My in-laws and neighbors keep calling the area under my driveway a garage, but it doesn't even fit the loosest definition of a garage. Of course, they use the Spanish pronunciation (please don't ask for a pronunciation key). How can I convince people that it isn't a garage? I can't. I've given up trying.

The Driveway

The house was built too close to the road. The driveway is barely long enough for my 2006 Toyota Corolla Altis — the gate is only 3 or 4 inches from the rear bumper when it's closed and locked. I blame my wife. She didn't tell the contractor to make sure the front of the house was farther from the road before they started building it. No, I blame myself. I should have paid better attention to what was going on at the time.

The driveway is a huge, reinforced cement slab joining the cement of the road with the second story at the front of the house — part of the driveway extends past the right-hand corner of the house. That's okay, though, because horizontal reinforcement bars (commonly called "rebar") were built into the front and right sides of that corner. There's a lot of metal within that thick slab of cement. The first floor of the house is below street level.

The wife wants to have a cover for the driveway put in, but I don't agree. I have a far-future plan, depending on finances, on something completely different. I'll mention it in a minute.

The Garage

It's not a garage! They (everyone who sees it) call it that, but a garage is defined as a place where motor vehicles are either stored or worked on. The loosest definition of a garage would be a shelter for something to be stored and my "garage" doesn't even fit that definition — a wall is missing.

Well, at least I don't have to worry about garage doors or a garage door opener. There won't ever be anything driven into my "garage".

My "garage" is more like a bodega (Tagalog for storage room) than anything else. Perhaps it could be better described as a sheltered space. It stays mostly dry when we have heavy rains. The floor is made of cement, raised about a foot above the level of the first floor. It was designed that way to keep it from flooding, but it never gets that wet. The surface of the floor gets a little wet, but that's about it.

The floor needs some kind of surfacing, if only to keep it cleaner. Some form of garage floor coating simply won't do the job. Having it as plain cement is okay for now, but I really want to do something to make it more attractive as well as keep it cleaner than it has been kept. One of my in-laws sweeps dirt from there every single day (almost). It looks horrible when she doesn't.

The "garage" is used for other things, things I can only begin to describe, such as a party area during karaoke sessions or as a mahjong gambling area. Either way, too much noise intrudes on my solitude (while I'm doing things like writing) and gives me nothing but headaches. I really need some garage floor ideas. I would prefer something that would absorb echoes or noise in general. Perhaps a padded indoor-outdoor carpet? If I can find cork surfacing for the walls, that would be great too. I'm open to suggestions.

The Plan?

I'm looking for nearby property for sale. There are some empty lots on the same street, but the asking price for most of them is way too high. I would like to turn a small lot into a fenced-in and covered parking lot. I would be able to park my car (or any future vehicle) along with a couple of trikes I intend to buy. I could probably earn back some of the money invested by charging for vehicle storage.

An alternative would be to change the driveway so that the entrance is in the same place, but the exit is at the other corner of the front fence. One way in and one way out. It would probably be a lot less expensive than buying another lot (a whole lot less expensive). This alternative may actually be the better idea due to some local neighborhood changes that will take place within the next five years. I'll save that bit of information for the next article because this one is already longer than I anticipated.

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• We're Replacing our Master Bathroom Bathtub with a Shower
• My Custom Kitchen — Cabinets, Cupboards, Counters and Electricity
• Our House: Tin Roofing for the Dirty Kitchen and Laundry Room
• Plumbing and Plumbing Supply Problems