Rounding the Corner

Here is the first pass at the garage design as proposed by the gents over at HPZS. They have been working with the department of buildings to get the framework for an attic space over the garage. There were successful in helping the city understand that we have a need for dry storage space over the garage due to how much of the space in the home is dedicated to living space. As you can see, the design matches the Dutch Colonial design of the house, and fits right in with all of the homes in the neighborhood. We think this is very important as many of our neighbors to the rear area going to have to deal with looking at whatever we build for years to come. Might as well have it be in keeping with the rest of the design of the neighborhood and not have it stick out like sore thumb.


Here is the layout as proposed. Joe and Gary have done a good job of laying out the second floor in a way to maximize the space in the attic with full headroom (7' or over finished). Furthermore, there are some really nice nooks etc that will prove useful long term. I like the way the second floor and first floor entrances are separated. We plan on storing things like off season clothes, coats, and holiday decorations. With the first and second floors not sharing a technical hallway, this should keep some of the garage smells contained in the first floor.


This is the way the site will layout with the garage on it. One of the biggest things to be decided is how to do the hardscape around both sets of stairs near the house, and the doorways for the garage. We have decided that we will not have any grass in the backyard. Most of the good summer sun comes from the direct east and northeast which is going to leave the "yard" space (that which is not house, deck or garage and is behind the house) with very little consistent sun in the first half of the day. Having this scenario with the east yard of our current home, I think it will be a constant battle trying to keep grass growing. I have an idea in my head of how this is going to look next spring when we get started on the landscaping.



I just wanted to point out a few of the things going on around the house that have not come up to this point that I like. This is a shot of the 4" recessed light (or "can") we are putting in the first floor of the house. The standard recessed light used in residences is a 6" can, so this gives the house a distinctly different look. Part of what the smaller light means is a smaller foot print of light emitted towards the floor. This makes things especially nice for dimming.


I just posted this picture because I have been thinking a lot about how intense the infrastructure of the house has become. I was walking through there this morning just taking in all the work that has been done. Much of the current mechanical work goes a bit under the radar as a result of there being little outward change (other then sawdust and scrap). I also noticed three or four things that need to be changed around a bit as well. Its really hard to keep all of it in front of you when you are constantly working to improve the design and layout.

This week should show the end of plumbing, electrical, and rough framing with inspections for each. Once that is done and the city has signed off, we will be able to start with the spray foam insulation and then the drywall. I hope we will be putting up drywall the first full week in October.