In article , NY wrote:
"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 15:31:12 on Wed, 18 Mar
2020, NY remarked:
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
I have a double garage. I measured the new car. It's too wide to fit
either side.

It doesn't help that many so-called double garages are just two single
garages joined together - ie they still have single-garage apertures
and separate doors, with a huge pillar between, rather than a
double-width aperture and door. I suppose the advantage of two singles
is that the doors are not as heavy (though any reputable garage door
should have its weight almost compensated by springs or
counterweights) and they can use two shorter RSJs rather than one
longer RSJ - at the expense of losing the advantage of having a double
garage.

It's actually a planning rule, because they think that garages with two
doors like that look less industrial than ones with a single massive
door.

Really? So you are forced to have two doors which are too narrow to
accommodate many modern cars safely, when a single door with no central
pillar would allow both cars to enter with ease? A triumph of aesthetics
over usefulness. That's a real bummer. We were planning to get the two
chocolate-teapot doors replaced with one big one that was actually useful.

Our house has (effectively) two double garages at right angles. The
garage that faces the road has two single doors which are fairly narrow,
whereas the workshop (the previous owner did his own car maintenance)
which is at right angles has a double door. I wonder if the difference
is due to planning regs and the fact that the double door can't be seen
from the road?

It would be better if you were forced to have separate doors for the
pillar to be made non-load-bearing and as thin as possible, so as to
make the width of each door as great as possible while paying lip
service to the rules.

When did the rule come in? The last house that I've seen with a double
door was my parents' house that was built in 1972, which is a good while
ago.

I suspect thast it is one local authority's view. Contact your local
planning department - if there's anyone still left.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle