blow the whistle on you sooner or later.
What will it cost you if you get caught?

 

Could you build a "tool shed" on the back of the garage after you move in?

Just wide enough, high enough for the nose of said Caddy -- then cut the wall out.

Yes, it is a "load bearing wall" but with a good header (wood 2"x10", not tube ) it could be done and would look "normal".

 

why put yourself through this? did the builders build all the houses?
is it in a development with so many rules yo udon't even know about?
i bet you cannot drive on the yard to acess the back, let alone a backyard structure that big

i would go to the city and see the building permit peopel the zoning people and everyone else and what is allowed , if you really want to fight the builders and get built what you need , you need all the information you can from the city, and go from there

 

You really, really, really don't want to live there.
You are making a big mistake that's going to be a pain for as short as your stay there is.
And it will be short.
Although you my end up paying for it so "she" gets to live there though...
Get out now, if you haven't moved in yet, you don't own it yet.
Just never accept it as "done".
I bet the community Nazis invent a "No parking vehicles anywhere except in the closed garage" rule on ya too.
There's places in Orange County where you can get fined if your garage door is open for longer than 90 SECONDS!

 

Looks like you have a choice to make...

 

That's what I thought. Build your own notch for the nose to stick into on the back wall. Should be easy enough. Hell, there'll probably be enough left over siding s****s to cover it and everything.

Your idea sounds like a BIG friggin kiddy house! You already said it's longer than the garage. I don't think anyone would buy that for a second.

 

you are screwed and in for a long hard haul, you just don't realize it yet.

 

Builders work for money. If they aren't willing to modify for your needs tell them to find another ****er for their cookie cutter house. Chances are they are not very good contractors if they don't have the ability to adjust for a customers needs. Too many people these days are willing to take your money and act like they are doing you a favor. Tell them to piss up a rope. If its anything like it is here there's houses going up everywhere, and its fairly easy to find a GOOD contractor that will work with you. If you've got problems before you even get the place built let it be an omen to you.

 

You already signed, you're ****ed.... You won't be able to work on your ride in the garage anyway... a two car garage should be 24 x 24 period...

 

I had a friend who bought the house, sold it to his brother in law and then bought it back, neglecting to sign the CCRs (Codes, covenents and restrictrictions). Then he added to the front of his garage. The ***n sued him and made his life miserable. Eventually the friction got so bad he had to choose between his house and wife and his dueces (coupe and sedan). He is a happier single man now. I don't envy your options, my friend. Good luck with it.

chili, who thought they only did this kind of **** in California. ;-(

 

I'd back out of the deal if I could. There's some give an take with any home purchase but, you have to prioritize. Sounds like you've steered away from the ride. Experience with subdivision "***ociations" has taught me one thing, they're real frickin' peanut galleries. You try to deviate and build yourself somethingadd on, someone WILL squeal.

 

I think Zman is right.

If your wife has to have this house and knows your car won't fit in the garage, its the same thing as telling you to get rid of your car. I think you are ****ed in so many ways, its unreal. She wants a nice house for herself after she dumps your ***, but if you will give up your car, maybe she can minuplate you a little more before she gives you the boot. I'm afraid, my friend, the "new" house is only a sign of bad things to come. If I were you, I'd be bailing on this house, ASAP, unless the garage will be done the way you want it. Don't let this one slide and don't wait another day.

I've been married for almost 30 years now, we just picked up a "new" car project. My wife is as excited about it as I am. I sure wouldn't want to trade places with you.
Sorry, Gene

 

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

WOW.


The wife is stuck on a house that isn't even built yet.

The wife is getting attached to the neighbors already.

You don't like it already.

When a man gets run outside(we all do, that's life) because she's got the rag on, the garage is the next best thing. So, when you get run outside, you'll be going to a bar, or a park, or somewhere else, because that so-called-garage is going to be a thorn in your side.

You're going to hate yourself for not nipping this thing while you can, if you don't. I can't see your contract from here but I'm hoping you don't "close" until you take posession. In all property deals, until "closing", the deal ain't a deal until it's done.

Sit down with that woman and explain your feelings about this, and if she doesn't understand, if she's more set on what she wants than what you want, then she's a selfish manipulator. They don't get better, they get worse. If she covets a house that ain't even built yet, and the new neighbors are more important to her than a garage big enough for your prize Cadillac, then I bet she's already counting the money she thinks you'll get when she talks you into selling it.

 

You say you just signed...

I dont know if it's the same there but here you have 72 hours to "cool off" from signing any contract like property or a car even.
All you gotta do is say I want out, within 72 hours, (and do it in writing,) and they have to let you out.

That's my best advice.

Been divorced twice... One, over a house a**** other things...only miss the cars they took...
One was the VW with the Porsche engine, and the other was the MGB roadster...

