Garages and carports

Most new homes are built to include a garage or carport, which need not just be a place to park the car. It can also function as a secure or sheltered entry to a house, a space in which to unload the groceries, a hobby space or workshop, a store or a place for recharging electric scooters. 
Placing a garage or carport immediately beside an entrance to a house can be a particularly useful means of increasing that house's accessibility. The car can transport people up or down a steep driveway, making the house accessible to anyone in a car regardless of their level of mobility. Placing a carport or garage right by an entrance, can also provide a large canopy that protects the entry, and people using it, from exposure to the weather.
Figure 3.9 - A ramp and carport at the  entrance of a house

• carport provides shelter to the car and the entrance
• ramp for vehicle
• planter box
• existing entrance

Figure 3.10 - Features of a carport at an entrance

• good lighting controlled by switch and movement
• light switch
• position posts so as not to restrict car door opening
• ramp to carport 1:20 max. prefer
• carport floor to fall 1:50 to clear rainwater
• space to unpack shopping and open car doors
• height of carport 2.5m
• width of driveway 3.8m

Ideally for access, the carport or garage floor level should be close to the floor level in the house. If a garage is not weatherproof its floor should be at least 50mm below the floor of the house. This variation can be accommodated by a step ramp. The step ramp should not be steeper than 1:10 and is described in the relevant Australian Standard.
Figure 3.11 - Step ramp from garage to house

• 50mm max. difference in level between garage and house
• min. 25mm
• concrete slab with reinforcing carried through
• step ramp at 1:10

Roller doors that open and close at the push of a remote control button are the easiest and safest to use. With automatic roller doors fitted, the driver can open the door and turn on the garage lights from the comfort and safety of their car. Where an automatic door has not been fitted, manual up and over or tilt and lift doors are preferable to manual roller doors. Slope the garage floor towards the external door to make it easy to hose down.
A carport or garage should provide sufficient space around vehicles to allow their doors to be fully opened so that people with different levels of mobility can get in and out. Generous space around a car will make it easier for the elderly to exit the vehicle, for people to manoeuvre children's prams, or to use a wheelchair. 
Wheelchair-users must have a spacious garage. The amount of space needed in a garage to fit both vehicle and wheelchair comfortably varies with the type of wheelchair and whether the wheelchair is transported on top of the car or inside the car when the user is commuting. In general, there should be 2.5m of clear height above the floor of a car bay and the route to a car bay to allow for a wheelchair to be transported on top of a car.
A wheelchair-user who enters the vehicle via a side door needs a width of at least 3.5m in which to park the car and have room on one side to enter and exit. The minimum dimensions for a single garage are shown in figure 3.12. If the wheelchair-user enters the vehicle via a rear door with a ramp, the carport or garage will need to provide at least 8m of clear length in which to park and gain access.
Figure 3.12 - A minimal garage layout

• automatic door 3000mm minimum width
• possible positions of access door to house
• 5700mm for access behind vehicle
• 3500mm if wheelchair user is the driver
• 4000mm if access is required for a drive and a passenger is using a wheelchair 

Figure 3.13 - Double garage layout

• storage
• a grating will prevent water entering
• step ramp at 1:10 grade at change in floor level
• 1500mm diameter manoeuvring space
• difference in floor level between house and garage 50mm max. preferred
• 6000mm minimum width and length
• grade floor 1:100
• automatic door