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We're trying to have an extension built and due to our meagre plot of land (ah, south east England...) it seems the only way to fit in what we want without losing half our lawn, is to replace our pre-fab concrete garage with a smaller more efficient storage space.
The current garage is about 16'x8' and we'd like its replacement to be ~ 12'x5' (3.7m x 1.5m). It needs to be big enough to contain a surfeit of bicycles (I think hanging them from the ceiling side by side is the answer), a 50cc scooter, and the usual odds and ends and pushchairs and children paraphernalia. Tall is good because it gives more space so in the 2-2.5m range.
Ideas so far include finding a steel shed/garage the right size/shape (closest we've found are 9'x5' and lower the ideal) getting a wooden bike shed made or having the current sectional concrete garage chopped down to size and re-roofed (which it needs anyway). Budget: Minimal...
Could you make it taller and have a mezzanine over the bike storage?
We'd have to get planning if it went over 2.5m, plus it would block too much sun in our long narrow north facing garden. With the adult bikes hanging from the ceiling (horizontally, right way up) there should be space for pushchairs, buggies and kids bikes under them - maybe the scooter too?
I'm currently trying to squeeze a car, 7 bikes, fridge, freezer, tool chests, power tools, and all the other stuff in a double length garage. It's not working! Might stick a stud wall down the middle, at least then I'll have a fighting chance to get enough racking in.
I think you'll find that 1.5m width will quickly become a right PITA when trying to move stuff around. It's not a lot of width when you are trying to get say 750mm wide bars (half the width of your space) past anything and actually have space to move.
Doors at both ends so that you don't need to be able to move through it?
At the moment I have to squeeze the bikes out between the scooter and a fridge/freezer, and the pushchairs that are usually kicking about in there. The fridge/freezer is moving into the extension, so 6' wide would be no worse than now. To turn them around I stand them on their back wheel.
The bikes are currently in a kind of heap - well, side by side against the back wall through a ground anchor. Anything other than the front bike is annoying to get out!
I guess I need to mark it out and see how small is feasible...
Struggling enough here with a single garage (with a little extra half-width bit at the back). 6 bikes, motorbike, tool chest, workbench, kiddy trailer, some shelving and I feel like I'm always moving stuff from one place to another.
Have tried hanging from the ceiling using a rail, s-hooks and velcro straps (look at velogrip.com for an idea of what I've attempted to copy) which does let you turn them a bit to clear some space but they still stick out a fair way. MTBs work a bit better if you can bothered to turn the bars parallel to the frame.
Would something long and narrow running up one side of the garden work? Hang all the bikes vertically along the back wall, have a series of doors along the front wall, depth only needs to be around 1.2m internally, the height of a bike saddle. Like a big wardrobe for bikes. Then one bay at the end with space for the scooter at the bottom and some deep shelves above.
Not sure I'd want the bikes vertically what with disc brakes, dropper posts and suspension - hydraulics can do odd things when stored the other way around...
Lose the garage, bigger extension including storage or 1 or 2 asgard bike lockers?