How to Shop for Portable Garages for Your Home

Photo Credit: Nigel Parker

Often when people buy homes, one of the things they put the least consideration for would be their garages. They will think of adding rooms for guests or maybe a garden shed as extra storage space for their garden tools or maybe even as a work space but they will never think of adding a portable garage for any additional vehicles they might add to the one they already have.

These days, however, more and more people are adding to their vehicles as a kind of investment. Second, people develop hobbies and as such, they buy motor boats, motor cycles, mountain bikes and RVs to be able to indulge in those hobbies and these are things you cannot fit in your built-in garages. For these reasons, the popularity of portable garages has grown so much but people who buy them can actually find themselves confused about what style is best for them and their needs. Here then is our handy guide on how to choose the best portable garages:

1.   Find the one that’s just right

Size matters and it especially matters when you have to fit three cars in one small space. Finding the right size for your portable garage isn’t as intimidating as you think, as long as you know these rules you need to follow in order to select the perfect garage size:

• The number of vehicles you need to protect
• The size of the vehicles you need to protect
• How much space you have for it

It is important to realize that each vehicle type will need its own kind of space and that while your measurements of the dimensions of each vehicle don’t need to be exact, you will need to leave just enough room for maneuvering especially for RVs and boat trailers which can be a bit unwieldy.

2.   Find one that’s made from the best materials

When you search online for garages for sale, a big part of your consideration will be coming from the materials it is made of particularly with the frames and covers since this affects the weight, strength and price. A popular choice for garage frame material is steel because it assures superior durability. When looking for steel frame garages, the rule of thumb is the larger the diameter of the steel tubing, the stronger your garage will be.

As far as covers go, the best material is polyethylene because it does a better job of filtering out harmful UV rays that can make your car’s paint fade. However, it can be quite expensive if you’re on a tight budget so you’ll need to decide on what’s more important: economy or durability. You will also need to make sure you are aware of construction limitations for your portable garages  like the height of the eves which is usually 2.5 meters and the extent of space covered by the construction.

3.   To Set Up or Not to Set Up My Own Garage, That is the Question

Most people prefer to just browse for easy-to-install portable garage kits online that they can set up themselves rather than hire professionals to do the job for them obviously to save on labor and construction costs. Also, buying portable kits means you don’t have to get any kind of permits but you will still need to check for local zoning laws concerning garages in your area to avoid getting into trouble as there are rules that apply to such outbuildings.

In order to fully protect your vehicles from harsh weather conditions, you may also want to consider investing in some important accessories with your portable garages like sidewall or enclosure kits which fully enclose your garage space like a storage garage would. Inclusions vary so you need to thoroughly check what’s included in your kit before making the purchase. If you’re planning to use your garage as an entertainment area, then sidewalls are a great accessory to invest in especially if you do a lot of entertaining and don’t want to hold your parties inside your house. They are often a regular inclusion in garage kits but you will still need to check to make sure.

You might also like:

7 Weekend DIY Projects That'll Whip Your Garage Into Shape (huffingtonpost.com)

Garages (fema.gov)

Tips on Building a Metal Garage Building Kit for the Do-It-Yourselfer (technorati.com)