The Car House.

The Definitive Guide to Garages, Automotive Vehicle Storage and Automotive Spaces

Attractive architecture belongs in the process.It simply does not get to overrule physics.

A garage is not simply a box with a large door, and a collector car store is not successful merely because it photographs well. Every automotive space is a working relationship between a vehicle, a building, a climate and the people who use it.

The Car House brings architectural thought, engineering discipline and practical automotive intelligence to garages, collector car storage, workshops and automotive spaces. Across 48 chapters and 22 working appendices, Ashley Drury explains how to brief, design, improve and operate spaces that respect the vehicle, the building and the people around them.

Kindle Paperback Apple Books

Amazon USKindle Paperback

Author: Ashley Drury
Publisher: Auto Culture Society
Paperback: 258 pages, A4, printed in colour
ISBN: 9798192313404 (paperback)
Ebook: Kindle and Apple Books
Edition: The 2026 textbook edition

15Parts

48Chapters

22Working appendices

22Technical figures

258A4 pages

Contents

Fifteenparts.

The book follows the complete project and ownership journey: site and access, structure and floors, water and building fabric, temperature and moisture, ventilation and monitoring, vehicle materials and long term storage, workshop activity, lifts, electrical capacity, charging, lighting, fire, security, insurance, interiors, operating records, cost and future change.

01
The Car House
02
Buildings and Ownership Models
03
Site, Planning and Space
04
Structure and Building Fabric
05
The Storage Environment
06
How Cars Age While Standing Still
07
Storing the Vehicle
08
Workshop, Detailing and Vehicle Movement
09
Power, Lighting and Technology
10
Fire, Fuel and Emergency Risk
11
Security, Insurance and Disaster Planning
12
The Automotive Interior
13
Design Studies
14
Operation and Ownership
15
Cost, Value and the Future
+
Appendices and Working Checklists

Then technical notes and sources, a glossary and an index.

The textbook edition

Built likea textbook.

The 2026 edition is set as a two column textbook, with every figure redrawn and an index of about 1,000 terms.

01
In this chapter
Each chapter opens with its outcomes, key terms and a lede.
02
Numbered throughout
Sections, worked examples, figures, tables and equations are numbered by chapter, with captions.
03
22 technical figures
Every figure redrawn as a technical drawing in one style, with the numbers taken only from the chapter text.
04
A glossary of 281 terms
Definitions taken from the book's own text, with a page numbered index of about 1,000 terms.
05
Working appendices
Appendices set as working forms and checklists, with sign off lines.
06
Sources for the reader
Source notes and the source register written for the reader, set in three columns.

Readers

Who it is for.

This is a guide for owners, collectors, architects, engineers, developers, operators and specialists who need more than a product list or a perfect rendering.

It distinguishes verified fact, professional practice, illustrative examples and project specific decisions, then shows what evidence a real project must assemble before it proceeds.

Questions

Beforeyou buy.

What does The Car House cover?

Garages, collector car storage, workshops and automotive spaces: architecture, access, structure, moisture, preservation, services, fire, security, operation and cost.

What is the textbook edition?

The 2026 edition, set as a two column textbook with numbered sections, 22 redrawn technical figures, a glossary of 281 definitions and an index of about 1,000 terms. The paperback is A4, 258 pages, printed in colour.

Who is it for?

Owners, collectors, architects, engineers, developers, operators and specialists who need more than a product list or a perfect rendering.

Does it cover EV charging?

Yes. Electrical capacity and charging are part of the book, including the scope of Approved Document S and the earthing rule for outdoor charge points.