House design: Garage with the house or not?

[TamaraSavannah]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

I am still trying to figure out where you keep the trash cans with the attached garage? ...........

In the house I am currently renting, the "cans" (one wheeled bin for trash, one for recycling) are kept in the garage. An advantage I have found of this is that as I get ready for work, when I am not in much more than a tee and undies, I can still dump the three kitty litters into the bin without much of a concern.

As it is right now, the cars sit outside on the drive way. Conceptually, I might be able to shuffle the contents of my move (slowly being sorted) to be able to get the Forester inside.......but the garage is too short for the F250.

Originally Posted by johngolf

I can never understand why some will not put their trash cans in the garage. They say well it makes the garage smell. Get over it. It is a garage. It is not living space.
.........

The kitty litters produce some VERY POWERFUL AMMONIA but you don't notice that until you open the lids. Otherwise, there is not much of a smell problem. Something else I've noticed since the move is that I'm not producing that much trash. Now, it might be from having my own personal bin in the garage that I don't have to get dressed to toss it in the dumpster. That is, when you are filling it up minutely over time as oppose to something of a grand slam, there may be an interpretative difference or that when you only see "yourself" in dumpster and not the whole community, there is an appreciation difference. Maybe for it might also be that someone, my eating and living style has changed over the year. I would think it would go the other way since I am trying to reduce my footprint.....my recycling bin is certainly filled this week with shredded paper.

[eddiehaskell]

Bought my house with garage at end of driveway behind the house. I thought I'd prefer attached, but with it being 50 or so feet away from the house, I can go out there and make all the noise I want at any time! I also don't worry about fumes or dust getting in the house. Last year I had a small fire in the garage that could've been very bad...luckily with a detached garage made of cinder blocks, it was no big deal other than cleaning up sut and hosing off the floor. It's also nice to have a defined separation between all the dirt and grease that gets on me in the garage...Id hate to think how much I would track in the house if the garage was attached. As far as rain, I'm thinking about building a covered walkway between the garage and house. If you simply park in a garage and don't tinker/make noise, attached it probably better.