The
layout & design of your driveway will be governed by the amount of
area you have to build upon & your garage location.
Single Car
Driveway
Widths
A single car driveway width should be 10' wide,
anything less than 10 feet will be too narrow to drive or park on
comfortably. 12' is often used for added comfort and assuring to
get out of your vehicle without stepping on the lawn or landscape.
If the driveway is surrounded by walls over 8"
high, then 14' wide is recommended to open the car doors and exit the
vehicles without damaging the doors. These specifications will
accommodate all cars large or small and full size pick-up trucks and
SUV's.
8' - 9' wide driveways are not practical and
should only be used if there is no other options. People have told me
that they only need an 8' wide driveway because they have a small
vehicle, but what happens if they buy a new vehicle or sell there home,
will the new owners have small cars too?
Driveway Lengths Rule of Thumb: 18 - 20' Long
per vehicle
Driveways should allow 20' of length per
vehicle. Every 20 feet of driveway will accommodate all cars
large or small and full size pick-up trucks & SUV's. This will
allow room to walk between vehicles and park far enough from the garage
door to allow foot traffic.
Be sure to allow 6-12 feet at your driveway entrance for foot traffic
on the sidewalk. The sidewalks are owned by the state and local
governments even if there are no sidewalks on your street now, there
could be someday, and you don't want to have your cars parked in the
way of pedestrians on state or town property.
You will need to check with your local town or
state government as to how much sidewalk area they own and allow for
sidewalks to be installed if not already in place. Never take the
measurement from the street to the garage, but from the sidewalk or
property line to the garage.
As a general rule of thumb every vehicle will
fit comfortably on 10'W x 20'L area or 3.05m x 6.10m.
Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and
some might say that 18' long is enough or 16' will work, well these
numbers will work in a parking lot that is trying to cram as many cars
as possible. But for your home you want your driveway to be comfortable
and not crammed like the local malls.
An 18'L x 9'W car stall will work well with a
small car but as I mentioned earlier what if you don't have a small car
the rest of your life or a visitor has a full sized pick-up truck! He
may have trouble parking on 18' x 9'.
Double Wide Driveway Width Rule of Thumb:
20-24' Wide
Ideally 20' wide is a comfortable width for a
double car driveway. 20' will allow you to park side by side or
serve as a passing lane on a long driveway. A 24' width is needed
if you have walls on both sides of where you will be parking, to allow
the car doors to open without banging the walls.
18' wide is also adequate as a passing lane but
20' is best for parking vehicles side by side.
16' is just too narrow for passing and parking
and should only be used when there are no other options.
15' wide is too narrow for a double wide
driveway and too wide for a single car and should not be used as a
driveway dimension unless there is a reason.
30 feet wide for a three car wide
driveway/parking area
40 feet wide for a four car wide
driveway/parking area
Allow 10' for each additional desired car
width
Turn Around Area Rule of Thumb: 10' x 20'
Single, 20' x 20' Double A Turn around is an area in which you can back
your car, allowing you to drive forward out of your driveway without
having to back down a long driveway or on to a busy street.
Turn a rounds are single or double car wide (10 or
20 feet) 18-20 feet deep (long) to accommodate additional parking as
well as serve as a turn around. 20' x 20' is the rule of thumb for a
double.
There is also a half turn around which will only
serve as an area to back the rear end of the vehicle just enough to
make the swing, however there is no additional parking on these 10 - 12
feet deep turn a rounds.
The most important thing to understand about a
turn around is that they need to be placed at least 20 feet away from
the garage door to make them practical.
Most people park vehicles in front of the garage,
so in order to back into the turn around you need to allow 20' or more
away from the garage door to make it feasible.
Turning Radius
Minimum turning radius should be 17' Or 34' feet inside
dimension. Take a 17' piece of string, nail one end to the
ground, and use it as a compass, and you will get your 17'
Radius! Which is a comfortable turning radius for most vehicles.
I have been searching for a site that would
shed some light on costs for driveway paving and it's been like digging
for the proverbial needle in the haystack! Thank you, thank you
for being the site to finally provide basic info without requiring me
to solicit contractors - I needed basic pricing info before I could
even consider it!
