When we build our house we will have a 16' clearance between our property-line and the garage. Is this enough distance for turning into a side-loading garage without making it too tight to pull in and out?
How much clearance do we need for side-loading garage
buildinggarage
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One of the custom door manufacturers should be able to make you something. Yes, it's not a typical application being that small, but there's no major issues in the design. Doors are assembled from panels, so they can select the right size and quantity. Track frequently has to be cut down to fit anyways. Custom springs are no big deal (a surprising percentage of what's out there is custom).
However, you're not going to be able to walk into a local big box hardware place and pickup off the shelf components to DIY.
Rooms above garages are often done improperly. It's amazing, because it really isn't all that difficult, but a lot of people seem to mess it up.
Unfortunately, there's no "easy" way: You're going to have to remove some drywall to inspect and see how the insulation in the ceiling is done. There may or may not be a gap in the space, depending on how the ceiling was done. Even just taking the temperature above the insulation in that space will tell you a lot (above the insulation, it should be close to room temperature).
Drafts in that space are absolutely killer, it means there is a direct source of outside air. Black on the insulation is a good sign of airflow, indicating drafts.
Basically, if the ceiling space isn't totally sealed, the only thing you can do is turn the garage into a conditioned space (very expensive, in terms of both construction costs and ongoing energy costs), and even then, if the problem is between the insulation and sub-floor, it won't help.
What should be there at a minimum is a continuous vapour barrier, with a layer of insulation on top. The vapour barrier should be sealed to the subfloor or the vapour barrier from the walls above. The insulation should go all the way around the edge (in the headers), so the insulation is continuous from the floors up to the subfloor. There should absolutely be no drafts, exposed concrete, or anything directly connected to the outside that is uninsulated.
The best way (in my opinion) to seal this space is to use closed-cell spray foam, and form a continuous seal across the bottom of the entire subfloor. This gives you great insulation, no drafts, and acts as a vapour barrier as well (vapour barrier is not needed in this case -- though some building inspectors still don't understand this, so check your local codes). It also is better at ensuring fumes from vehicles in the garage can't get into your living space (in theory, vapour barrier prevents this as well, but 6mil vapour barrier is easier to puncture than a couple inches of hardened foam).
Though you may be able to find something obvious and fix it, be prepared that there's a possibility that the only "fix" is going to be to completely tear down the ceiling of the garage and re-do it properly.
If you're going to spend money and time on this, do it right.
Best Answer
16 feet would probably be enough clearance to get a single sedan-type car into a two-car garage, assuming no other car in the driveway. I've got about 18 feet of space to maneuver into my garage, and it's tough when there's another vehicle parked in the driveway. Not impossible for my little Mazda 3, but it's not happening with our SUV unless we drive on the grass. Parking in the garage when there's another vehicle already in it is tough as well, but easier than when the other vehicle is in the driveway. And if there's a vehicle in the garage and one in the driveway, forget it - I'm not getting into the garage in that case, even with my small car.
I have trouble with 18 feet of clearance, so 16 will be even worse. If you can provide some additional space to either side of the garage door - especially the far side away from the road - that would help quite a bit. If you can give yourself more than 16' of space between the garage and the property line, that'd help immensely more.
As @Ecnerwal mentioned, this could affect resale value; it would quite severely limit the types of vehicles that could be parked in the garage, or it would turn a 2-car garage into a 1-car garage.