If you’ve ever had to pay for a car, or even been gifted one, you know what a huge investment and ultimately, part of your life, it is. Your first car is like a rite of passage and for some, it can take years and years to save up for it. The glitz and the glamour sticks around for a while, but eventually you realize just what a money pit they are. Wait, you’re thinking, didn’t I visit the blog of Restumping Melbourne – the premiere provider of restumping, reblocking and underpinning services in the area? You did! Don’t worry about that at all. But what you didn’t realize is that we offer so much more than that. On our blog we regularly share information about your home in general – what works, what doesn’t work and more. Because we spend so much time outside surveying the foundation and structure of your home, we notice elements like different rooms, exterior details and specific to today’s post – driveways and garages. But which works for you? Read on to learn more.

There really are benefits to both. Either way, you’re not having to deal with street parking, garage parking or worse, no parking at all. A driveway or a garage is not just a place to park your vehicle (of any variety), but it’s a piece of your property that you can get creative with. We love thinking about the different ways to use your garage if you don’t have anything to park there – fitness center, man cave or she-shed, art studio… the options abound. Similarly, a driveway is a great place for a basketball hoop, a cricket set-up or just a general place to play and socialize. Both are canvases for creativity.

There are also characteristics of both which probably make more sense for you. To start with, if you live in a cold or wet environment and/or have a higher value vehicle that you want to keep safe and secure, you probably want to look for a house with a garage – preferably with easy access from the garage right into the home, so that you don’t get wet or cold as well.

If you live in a dry or warm environment, this isn’t as much of an issue, so a driveway is acceptable and sometimes even optimal. It can take thousands of dollars off of the price of the house, so if a garage is negotiable for you, you may end up saving a lot of money without one.

How do you care for them? Treat your garage like any other room in your home – tidy it up on a weekly basis, so that there’s not debris and certainly no old food or trash laying around. Sweep it out whenever you can and when weather comes, insulate it as best you can.

Driveways, you’ll want to power wash at least twice a year, but they require a lot less maintenance – that is, as long as the children (or the youthful adults) haven’t had too much fun with sidewalk chalk.

The Restumping Melbourne team hopes you have a great week!