British garages more likely to contain a load of junk than a car
Research carried out for car accessories retailer Halfords found almost two in three people (63%) have never kept the car in their garage.
For many space-strapped owners this traditionally male area is increasingly being used to store freezers, washing machines, and boilers, as well as assorted garden tools, bicycles, pushchairs, and sports gear like golf clubs, surfboards and skis, with no room left for the family runabout.
While four out of ten homes – that’s 9.3 million houses in the UK - have a garage, just 28% use it for the purpose they were built, a survey of 2058 respondents revealed.
Instead they have become vital storage areas or extensions to the house, leaving the car to be parked out on the driveway, or the road.
11% of those surveyed – equivalent to a million people - say they have converted the space into an extra family room, utility room, office or gym and 42 %, the equivalent of four million admit, to it becoming a general junk area for household items they never got round to clearing out.
The remaining 19%, which would equate to 1.8 million, use the garage in more practical ways, as a laundry room, for the fridge freezer or for their hobbies, as a games room, wine cellar, band rehearsal room and for storing gardening equipment.
A surprising number, 5%, said the garage was the ideal place to keep pets which they didn’t want in the house such as dogs, guinea pigs and reptiles.
Of the 42% who used the garage as a junk room, half admitted to leaving boxes and bags untouched for over two years.
Size also matters when it comes to garages. Six out of ten people with homes under ten years old complained the garages were too small to park the car in without hitting the walls when opening the drivers’ door. Most 4x4 drivers leave their cars out in the cold - they are often simply too large for the typical home garage. Meanwhile a third of the total said they would park the car in the garage if they could find enough space for it and their other belongings as well.
The trend to convert the garage has increased in recent years as people look to improve their homes rather than move. Car owners also see the garage as less important with modern cars better protected from the elements.
For the 4 in 10 homes who don’t use the garage for the family car, Halfords stocks a wide range of storage solutions to keep the garage organised and tidy and prevent items being stored from becoming damaged or weather-affected.
Mark Dolphin, Halfords product manager for workshop and tools said: “A garages isn’t what it used to be. However customers tell us it is still an immensely valuable area of the home and they want to use the space to best effect. So we have built a range of storage options that includes storage crates, strong metal shelf units, bike wall brackets, tool rails and chests. These help both those who want to fit their gear in around the car or those who are storing stuff instead of the car.”
Having a garage can add significant value to a home with a double garage estimated to add 14.5% to the price of a house and a single garage adding 7.7%.