A metal garage’s real strength is how wide a range of sizes, configurations, and uses it can accommodate — from a compact single-car garage to a large commercial shop with a service center or office. Over 40+ years in business, Toro’s metal garages have become a benchmark for practicality, durability, and cost-effectiveness across every size in between, engineered in-house rather than sold off a third-party catalog.
Sizing Options
A one-car garage packs everything you need into a compact footprint. Two- or three-car garages give families room for extra storage, a home office, a workshop, or a dedicated hobby space. Commercial garage sizes scale up further — service bays, fleet storage, and full auto shop configurations are all common.
Common Garage Configurations
- 1-Car Garage: A single roll-up door sized to your vehicle, highly versatile and available in your preferred dimensions.
- 2-Car Garage: One of the most popular configurations, available in both straight-wall and arch style, sized to your specific plans for the space.
- 2-Car Garage with Free Space: A popular option for hobbyists — vehicle bays plus an additional section for a workshop, extra storage, or a dedicated hobby space.
- 3-Door Garage with Office Space: Room for a mix of recreational and daily-use vehicles, with part of the structure converted into office space.
- RV Garage: Sized and door-configured specifically to protect an RV from the elements when it’s not in use, with room to add doors for additional storage or parking.
- Custom Garage: Fully personalized size, layout, and features for buyers who want to design around a specific use case.
Customization Options
Design flexibility is one of the main advantages of a steel garage — the same structural strength that makes it durable also makes it easy to configure around exactly how you’ll use it.
- Interior Partitions: Steel is non-combustible, making it safe for painting, sandblasting, or welding zones — partition off separate work areas or a small office.
- Add a Loft: Maximize vertical space for an office, storage, or planning area above the working floor — mention loft plans when ordering, since it affects required building height.
- Finished Interior Walls: Drywall, wood, or tile finishes create a warmer, more residential feel if you want the space to feel less like a plain metal shell.
- Doors: Man doors for personnel entry, sliding doors for wide vehicle clearance, and roll-up doors sized to your equipment.
- Turbine Vents: Important for a garage or workshop, dispersing exhaust fumes and paint fumes while improving general aeration.
- Skylights: Watertight, leak-resistant natural light that brightens the interior without adding to your electricity costs.
Beyond Vehicle Storage
A steel garage’s versatility extends well past parking cars. With the right insulation and interior configuration, the same structure can serve as an animal shelter for farm animals like goats and horses, protecting them from extreme weather while providing comfortable housing. It also works as an affordable place of business for a startup that doesn’t need the overhead of a traditional commercial lease, or as dedicated hobby space for sewing, crafting, or woodworking that would otherwise clutter the house. Some owners set theirs up as a game room or personal retreat, while others use the extra room as a workshop for messier hobbies like welding, keeping dust and dirt out of the home entirely.
Some owners go further and operate their garage as a commercial self-storage facility for vehicles and belongings — a business model that depends on choosing a good location (near lakes for boat storage, or in populated areas for general item storage), real security measures (fencing, lighting, monitoring), and ample maneuvering space for clients’ vehicles and trailers. Even without a commercial angle, keeping a garage at home rather than renting off-site storage means your belongings stay close enough to check on whenever you want, while saving on the ongoing cost of a separate storage unit.
Arch Style vs. Straight Wall Garages
Most garage configurations are available in either structural system. Arch-style garages use a self-supporting curved panel design and are typically the more economical option; straight-wall garages use a traditional rigid frame and offer more flexibility for interior finishing and larger door openings. Neither is universally “better” — it’s a matter of which profile and price point fits your project.
Permits, Codes & Engineering
Most municipalities require a permit and stamped engineering drawings for a garage of any size. In the U.S., that’s calculated against the ASCE 7 standard from the American Society of Civil Engineers, referenced by the International Code Council‘s International Building Code. In Canada, that’s the National Building Code of Canada. Toro’s in-house engineering team — not a third-party engineer most competitors outsource to — calculates your garage’s design loads for its specific address before it ships.
Related Building Types
Garages | Metal vs. Wood Garages | Workshops | Carports
Find Your Garage Configuration
From a single-car garage to a full commercial shop, Toro Steel Buildings engineers every configuration to your exact site and use case. Request a free quote to get started.
I am looking to have a quote on a straight wall garage kit measuring 20′ WX 24’L X 15′ 4” H
garage door opening on the 20′ side. Man door on the 24′ side as well as a large window opening on the same side as the man door. and i already have two skylights that i would install.
I have the approved plans to construct out of wood but i am really interested in the steel building option.
Thanks
I was considering getting a metal garage and your blog really helped me a lot to clear a lot of stuff in my head, so thank you very much for sharing this blog.