How to Park Safely in Your Garage

Are you tired of parking your car in the garage only to realize that you didn’t pull forward far enough to close the door? Judging the distance between the door and objects in the garage can be a real challenge. With just a little bit of effort, you can learn to park safely and accurately, every time, in your home’s garage.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Tennis ball
• String
• An assistant
• Ladder
• Staple gun
• Long nail
• Scissors
• Roll of tape

1. Ask an assistant to stand in a safe spot, in the garage, where she can see your car.
2. Pull your car forward into the garage. The goal is to position the car as perfectly as possible. Go slow and follow your assistant’s advice regarding the car’s position relative to objects in the garage. It may take more than one attempt to get it right.
3. Turn off the engine and engage the parking brake. Before proceeding further, make sure there is enough room to close the garage door.
4. Position the ladder next to the car on either the passenger's or driver's side. Climb up the ladder until you can reach the ceiling.
5. Measure out a length of string that reaches from the garage ceiling all the way down to the windshield of the car. There should be an extra 12 inches of string that touches the windshield.
6. Punch two holes straight through a tennis ball with the long nail. Tape the string to the point of the pencil, then pass one end of the string through both holes and tie it off.
7. Climb up the ladder again and measure out a length of string that reaches the ceiling, while allowing the tennis ball to just barely touch the car’s windshield.
8. Staple the string to the ceiling with the staple gun.
9. Trim away any excess string with the scissors. The hanging tennis ball acts as a physical marker when you pull the car into the garage. As soon as the ball touches the car’s windshield, you’ll know that the car is in the right spot.
10. Test the setup and see if you can park the car correctly without your assistant’s help.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask your assistant to help steady the ladder for you.
• If standing on the ladder is uncomfortable, you may have to step onto the hood of the car. Be careful and ask your assistant for support.