5 Vital Rules for Two-Car Garages Homeowners Must Follow
If you think about the ideal version of the American dream, it might feature a detached, single-family home and a garage at the end of the driveway. Maybe that’s a two-car garage if you have multiple drivers in the family. You can find this image in suburbs around the country.
If you plan to get a company to install a two-car garage for you, you should consider a few rules that wise homeowners always follow. Let’s list a few of those right now.
Jump to:
*This post may contain affiliate links and I’ll earn a commission if you shop through them. You can read my full disclosure here.
Don’t Spend More Than You Can Afford
Two-car garage installations normally cost between $20K and $40K, give or take. You can sometimes shave a little money off this cost, but probably not much without cutting corners.
You need to ask yourself as a homeowner if you can afford that before you start contacting companies that can do the installation for you. If you bought a house that didn’t come with a garage, and you own one or multiple vehicles, you will certainly want one. If there’s room for it, and you live in a part of the country that gets snow or heavy rainstorms at some point during a typical year, that will only make this a better purchase.
You need to look at your finances before you jump into a project that’s this costly, though. While $20K-$40K will not seem too onerous if you’re wealthy, that’s a sizeable chunk for many families or individuals living in the US.
If you have to take out a bank or credit union loan to get the money to fund the project, consider putting it off. Maybe you’re better off waiting till you get a tax refund or some other kind of windfall before you start contacting possible garage installers.
Make Sure You Hire a Reputable Company
Next, you must make sure that you hire a company that has excellent reviews. You can probably find many garage installers if you live in or around a decent-sized city. However, how many do you know that have many five-star reviews online? When you visit this company’s website, does it seem spammy and hastily thrown together?
These questions matter. The company you hire should have strong online feedback and a website that looks professional and has good UX. If you’re not seeing that, or if the individual you speak to on the phone sounds rude when you contact the company, you’ll probably want to go with someone else.
Take a Good Look at the Paperwork Before You Sign Anything
Next, you need to spend some time going over the paperwork with the company you choose before you sign anything. It makes sense to read every word before committing to a costly project like this one.
You never want to pay everything upfront. It might make sense to pay up to half upfront and wait till you see the concluded project before you pay the rest. That makes sense with any kind of contractor work like this.
You should also peruse any part that talks about the warranty very carefully. Scrutinize this part with all your attention because if the garage looks good at first, but then some of it falls apart within six months, you probably need that warranty in place to get the repairs it requires free of charge. Warranties matter with any major home improvement project.
Make Sure You Have the Required Permits Before You Start Building Anything
Regardless of where you live, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that you need the right building permits before proceeding with a home improvement project of this size. Many townships or cities need you to have the proper permits in place for something is small as a shed in your backyard, let alone a two-car garage.
Look on your village, city, or township’s website. Often, you can find the office’s address where you’ll need to inquire about the right permit. It might cost you a little extra money as well, so make sure you budget for that.
Ensure You Have the Correct Dimensions Before Moving Forward
Finally, when you find your contractor and have the permits in place, you need to make sure the entity you use has the dimensions right before they start erecting the garage. If they didn’t measure your vehicles or the space where the garage will go properly, that can lead to headaches a little further down the line.
By following these rules, you should get the new garage you want.
