Better to move vs build pricey garage?

[timun]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Reading the complaints about detached vs attached garages, why aren't 'Breezeways', more of a thing in Calgary?

The Land Use Bylaw only allows attached garages to be accessed from the front of a parcel, does not allow detached garages (or any other "accessory residential building") to be built between the main dwelling and the front property line, and to build a breezeway between a garage and a main dwelling is to, by definition, attach it to the main dwelling. In effect the only built form where you'd be allowed to have a breezeway is if the garage is built between the house and a side property line, and most parcels in Calgary simply aren't wide enough to reasonably accommodate this.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by timun

The Land Use Bylaw only allows attached garages to be accessed from the front of a parcel, does not allow detached garages (or any other "accessory residential building") to be built between the main dwelling and the front property line, and to build a breezeway between a garage and a main dwelling is to, by definition, attach it to the main dwelling. In effect the only built form where you'd be allowed to have a breezeway is if the garage is built between the house and a side property line, and most parcels in Calgary simply aren't wide enough to reasonably accommodate this.

Interesting. I know of a few homes with a breezeway, do you know the width to reasonably accommodate? Or a link to this specific bylaw?

[Twitchy15]

Originally Posted by timun

Or one can choose the easier solution and simply not burden themselves with children.

As I explained there are (essentially) no rear-access attached garages in Calgary, so most attached garages are stuck on the front of "snout houses" in the 'burbs. That in and of itself is a pretty big inconvenience.

I remember seeing Daytona home builder in Livingston the regular 400,000 single family home almost all had attached rear garages. Was kind of neat off the back where the kitchen and half bath were there was a hallway to the garage. The patio was walled in on three sides and there was a driveway in the back basically no yard besides patio. Carriage house was 100,000 extra

[kevman]

We just built a detached heated garage on a relatively large parcel with a tiny bungalow.

The benefits of not having to scrape the car were definitely realized this morning and the small inconvenience of walking through the yard in this weather was barely a thought. Besides, unless you're driving to a parkade attached to your destination you're going to need a coat anyway, no?

I do agree though, apart from the limited architectural options that an attached garage brings, they are obviously preferred over detached options. But as pointed out they're simply not possible in many communities in Calgary. And they're small.

If an attached garage is a 10/10 upgrade, than a detached garage is still a 9.5/10 upgrade in my opinion.

[DoubleF]

What if OP built a garage with a loft space above the garage whether as a space someone could be or an oversized storage? OP said there is a significant slope in his yard, so I assume that it'd fit? and OP said they're seriously lacking storage space so being able to store stuff above garage would help?

It would cost more, but I assume that extra would easily be recovered if OP sold and/or might resell for as much if not more than the cost of the addition?

EDIT: Oops, OP already mentioned that in a post.

[You Need a Thneed]

If you like the house, and are going to stay there a while, build the garage.

That way, you can build it like you like it, include all of the extras you want, etc.

Yes it can be pricy, but moving is pricy as well, and you are less likely to end up with a garage that suits you.

If I were building a garage today, I would definitely consider building one with a suite on top, if possible. If you are already building, the additional cost, while significant, would be significantly less than adding one later.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by timun

The Land Use Bylaw only allows attached garages to be accessed from the front of a parcel, does not allow detached garages (or any other "accessory residential building") to be built between the main dwelling and the front property line, and to build a breezeway between a garage and a main dwelling is to, by definition, attach it to the main dwelling. In effect the only built form where you'd be allowed to have a breezeway is if the garage is built between the house and a side property line, and most parcels in Calgary simply aren't wide enough to reasonably accommodate this.

We looked at buying a house in Highwood many years ago that had a rear attached garage (with vehicle access from the alley). Presumably it was grandfathered in at some point -- unfortunately we didn't have the cash to make a competitive offer at the time.

As for your situation, if you don't think you'll want to move (or more importantly, will ever need to move due to work, kids, other family responsibilities, etc) then I'd say go for the garage. If you're going to live there for the next 20+ years then you might as well make it work for you versus depriving yourself solely on account of resale value.

That said, you might also want to plan for an eventual house replacement (sounds like you're on a big lot so building footprint is likely not an issue); I had a neighbor in a small bungalow build a double garage first while he saved up to demo and rebuild the house itself a few years later. So in the event you do want to sell, a developer can still buy the lot, demo the house, and keep the garage.

[DoubleF]

https://wowa.ca/calculators/commissi...ulator-alberta

If you use this calculator, you can see the estimated commissions on the sale. An $800K sale comes out to a little over $29K per this calculator. That's basically half the cost of the garage or essentially the cost of the top suite on top of the garage.

That's not factoring the legal fees, mortgage application, viewings, fuel, dual mortgages for a short duration(?), searching, annoyance and time and effort and costs of packing/moving. That's probably the equivalent of another few grand there as well.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

We looked at buying a house in Highwood many years ago that had a rear attached garage (with vehicle access from the alley). Presumably it was grandfathered in at some point -- unfortunately we didn't have the cash to make a competitive offer at the time.

