Rules for Courtyard Garage Designs

Partial Garage Courtyard

• The most common style of garage courtyard is a partial. Typically the garage is positioned to one side and forward of the main body of the house. The garage doors are placed toward the front door side. This is called a partial courtyard because it only has buildings on two sides. A full courtyard has buildings on three sides. To make the partial courtyard work, the turn toward the garage from the driveway needs to be a minimum 10-foot radius with 15-foot straightaway immediately in front of the garage door. The courtyard should extend from the garage door at least 30 feet for a turn-out toward the driveway.

Full Garage Courtyard

• A full garage courtyard will position the garage to one side of the front entry and a second building matching the scale of the garage to the other side of the front entry. The distance between the garage and the second building is recommended to be 55 feet if the courtyard design is square. This allows adequate turn-in room for the garage and drive past room for cars letting off passengers at the portico or covered front entryway.

Circular Garage Courtyards

• A circular garage courtyard allows for the greatest ease and parking with this design. Usually the circular driveway is 70 feet at its widest point. Often there will be a central planting or fountain, which forces traffic to one side of the traffic path. This design allows for a car to pull up at the entry and release passengers and then pull into the garage or pull back down the driveway for other arrivals.

A Garage Court

• The other variation on this design is a garage court. With a garage court the actual garage is hidden from street view. The driveway pulls up to the front entry and then continues through a covered passageway to an inner courtyard. The inner courtyard may have garages on three sides with staff quarters in that wing of the house. The inner courtyard is typically all paved and at least 60-feet-square to allow for the easy movement and parking of cars. Occasionally there will be a second exit to the back or side of the property.