 

back out now, or this will be something that you go to sleep with every night. then you will think about it all day. Life is too short, and mortgages, too long to be unhappy about.

 

New houses like new cars aren't all they're cracked up to be.

I don't know how many houses I p***ed on because the garage wasn't right. I'd keep looking, or start looking for a U-Stor unit to keep your wife, errr I mean car in.

 

i'm fuggin' nuts when i tell you that the homeowner can do whatever they want to the house after the settle on it.

can you bump the garage wall into the living space a few feet? meaning move the end wall of the garage into the house a bit more, so the outside of the house and it's footprint remain exactly the same...



tred.

 

This is REALLY sad. The only two outlooks you have at this point are : miserable and married in your new house. 2. single, and happy while still having your Caddy. Be sure to post which it turns out to be in the next couple of months. I'll be pulling for the happy outcome.

Frank

 

**** man.......I'd run like a ****d ape and plead insanity You might as well pack your *** crack with K-Y and hold on for the big stiffie!

 

I wish it were true that you can do anything you want after you settle in but it isn't so. Those stupid covenants have been upheld in court decisions time and time again. I think its a load of **** but thats the way it is. A fellow here started building a loft for storage in the back of his garage. A nosey neighbor saw him working on it and turned him in to the neighborhood ***ciation. He was given 14 days to remove it or face a $75 a day fine. Where my daughter lived a guy was painting the inside, yes the INSIDE, of his garage blue and got nailed by the neighborhood Nazis. Had to paint it white again. My dads neighborhood had a covenant against mini barns. A guy there decided he was building one come hell or high water. Ran smack dab into the ***ociation. After an 18 month court battle and $4700in legal fees he got to build his $1300 barn. Some win huh?
Do yourself a favor and DON'T DO IT! You'll regret it. There are other houses, find one of them.

 

Choices; Live in a crunched in developement & resign yourself to the fact you can only park a Kia in there + go nuts OR find a used house (now known as pre-owned) and it would have a normal garage and if not - build your own + have room & access alley......or have a new house custom built on a lot somewhere that is not in a crunched in developement. My 2 cents (Good Luck) Gary 4T950 Chevy Guy

 

I feel ya.
How happy will you be every day watching your pride and joy sitting in the sun, the rain, the hail, etc.
Where are you gonna work on it? If you get away with working on it in your driveway, how happy are you gonna be worrying about oil, grease, antifreeze, etc. staining the driveway? How are you gonna work on it at night? How much love are you gonna get from the neighbors then, while the air tools and compressor are whistling away?

That's a tough spot. We recently "downsized" from our new, custom designed and built house that had a three-car two-level garage with room for all my chit, my bikes and my car, wired with 220 and outlets every 4 feet. When we moved I had to make it clear that a three-car garage was an absolute must. I found the garage of my dreams in an older house in the area we wanted and had to sell my wife on a vision of what the house could be. My god... I almost worked myself to death before we moved in with repairs to make my end of the bargain, this place needed way more than I let on but the garage f'n rules. Lucky for me her best friend lives down the street.
I don't envy the situation, but it's all about compromise. Good luck.

 

You have a choice, my friend: 1) Build the house & burn the car. 2) Keep the car & build a house that will actually be a *home*. Personally I think you're ****ing STUPID if you're PAYING a builder to build a house & the ONLY way he will build it is HIS way!!!??? WTF?????? You'll never be happy there. ****ing WAKE UP to reality, dumb***!!!
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Headline: APATHY RUNS RAMPANT - Nobody cares.

 

your ****ed

My uncle lives in one of those communities, and he absolutely hates it. He built a custom home on his property he purchased there, was moved in and happy for almost 6 months. Then the locals p***ed a rule stating you were NOT allowed to park a car in the driveway for more then 1 hour. Not a HUGE deal, since he had a 2 1/2 car garage and isnt a car guy. Well, he bought a boat. 2 months after he bought the boat, there was a new ordinance saying you were not allowed to park a boat in the driveway for more then 1 hour at a time during daytime hours, no over night parking whatsoever. Had to sell his boat. Then came time to put up a fence to keep the dog in. Not only did it need to be a certain style of fence and a certain material, it could NOT close in the yard. What the **** is the point of having a fence?

A friend of mine lives in the same style community, and has an old shed in the back yard. It hasnt been painted in 20 years, and looks rough. After recieving 5 or 6 warnings in his post box telling him he NEEDED to paint the shed, he was fined 360 dollers. So, he painted the shed. He painted the shed NEON pink with NEON green molding / trim and a large yellow smile face on the front of it. He is in the middle of a community war over there these last few weeks because of it, he refuses to let them win.

Either way, its more trouble then its worth. If you have the option, RUN! If not, rent a garage to keep the car at until your divorce is final, and run like like hell