Garage Builders near you

The first choice is whether the garage stands apart from the house or joins it. Size comes next: a single garage fits one vehicle and some storage, while a double gives room for two, or for one car and a workshop, but uses more of the lot and draws more attention from zoning.

A garage brings every land-use rule into play: distance from the lot lines and the street, height, which yard it may occupy, how much of the lot all buildings together may cover, and sometimes how a new driveway meets the street. Each municipality sets these rules, and they can differ from one neighbourhood to the next, so the first call is to your municipality's permit or planning office, before paying for a design.

Toronto's permit guidance, for example, requires a building permit for an accessory structure larger than 10 m², naming detached garages and carports, and for any accessory structure attached to an existing building or with plumbing, whatever its size; the zoning bylaw applies even where no permit is needed. Montreal lists detached garages among the outbuildings on its page on sheds and other outbuildings, with the permit depending on the type or dimensions and each borough setting the maximum height and the required distances.

Most garages sit on a concrete slab on grade: a floor poured over compacted granular fill, with thickened edges or foundation walls that carry the walls and are protected from frost. Whether that protection comes from footings below the frost line or from an insulated shallow foundation depends on the soil, the design and what the local building department accepts. The floor is sloped toward the door or a drain so meltwater from the car runs out.

Some projects need an engineer and others benefit from one: a large span, a long door header, a room above, a sloped lot, poor soil or a garage built against an existing foundation may call for a structural engineer's design, as the structural engineers page explains. In Quebec, the contractor must hold a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec for the work, and you can check a contractor's licence on the RBQ's website.

An attached garage holds cars, fuel and fumes right next to living space, so the building code treats the shared wall and door directly. In the National Building Code, as reproduced in provincial codes, Article 9.10.9.16 calls for an air barrier system between an attached garage and the rest of the building that provides an effective barrier to gas and exhaust fumes, and requires every door between them to meet Article 9.10.13.15. That article requires the door to be tight-fitting and weather-stripped against gas and exhaust fumes and to have a self-closing device, and it doesn't allow the doorway to be in a room intended for sleeping. Your province's code and the municipal inspector confirm what applies to your project.

The overhead door, the electrical service and a future EV charger are easiest to get right when they're planned with the framing. Door size sets the header and the wall layout, and wiring has to be in before insulation and drywall.

An unheated garage keeps snow off the car and stays warmer than outdoors, especially when attached. Insulating the walls, ceiling and door makes it usable as a winter workshop and reduces heat loss through the shared wall of an attached garage. If you plan to heat it, insulation, air sealing and a vapour barrier belong in the design from the start, since a warm garage collects moisture from wet cars and snowmelt.