Builders rethink the garage

The garage is taking on a bigger role in Las Vegas new-home developments. The more toys — recreational vehicles, bikes, boats, all-terrain vehicles — we have, the more space we need to store them.

For ages, the garage has been little more than an uninsulated box, a slab-concrete floor, and a large spring-loaded door.

Still, homeowners have always used the space for more than just parking and storage. Many have converted them into game rooms, a second bedroom, workshop, kid’s playroom and man caves. Developers have taken some of these cues and incorporated them into some new designs that include tandem garages that can accommodate workshops or offices or a second single-car garage that can be turned into kid’s playroom with access to the home.

Toll Brothers designers for the builder’s new Summerlin neighborhood, Los Altos, created a cool kid’s hangout in one of its new-home models. It opens to a laundry room with a second fridge to store easy summer snacks and places to store school bags, keys, shoes and books.

Homes built for large families are starting to answer the call for more garage bays. The two-car garage isn’t the only choice these days. Some offer three, and in luxury neighborhoods homebuyers can get as many as six car bays.

“Our Tuscan Cliff community in Southern Highlands offers up to six garage bays,” said Kim Chitwood of William Lyon Homes. “Perfect for the families that have boomerang kids, parents living with them or for the car hobbyist.

Also, consider the families that have boats and or recreational toys. I am not sure I have ever heard a man say that they have too many garages.”

Extra space is always a positive, but it might not always just be for the vehicle. In many new garages, there is ample room for multiple storage racks, a workbench and island, even a table saw, drill press, craft area or simply just enough space to hang and work on road bicycles. It’s surprising what a space roughly the size of a Manhattan studio apartment can do.

A garage door can really be the face of a house, and there’re some really interesting choices now. The stamped aluminum panels that were once standard are now bottom of the barrel, with new materials bringing different looks.

Floor-to-ceiling glass panels, with any level of tinting or frosting, can either show off a well-organized space or bring some natural light into an otherwise pitch black room. Another modern thing to do is slick metallic powder coating or marred steel, but traditional styles are definitely making a comeback.

Along with the faux painted wood shutters flanking windows, faux carriage doors (complete with inactive black ornamental T-hinges) are becoming quite popular to give a refined look.

Natural themes that may be a bit more up to date can skin the garage door in a variety of faux wood materials; textured melamine, a printed wrap, vinyl fronts (similar to the flooring), and even matte painted fiberglass can add a little touch of nature.

Typically, garage walls come uninsulated, which can inadvertently lead to a big energy loss.

Any Las Vegas resident knows how a closed garage in the July sun can be even hotter than the outdoor temperature, basically acting like a greenhouse, essentially pushing even more hot air up against one side of your house.

With the popularity of the “envelope house” theory, people are beginning to realize the benefits of insulating as much as possible.

In addition to the energy-efficiency, garages are getting more high-tech. Many are already wired with the latest security systems, and, soon, some could have charging stations for electric vehicles.

Over the last few years, the rise in number of full-electric vehicles on the road has exploded, and the logistical demand of keeping them charged has become a priority. Some municipalities in California and Colorado now require three-phase to be wired into the garage in new homes, but wise homebuilders have made the smart move to “rough-out” something into the garage that can be used as a car-charger outlet.

According to a study released by the Department of Energy, sales of electric vehicles increased 80 percent worldwide. With the Tesla Gigafactory slated to start releasing their Lithium Ion batteries in 2017, the cost and limitations of electric vehicles are likely to plummet.

The plant is expected to release nearly 500,000 cars per year later in this decade. This will likely lead to even more homeowners needing one or more three-phase outlets in their new home.