Garages

Garages

Garages are very personal buildings. In the nine years I have been designing I do not believe that I have created the same Garage twice. Some want access to a second floor for storage or an apartment. Some need to stack cars on lifts to feed their auto Jones and others just need a place to park all the toys. Thinking about what you are hoping to achieve from your Garage may not be as simple as just saying “Honey, we need a garage”.

What do you want it for? Most are looking to park a car for dry and warm access in times of inclement weather. For this you need to ask if you want to attach to the home or have a covered breezeway. Local jurisdictions will have say over how this breezeway can be attached and limitations to its size for the zoning in your area so having a knowledgeable designer and builder is helpful at the beginning. How many cars, what type of car, what type of toys, and how much storage are questions that need to be asked before and during the design process. The size of the garage may most depend on the potential vehicles that it will house. Think about the parking lot at the local grocery store. Are you comfortable getting in and out of your car? An average parking space is eight feet wide. Would you like more room in your Garage to get out with the groceries and the baby seat?

A quick calculation would look to have six feet +/- for the car and three feet (think of your homes front door) to either side for door swing. This would be a space of 12 feet per car. Making a two car garage at least 24’ wide to the interior! Add a typical foundation wythes to this mix and the Garage should be 25’-4” to the exterior. This exterior dimension also plays well with the current Residential Building Code when using a 16’ or 18’ overhead door. The doors themselves could add to this dimension and we will talk about that in another post.

Keep in mind that this has left no real room for storage to the sides if you want complete access although this is rarely addressed as part of the design despite what you may be told. The depth is usually pretty good at 24’ although as little as 22’ can be done. Keep in mind your vehicle when thinking about depth. You may be driving a midsize car now but the family van or SUV could be in the future. 22’ can get a little thin for that type of vehicle.

Interior stairs to a second floor will usually take up a side wall and generally rise to the center of the upper floor perpendicular to the ridge so that there will be sufficient headroom at the top of the stairs. This stairwell will eat into a bay of the garage fairly well and needs to be considered during the design process.


Thanks for reading and please visit my website

www.cshadedesign.com

I look forward to hearing from you…

Lead Safe? As in the Element

Lead Safe?

Was your home built prior to 1978? Then you have a 25% chance that there is lead based paint in your home. 1960? Then there is a 66% chance of lead based paint. Prior to 1940? 86%. And don’t think that it is just the paint on the walls. Nearly ALL surface coatings of these eras contained lead. This means cabinets, floor finishes, stained woodwork, and especially exterior finishes. Knowing what is lead based on your home is knowledge that your kids can learn on.

The best way to remove lead from your home is to well; remove it. Hiring a qualified lead certified contractor who has completed the EPA’s course on Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) is a good place to start. Containing the lead thru a new paint job can be a viable option to mitigate small hands from putting chips in their mouths. What to look out for here is the sanding of the existing surface prior to the paint being applied.

Have you ever spilled or even opened a packet of Sweet-n-Low or Equal? This is about a gram of substance. More than enough to become airborne, land on horizontal surfaces and be moved around the home. What’s interesting is that you will taste this on your tongue or in the nose simply by breathing. That somewhat sweet taste on the air can be pleasing and pleasant. It may even catch you a little off guard. Lead dust doesn’t taste, or smell, or otherwise heighten your senses. You just breathe it in.

Take the time to limit your and your homes exposure when refinishing a surface. Ask for and hire a contractor who has been certified by the EPA’s RRP program and be proactive about keeping you and your family safe during a remodel or renovation of your home.

NARI Central VA is committed to having its contractor members RRP certified to help you when you need to add-on, remodel, or renovate.

Thanks for reading and please visit my website

www.cshadedesign.com

I look forward to hearing from you…

Add an Addition?

Placing an addition on your home can be a daunting task. What spaces do I need to create? Are my existing spaces not suitable for today’s styles? Would a future buyer be more likely to purchase this home if we added this…? Can we even put the rooms we want off this area of our home?

Start Here…

Design your own home...

Have a plan that works for your family and life…

Why use someone else's idea of how you live…?

Your needs are unique and considerate…

What do you need?

Play Space?

Storage space?

Utility space?

Family entry?

Home office?

Home theater?

Entertaining?

Great views?

What do you think?

Let’s start with your ideas and build a house that your family makes a home.

Having a builder move into your home for several months is the number one consideration when doing a remodel or addition to your home. I believe that this item is even greater than the price of the addition. You will be living with this person and their trade contractors for a long time. If you are comfortable with them and their style then the process will be much smoother and easier. Everyone though, does reach the breaking point where they just want it all done. But you need to look at it like a long car ride, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” and when you get to the end you say, “Well that wasn’t so bad!” Enjoy the journey because it will make for a more comfortable home that fits your needs in the end and enhances your quality of life. Isn’t this why we started this process anyway?

As far as the spaces to create and the areas to remodel you are making choices based on homes you have seen that have been built recently. Some of the ideas that are incorporated into new construction are spaces that you would like to create and enjoy. You have not thought of adding on a Pool room for nothing more than a Pool table but rather looked at the rooms you have and thought that there is a way to expand upon this and not recreate the home. Many people are adding on specifically because of where they live and the outrageous costs associated with moving to a new home with these amenities. Most recently in Richmond and I’m sure other markets the cost of land his risen so dramatically that the costs of the house is out of whack with the space you would gain by adding onto your home. I have heard many times that the cost associated with my addition would not get me anywhere near the some square footage I will have if I went and bought new.

Taking the time to get you where you are comfortable with an addition and filling your needs are all part of this process. Very few people ask to have an addition designed and have answered every question or thought every thought when we first sit down. Many thoughts and ideas will come up during the process and your builder will even have a hand in this process.

Having some professional advice about how the spaces are to be added and available yard for this addition are the first two items that need to be addressed before we can move forward with completing the design for a new addition to your home. C. L. Shade Drafting strives to guide you in the best possible use of the space you want to create and make sure that this can be added to your home.

Please visit my website

www.cshadedesign.com

I look forward to hearing from you