A driveway is commonly known as a spot that provides you access to public roads from the garage of your house or apartments. It is more likely to be known as a private road.
In Today’s article, we will be discussing the length and the width of a typical driveway.
How long is a typical driveway?
Usually, the length of the driveway from your garage to the road should be about 18 to 20 feet long. It is better to keep a single-car driveway 10 to 12 feet wide. If you do not have a problem with space, the wider the driveway, the more convenient it will be to drive.
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The driveway serves as a connector between the parking spot and the public road. Typically, when building a house or apartment, people keep a lot of space empty in front of the building.
The garage is or the parking spots are set up in that empty place. So, when you will be taking out your car from the parking spot or the garage, you’ll need space to drive the car from the house to the public road.
That is why having a driveway is the ideal solution to provide access to the public roads from the garage. Different types of cars require different types of lengths and widths for our driveway.
You might require driving multiple cars at the same time through the driveway if the parking spot or the garages are quite busy throughout the day. So, here’s a list of the proper dimensions required for different car driveways:
Single car driveway:
Single car driveway is generally built to provide access for a single car driving through the spot. Although the length of the driveway depends on how much you want to keep, the width of a single-car driveway is 10 to 12 feet.
Double Car Driveway:
Double car driveway provides two cars at the time to pass the driveway. It takes around 20 to 24 feet width to build a double car driveway.
Single car turn around:
The turnaround space helps for a single card to turn in a certain place. For that, it is required to provide 10 feet wide and then 20 feet long space to build a single car turn around.
Double car turn around:
When you consider a building turning around for two cars at the same time, you need to keep 20 feet space in width and 20 feet space in length. This is the minimum space that a driveway requires for two cars to turn around.
Parking stall:
Although many people use garages in the house to park their vehicles, there is a measurement of 9 feet wide and 22 feet for each car when making a parking stall.
Loop driveway:
Generally, a loop driveway is a Circular Road for a car that measures about 10 feet in width and 12 to 14 feet in depth. Although the dimensions vary from place to place.
In some places, you might see wider driveway loops dedicated for the wider vehicles.
Driveway opening:
Typically, the driveway opening is the gate of the driveway, which provides access to the parking spot. It is better to keep the driveway wider to avoid any sort of accident.
That is why the experts recommend 10 feet of width and 22 feet of length per vehicle for the driveway opening.
Do I need a permit to widen my driveway?
There are no such limitations for making a driveway. However, you don’t need any permissions as long as you are not violating or damaging the road when connecting the driveway to it.
Moreover, there are no permissions needed to extend the driveway or to widen it. The best way to widen the size of your driveway is to do a concrete driveway extension.
This will help you increase the lifespan of the driveway and make it look more convenient and beautiful.
In addition to that, if you can put some parking tiles over the driveway, it will prevent the car from shaking due to the rough surface. when going through the driveway.
Also, it is advised to check with the local zoning department because some cities or a state might have some laws regarding the extension of the driveway.
But widening the driver will help you prevent accidents or damage to your car when you’re entering the garage or going out of your home. Moreover, it will increase the value of your home.
What is the minimum driveway length?
If the length and width of the driveway are not properly measured, you should not build a driveway in your home. Furthermore, the driveway requires accurate measurements based on the passage of vehicles through it.
So, a 20 feet long driveway with a rollup garage door would be the ideal length for you. Also, you need 12 feet wide space to drive your car through the driveway inside the garage.
The minimum length of a driveway should be around 18-20 feet considering different sizes of vehicles.
If you have no problem with space, you can widen and lengthen the driveway as much as you want. However, it is important to remember that the driveway should not be less than 8 feet wide.
If you want to park an SUV or minivan inside your parking spot or garage, you need a driveway at least 10 feet wide. Most garages in apartments have 10 to 15 feet wide driveways so that a variety of vehicles can pass through and park inside the garage.
Why driveway needs to be a certain size?
Driveways are made to provide access for a different type of cars to go inside the garage or the parking spot. That is why it is important to build them by keeping the proper measurements in mind.
A smaller and narrower driveway, will prevent the larger cars such as the SUV, minivan, or pickup truck from going inside the garage.
So, when you consider building a driveway for your house, keep at least 12 feet of space as the width of the driveway and 10 to 20 feet in length. Some more reasons why the driveway needs to be a certain size are discussed below.
To drive comfortably:
As mentioned earlier, the driveway is built to make a connection between the roads and the garage. So, when you will be taking a turn to your garage from the public road, you’ll need a certain driveway to enter the garage.
Having a properly measured driveway will help you to drive for the garage comfortably.
Help larger cars to drive through the spot:
Building a properly measured driveway is important. Since the characters are made to park different types of vehicles. Having a narrow driveway will prevent the larger cars from entering the garage.
Remember, the width of a driveway built to drive a SUV and a car is not the same.
Prevent cars from colliding:
Since the driveway is measured so that the car can pass through the driveway easily, having a narrow driveway will cause the car to collide with any object or another car.
That is why it is important to make a driveway with certain measurements.
How to size a driveway?
Typically, driveways are built based on the number of cars you want to drive. If you want to park your car inside the garage, you can create a standard-size driveway that is 12 feet wide.
On the other hand, if you want to park large cars in the garage, you will need a wide driveway. In the case of apartments, since many cars need to be parked there, a double car driveway can be used here.
The following is a discussion of how to measure the size of a driveway:
Draw a draft design:
You need to design your drive wave as a first step to build it. If you have a largely empty place in front of your house, you can consider setting up the garage beside your house and drawing a straight driveway from the garage to the roads.
Measure the dimension of the driveway:
Once you’re done with the drawings, now you can do the calculations. This will give you a proper idea of how much your driveway will be in length and width.
If you’re considering making a driveway that is 50 feet long and 10 feet wide, multiplying the figures together will give you a proper idea about its dimension.
Measure the car:
Measure the width and length of your car. Try to keep at least one to two feet of space from each side of the car to build a driveway that can provide access to almost every type of vehicle.
Final thoughts
As a larger car needs a wider driveway, it is recommended to build a properly measured driveway for all types of cars to drive through it. Narrower driveways will decrease the curb appeal and value. That is why it is recommended to build a driveway that is at least 10 feet wide and 20 feet long.