As for your situation, if you don't think you'll want to move (or more importantly, will ever need to move due to work, kids, other family responsibilities, etc) then I'd say go for the garage. If you're going to live there for the next 20+ years then you might as well make it work for you versus depriving yourself solely on account of resale value.

That said, you might also want to plan for an eventual house replacement (sounds like you're on a big lot so building footprint is likely not an issue); I had a neighbor in a small bungalow build a double garage first while he saved up to demo and rebuild the house itself a few years later. So in the event you do want to sell, a developer can still buy the lot, demo the house, and keep the garage.

I know of at least 3 or for around the neighborhood, this one is huge:

https://goo.gl/maps/GPBfUBJmkhUd51V1A

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I know of at least 3 or for around the neighborhood, this one is huge:

https://goo.gl/maps/GPBfUBJmkhUd51V1A

Wow that is huge!

This is the place I was thinking of: https://goo.gl/maps/Cq3gfB83vpVYVXRL9 I don't remember how many sq ft in total but there were five bedrooms up and a pretty big basement.

[powderjunkie]

This is suburban hell, but a bit of a funky set up for these duplexes:

https://goo.gl/maps/88mmwc4VPbKzfU7K8

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I know of at least 3 or for around the neighborhood, this one is huge:

https://goo.gl/maps/GPBfUBJmkhUd51V1A

The garage they told you not to worry about...

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I know of at least 3 or for around the neighborhood, this one is huge:

https://goo.gl/maps/GPBfUBJmkhUd51V1A

You can street view that alley to 2007 and it looks like they are starting to clear that lot.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

You can street view that alley to 2007 and it looks like they are starting to clear that lot.

Ya, you can see they had the pad poured by 2009, here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.0948503,-114.0782313,3a,75y,166.61h,75.95t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smZkqb0xYx46T4sT9FIanZg!2e0!5s2 0090501T000000!7i13312!8i6656

So if there are rules against this type of thing, they can't be that old.

[kevman]

I don't think there are rules against those things as long as lot coverage is respected.

There is a requirement for accessory buildings to be 1m from the main dwelling but I don't recall anything if the buildings are attached. There is a new one on 2nd ave that has an attached rear garage with a narrow walkway from the house.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/63...4d-114.0773248

Edit - From the land use bylaw:

Projections Into Rear Setback Area
338
1
Stairs, air conditioning equipment and window wells may project without limits into any rear setback area.
2
Awnings, balconies, bay windows, canopies, chimneys, decks , eaves, fireplaces, fire escapes, landings, porches, and ramps other than wheelchair ramps may project a maximum of 1.5 metres into any rear setback area.
47P2008
3
A private garage attached to a building may project without limits into a rear setback area provided it:
a
does not exceed 4.6 metres in height, measured from the finished floor of the private garage;
62P2018
b
does not exceed 75.0 square metres in gross floor area for each Dwelling Unit located on the parcel;
27P2011, 62P2018
c
has no part that is located closer than 0.60 metres to the rear property line; and
d
has no eave closer than 0.6 metres to a side property line .

So if you keep the garage under 75 square meters, respect the side and rear setbacks and keep it under 4.6m there is no issue being attached to the main residential building.

[greyshep]

Nice, so the "attached rear garage not allowed" thing is largely a myth. Thats good info to know.

[topfiverecords]

Rear attached are doable and there’s lots around but there are considerations to take in that often reduce its viability. Being part of the house the rear setback of (usually) 7.5m comes into play. So you have to fit your garage between the house and that 25’ setback from the back of the lot. There’s also building depth averages of your neighbours that can be involved depending on zoning. The other question is do you want to be forced to have a driveway and if so do you want it eating up a corner of your backyard or rather have the garage 2’ off the lane and the rest be backyard.

The amount of time you don’t spend walking to your detached garage is way outdone by the amount you’re outside shovelling the driveway of your attached garage.

[cam_wmh]

What’s the rule on percentage of buildings covering the lot in total? And are relaxations common? Such as on a corner lot?

[timun]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Interesting. I know of a few homes with a breezeway, do you know the width to reasonably accommodate? Or a link to this specific bylaw?

https://lub.calgary.ca/

It's a lot of info to parse, but what I really should have backed up and made more explicit is my comment was within the context of building a new garage on an existing property that never had one. There's nothing in the bylaw that prevents breezeways; rather, given the constraints of the average existing Calgarian home on an R-C1 ("residential-contextual one dwelling") land use it's not feasible to build one. It's... complicated. I'll elaborate in another reply to another post.

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

What’s the rule on percentage of buildings covering the lot in total? And are relaxations common? Such as on a corner lot?

For R-C1 and R-C2—the land uses most homes in Calgary are built in—it's max. 45%. Relaxations aren't common, in my experience.

[Leondros]

What about one with a plus 15?

https://goo.gl/maps/u8zKoiDa8ptaMbVz5