About Garages

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By Charles Pearson
eHow Contributing Writer

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Garages are used primarily to store vehicles. Most houses in America have garages, since most Americans drive. While these are the first types of garages that usually come to mind, there are other garages that serve a variety of purposes, such as an auto mechanic service or the expansion of a parking lot.

Types

Bus Garage
Garages come in five types: house garage, automobile repair shop, parking garage, car port and bus garage. Additionally, filling stations are sometimes called garages. Filling stations and automobile repair shops exist for the purpose of changing the vehicle in a certain way, while other garages are used simply to store automobiles. Regardless, all garages are related to automobiles in one way or another.

Function

Parking Garage
Automobile repair shops are used for repairing damage done to a vehicle, adding new features to the automobile such as a better filtration system, detailing the vehicle with a new paint job or performing routine services such as an oil change. Filling stations fill an automobile with a type of fuel and often have a car wash service. Parking garages allow for parking lots to store large numbers of automobiles. Bus garages store buses when they are not in use. House garages are often attached to a driveway and are used to store personal automobiles. In most cases, these garages protect the automobile from both weather conditions and car theft.

Features

Automobile Repair
Automobile repair shops are often specialized in the services they provide, offering repairs on mufflers, transmissions, tires and electrification. Parking garages are usually multi-storied in order to hold a much larger number of cars than a regular parking lot. These parking garages have ramps that allow motorists to drive from one level to another. House garages are usually connected to a driveway which leads to the street. These garages are sometimes connected to houses, while other times they are separate. They usually have electric-powered garage doors, though some garages are lifted up or down manually. Filling stations have gas pumps that are usually accompanied by a convenience store.

Benefits

Garages have other uses besides storing vehicles. House garages often double as tool sheds. Garages can also be used to store a variety of other possessions, so the garage effectively becomes a second attic. Since garages often lack surfaces that can easily be stained and since fumes from chemicals and paints can be aired out with the enormous doors, garages are sometimes used to carry out tasks that would normally not be performed within a house, such as painting a chair.

Expert Insight

Many do-it-yourselfers build their own house garages using garage kits. This is a big project that requires a list of tools too long to list here. But according to experts, the task of building a garage is not really difficult, though it does require many steps. Experts still recommend that those building a garage contract out the filling of the foundation. Builders should also keep in mind that even though building a garage is not overly difficult, this project can be very dangerous if not done carefully.