The old garage becomes a new studio.

The garage/studio was mentioned in my very first post to this blog.  The details of how it came to be were never mentioned.  This post will reveal some of the details of that process.  It began with a book from the library that had a few pictures of garages from the 1930's.  I showed Paul Sansone features I liked in these pictures.  He drew the plans, I tweaked with my suggestions, and in no time the project had been set into motion.

The old garage as it waits on death row.

The previous picture shows the fence that wrapped around and was attached to the garage with a gate.  This picture shows the fence along Spring Ave.  This should answer any questions as to why it was one of the first things removed when I bought the house.  Amazingly enough, the fence on the opposite side of the yard is still standing.

With the old garage demolished, the next step was to remove the concrete pad.

The pergola was propped up and left standing but that eventually came down as well.

Dad checks out the forms that were set for the foundation.

The monsoon hit after the foundation was poured.  I believe it rained enough off and on to keep the ground too wet to work with for a month.  This was an eyesore and an agonizing delay.

The sewer line was the other major delay.  Locating the original line was a nightmare as it ran diagonally across the yard to the alley.  The first thought was to tie into the existing line.  But, after all the digging to find the line, it was decided this would be the prudent time to put in a new one.

This was too expensive to cover up without at least a picture.

Next came the rock and reinforcing rods for the garage floor.

The floor is poured.  Halleluia!  Even some grass seed and straw get rid of the mud.  This is definately progress.  Although there was no garage yet, I planted geraniums in my urns and placed them on either side of the door that would soon be there.

What a joy to see the framing begin.  This was really the best part because it moved along quickly and, suddenly, there was a shape to the new garage.

A decision was made to use trusses.  The original plans were drawn for a vaulted ceiling but that was labor intensive which translates to "expensive."  So, as so often happens in construction, we went to Plan B.

Finally there is protection to the inside from the rain.

Ah, shingles and windows!   It is beginning to come together.

I am a bit of an eccentric but a polka dot garage crosses the line for me.  It did shock me when I came home to this one day, but under closer scrutiny I discovered the red dots are actually plugs to hold the foam in place.

Here you see the dark base coat of the Dryvit finish.  The lighter color is the final coat.

                                                    Completed just before the first snow.