How often do homeowners use their garages to house their cars?

The majority of new build houses are designed and built with a garage or a parking space on the property if this is an option, but how often do we actually use our garages to house our cars and if not then why is that?

Garages are a particularly useful addition to any home in terms of general storage space. They are often used to store garden furniture during the winter months and gardening equipment such as lawnmowers and gardening tools throughout the year. Whilst some people build a garden shed to house this equipment it is more common for it to be kept in the garage.

Some homeowners use the garage as an additional room either as a laundry room with a washing machine and tumble dryer or possibly a games room for the family to use. With the increased interest in health and fitness some garages are utilised as a gym with treadmills, rowing machines and weightlifting equipment.

The difficulty for some when thinking of using the garage to accommodate their car is that often the garage is not wide enough to be able to park the car and get out without damaging the doors on the garage wall. Older properties often have larger garages, so this is not usually an issue for these homeowners.