How to measure your driveway for the right car shelter

You know where you want your shelter and how many cars you need to protect. Now you need a size that lets you park, open the doors and move around comfortably.

Start with three measurements: usable driveway width, available length and vehicle height. Follow the diagram below, then enter your dimensions to see which sizes are worth considering.

Where to take your measurements

Width: leave room to open the doors

Measure between fixed obstacles at the front, middle and back of the driveway. Keep the smallest measurement. Fences, hedges and steps can narrow the space even when the driveway looks wide from the street.

For one car, 11 × 20 ft is our usual size. If your driveway can accommodate a 12 ft wide shelter, the extra foot can make carrying groceries or buckling a child into a car seat easier. For two cars side by side, start with 18 × 20 or 20 × 20 ft. Park both vehicles as you would in winter and open the doors to see how much room you actually need.

Length: two cars can park one behind the other

A long driveway can hold more cars without a wider shelter. An 11 × 32 ft shelter can accommodate two cars in tandem. A 20 × 32 ft shelter can accommodate four, in two rows of two. That makes the longer format worth considering for a household with several cars.

Check your actual vehicles: two large pickups need more length than two small cars. For example, two 15 ft vehicles already take up 30 ft before you leave any space between them. Under a 32 ft shelter, the remaining 2 ft must cover every gap along its length. With tandem parking, the car closest to the exit must move before the one behind it can leave.

Measure from the permitted position near the street to the garage or first obstacle. Keep doors, steps and snow-clearing areas accessible.

Height: include anything on the roof

Measure your vehicle at its highest point, including roof bars or a cargo box you will keep on all winter. Compare that with the shelter’s clearance height. The standard 11 ft single shelter offers 6 ft 6 in of clearance; the standard 12 ft single offers 7 ft. Overall shelter height is a separate measurement used to check overhead obstacles such as gutters and branches.

Open the rear hatch too. An SUV may drive in easily but need more room when the hatch is open. If space is tight or your driveway slopes, send us a photo before choosing.

Is your parking space right next to your neighbour’s?

Consider a single-slope shelter. Its roof directs sliding snow toward one side, so you can face the slope toward the space available to receive it. It installs in either direction and has four windows: two at the front and two at the back.

Allow for that snow space when measuring, as well as room to anchor the shelter. The tool compares model dimensions; our team can then help check placement, clearances and anchoring.

Sources and sizing references

Dimensions and sizes checked against our catalogue on October 11, 2026: 11 ft single, 12 ft single, single slope and double. Parking capacities are iNTEMPERY team guidelines and depend on the vehicles. See our practical guide and municipal sources for your location.