Garage Driveway Backout Distances

by Peter Hazelwood
(Woodbridge, Suffolk)

To be able to enter the garage from the side how, much room do I need to the boundary for practical reasons?

ANSWER

Hi Peter,
If I understand you correctly, you are asking how much distance is needed measured from the garage doors to the property line...the distance if you were backing out of your garage. If I am wrong, let me know.

I like to work with a minimum of 30 to 32 feet. I see you are from Suffolk, so you'll have to convert...sorry). This is tight but do-able. You should be able to pull out of your garage and do a K turn to drive straight to the street. Depending on the size of your car, you may have to make an additional turn. If you go further out than the 30 feet, it will be more comfortable, but you don't want to go so far that it starts to look like a parking lot! I've seen 40 feet. It's a bit much.

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If you have the space, you can also create extra parking in this area. This is often placed at the end/corner, towards the rear yard. In other words, if you were driving up your driveway towards your garage, there would be an area at the far right end where you could pull straight in to park, beyond your garage doors. Sometimes this space is straight and other times it is angled. Angled spaces also work as great turnarounds. The space should be about 9 or 10 feet wide by about 18 feet long.