Garages are either attached or detached. There are several additional items to check if the garage is attached. First, is there a sheetrock one-hour firewall on walls and ceilings that are common with interior living space? Is the door between the garage and the house interior a steel or solid wood door 1 3/4" thick? Is the garage floor several inches lower than the floor in the house? Are the steps from the garage into the house sturdy? Are the step treads wide enough? Is there a graspable handrail?

It is not unusual to find cracks in garage concrete floors. Are they fine cracks or have the cracks opened up? Has the concrete floor settled more on one side of the crack?

Is there a step level change between the driveway surface and the edge of the garage floor? If this step is more than a couple of inches, it will require more forward momentum to drive the car into the garage.

If the garage occupies part of the basement, how tightly does the garage door fit? Is the garage door insulated? What is the condition of any glass panels in the garage door?

What about driveway drainage? Does the driveway slope properly away from the door or toward the door. Is there evidence that water has leaked under the door and onto the garage floor?

If the garage doors slide open overhead, are there safety cables inside the garage door lift springs? Are the lift springs securely anchored at both ends? Are all of the cables in the pulleys? Do the guide wheels stay in the tracks? Do the garage doors open and close smoothly? Do the wheels and tracks need lubrication?

What is the condition of the garage doors? If the doors are wood, is there any rot in the doors? Are garage door panels warped or water damaged? Are all of the panel hinges complete?

If there are electric garage door openers, your home inspector should test the door opening mechanisms. Before testing the garage door electirc opener, it is a good idea to check whether or not the doors are locked. I found one pair of garage doors that had apparently been stuck closed with exterior paint for several years. I had to break apart the paint seam from outside before I was able to properly test the lift mechanism. Does the concrete garage floor slope gradually away from the house and/or toward the garage door openings? Is there a floor drain?

Your home inspector should inspect the garage foundation. If the garage is attached, has the garage foundation settled relative to the house or separated from the house at the joint?

If the attached or detached garage is supported on posts, it is not unusual to find that the structure has moved in the direction of travel of the vehicles being parked inside. Do a number of the posts tilt toward the back of the garage? Is there a gap between the edge of the driveway and the garage door threshold? Both of these conditions are often found. Several years of bringing a rolling vehicle to a more or less abrupt stop by applying the brakes can eventually move the garage an inch or more. Some builders are aware of this and install extensive diagonal bracing between support posts.

The condition of wood garage ramps should be checked. Since they are in contact with the ground, they often rot out relatively quickly unless constructed of decay resistant wood.

Some ramps on older garages are quite steep. This can cause the underside of a low clearance vehicle to "bottom out".

If the garage has a wood floor, the floor planks, joists, and beams should be checked for rot, support, and breakage. It is not unusual to find one or two split joists or a settled pier or post. Your home inspector should examine the spacing of the support posts, the dimensions, span, and load width of the floor beams and sills, and the floor joist dimensions, span, and end connections. The dimensions and span of the garage floor planks should also be investigated. If breakage or sagging indicates that the joists or beams are too small for the application, then it would be advisable for your home inspector to bring in a structural engineer to undertake further investigations.

I occasionally find that two or three inches of concrete have been poured over an existing wood garage floor. While this provides a noncombustible surface for vehicle storage, the concrete floor slab is quite heavy. This heavy dead load on the floor structure decreases the live load capacity available for vehicle storage.

The garage roof structure is often visible from the garage vehicle bays but is sometimes accessible through a garage attic opening. Your home inspector should check the garage attic. Evidence of roof leakage and small animal intrusion are often found in garages and garage attics. Sometimes garage attic floors are supported by lightly constructed cross tie bracing and should not be used for storage of heavy items.

The garage door exterior trim should be checked. These often rot out at the bottom. On garages with wood floors, the condition of the wood sill should be checked under the garage door. Occasionally, I find that the driveway gravel and asphalt are in contact with the sill under the door opening. Unless it is corrected, this ground contact will eventually lead to sill rot.

Garage side doors should be checked for rot, including the threshold and side trim.

Your home inspector should check the garage electrical outlet receptacles. They should be GFCI protected. The main electrical panel or main disconnect switch is often located in the garage.