The most common thing we hear from repeat customers is that they wish they had gone one size bigger. Nobody has ever come back and told us their building was too large.
That said, bigger is not automatically right. Here is how to work out the size you actually need, with what genuinely fits in each one.
Start with what is going in it
Write the list before you shop. Not a vague sense of clutter, an actual list. A riding mower, two bikes, a wheelbarrow, the Christmas boxes, four bags of mulch. The list turns an abstract decision into an easy one.
Then add a third. Storage fills up, and the whole point is to stop the garage silting up again in two years.
What fits in each size
| Size | Square feet | Realistically holds |
|---|---|---|
| 8×8 | 64 | Push mower, garden tools, a few bins. Tight for anything with wheels beyond a mower. |
| 8×10 | 80 | Push mower, tools, bikes, seasonal storage. A common starter size. |
| 8×12 | 96 | Push mower plus a workbench, or a riding mower with room to walk past it. |
| 10×12 | 120 | Riding mower, tools on the walls, bikes, and floor space left. The most popular size we sell. |
| 10×14 | 140 | Riding mower plus a real workbench, or serious yard equipment with room to move. |
| 10×16 | 160 | Two-machine storage, or a workshop with a bench along one wall. |
| 10×20 | 200 | Workshop with room for a project, or heavy equipment storage. |
| 12×20 | 240 | Small garage territory. A vehicle, or a genuine shop. |
| 12×24 | 288 | Full workshop or garage. Needs a permit in most localities. |
The three mistakes people make
Measuring the item but not the walking space
A riding mower is about 6 feet long. That does not mean it fits comfortably in a 6 foot space. You need to get around it, get to the wall behind it, and get it in and out without a three-point turn. Add three feet in each direction to whatever you are storing.
Forgetting the door swing
Double doors need clearance outside to open, and the path to them has to be wide enough to walk a mower through. Plan the doors facing the direction you will approach from, not just the direction that looks best from the house.
Ignoring the permit threshold
This one has real consequences. In most Virginia localities, buildings at or above 256 square feet require a building permit. That is the line between a 10×20 at 200 square feet and a 12×22 at 264.
If you are close to that line, decide deliberately rather than by accident. Our permit guide explains what to ask your county.
Match the size to the yard, not just the contents
Two practical constraints beat the wish list. First, setbacks: your county sets a minimum distance from property lines, and that can rule out a wider building on a narrow lot. Second, access: the building has to physically get to the spot. A 12 foot wide building will not fit through a 10 foot gate, and it is far better to find that out now than on delivery day.
Measure the narrowest point on the route and tell us the number. It is the single most useful thing you can bring to the conversation.
Height and roof style matter more than people expect
Two buildings with the same footprint can feel completely different inside. A lofted barn gives you overhead storage that an A-frame of the same size does not. A higher wall lets you hang long tools and fit shelving above a bench.
If the plan involves standing up and working in there, look at wall height and roof style before you look at floor area. It is often the difference between a storage building and a usable shop.
So what size should you get?
If you want a rule of thumb: for general household and yard storage, 10×12 is the size most people are happy with a year later. Below that, you are limited as soon as anything with wheels is involved. Above it, you are into workshop and garage territory, which is a different decision.
If a riding mower is going in, start at 10×12 and look hard at 10×14.
Come and stand in one
Every size in the table above is on our lots in North Dinwiddie and Charles City. Ten minutes walking through a 10×12 and then a 10×16 settles the question better than any guide, this one included.
You can also browse current inventory with sizes and prices, or use the 3D designer to lay one out. Call (804) 894-8095 or (804) 894-2985 and tell us the list of what is going in it, and we will tell you honestly what size it needs.
