Jane Crittenden outlines what you need to know to choose the best garage design for your home

Dormer roof windows turn Oakwrights’ fourbay garage into a multi-purpose zone for parking, storage and living

The garage is a major feature of any home, so its proportion, size, style and function are important to get right. To achieve a cohesive design, don’t let it be an afterthought; make the garage a key part of the design journey at the start of your self build. Here’s how to establish what type will best suit your needs.

What is your garage for?

You may be thinking that the answer to this is fairly simple (to park cars, obviously) but this isn’t such a silly question. Garages are a great opportunity to add extra space such as a laundry room, gym, office, games room – or to house services such as a hot water tank, and all the gubbins associated with underfloor heating, a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system, solar panels etc.

If you are intending to use it for vehicles, then plan the dimensions for the cars you own now, and those you might have in the future. As a rule of thumb, two 4x4 vehicles will comfortably fit side-by-side in a 5.6m x 5.65m garage.

Urban Front’s triple automated up-andover Rondo garage doorset in Iroko is priced from £15,000