If you move into a new home that doesn’t have a garage, but you own a car, probably you won’t want to wait long before installing one. When you leave your vehicle out on the street or in the driveway, the weather can damage it over time, and it becomes a tempting target. Teens like some kinds of vehicles for joyrides, while other thieves may want to take it to a chop shop.

Understanding the garage installation process matters if you have this on your to-do list. You can’t just leap into action without taking time to think about a few important considerations. In this article, we’ll discuss a few of those.

You Need the Proper Permits
First, you should figure out what person or entity you must speak to before you dive into this major home improvement project. You can’t just decide one day to install a new garage and then do it.

Unless you live out in the middle or nowhere on a few acres of land, you will probably have a city, town, or village entity that controls the building permits required for this type of construction job. This makes sense if you think about it. You never know what utilities you have near your house, and you might damage some of them if you erect a garage without having someone come by for an inspection first.

Usually, a permit will not cost very much or take too long to process. You might need to post it prominently somewhere on your property when you get it. Usually, having it up in one of hour home’s front windows will satisfy any local laws or ordinances governing such things.

You Might Need to Speak to Your Homeowner’s Association First
Not every detached single-family dwelling has a homeowner’s association controlling it, but some of them do. If you move into a planned community, you might have an HOA that can penalize you if you do something they deem out of order.

Some homeowners don’t like moving into neighborhoods with HOAs because they see them as restrictive and nothing more than babysitters. No matter what you think about them, though, if you have one that controls your property, you must follow their rules. Hopefully, they won’t have any issue with you installing a garage, but perhaps they have some regulations regarding such a project with which you must comply.

You Need to Measure the Space You Have and the Vehicle Size
It makes little sense to install a garage that won’t easily fit your vehicle. That means you need to measure it. The car or truck’s dimensions will factor into what model garage you can get, since you can find some smaller ones and others that have much more floor space.

These days, you might notice trucks and SUVs getting bigger and bigger. That’s a trend that’s sometimes problematic on older streets or road sections with narrow lanes. It matters with garages too, though. An enormous truck might seem appealing, but if you have only limited space for your garage, you need to make sure you have chosen a make and model that will accommodate the behemoth you take to work every day.

You can measure your vehicle and the space where you’re going to install the garage, but presumably, the company you hire to do the installation will do so as well. They should have plenty of experience in this area, so they will know how to take a very careful, precise measurement before they break ground on the project.

This way, they’ll make sure they make no mistakes. You would feel justifiably upset if the company tried to install a garage that didn’t fit in the space you had picked. If you find a reliable company with plenty of industry experience and excellent reviews, though, you should not have this problem.

You Should Think About Whether You Want a Single or Double
You must also consider whether you want a single garage or a double one. If you have two family vehicles, you might like the idea of having them both fit comfortably in your garage right next to the house.

You are protecting them that way. No one will break in, since you can lock the garage at night. You can also add a breezeway that leads directly into the house so you can check on the car or cars anytime you like.

If you do not have enough room for a double garage, then that should make the decision easy. If you only have a space for a single garage at the end of your driveway, then you might need to park one of the family cars in there while leaving the other in the driveway.

That’s not ideal, but you can install motion detecting lights that will come on at night if anyone approaches. You can also install a car alarm for added protection if you live in an area with more quality-of-life crimes like car break-ins.

You Should Consider Whether You Are Using it for Additional Storage
Finally, you should think about whether you simply want to stick a single car in the garage or whether you have other plans for that space as well. Maybe you only have one vehicle, but you want some additional space for tools, camping equipment, sports paraphernalia, a chest freezer, or something else.

Many families accumulate more possessions as time goes on. It’s good to do a little purge every once in a while, but generally, the longer you live in a home, the more odds and ends pile up. You may want the extra space in your garage for that, especially if you live in a home that does not have a basement or an attic.

If you think about each of these matters before moving forward with the garage installation, you should do fine. You’ll doubtless enjoy your new garage, and it will likely add to your home’s resale value.