I cannot believe I get to say this but after 6 months, the garage is done.
The view from the street shows the two car stalls and the area to the left, with the window, is the shop. The second photo shows the James Hardie Board and Batten siding we chose. (We used James Hardie Lap Siding on our two previous houses and were more than satisfied with the quality and performance.) The third photo shows the side facing the house. The addition, that will connect the garage to the house, will include the solid door and most of the wall up to the other door. The garage still needs painting (the yellow is a factory applied primer) and gutters. When we re-roof the house and add gutters to that, we will add gutters to the garage. Painting will have to wait until the weather improves.
Speaking of weather, man did that delay this project. Our 6-8 week timeline ballooned into 6 months and there wasn’t a darn thing anybody could do. We were at the mercy of Mother Nature. We are just glad we can finally park inside and out of the mud.
During this project the main driveway flooded out a time or two, so we started using an old driveway on the other side of the property. (Years ago, the two driveways connected and went around the back of the house.) The driveways have some gravel but mostly dirt, so when it rains or snows it turns to mud. I have ruined a few pairs of nice shoes ladies, enough of that.
Our new driveway leading to the garage is a work in progress. It took quite a few loads of fill to level it out.
They laid down a couple of loads of crusher run gravel which will create a hard base. We added onto the driveway, to give us a second entrance/exit, which allows a place to turn around and we can avoid backing out onto the road. I am not sure what we will do for a final driveway material in the future.
In March of 2015 we packed three 16′ PODS and sent them to Charlotte, North Carolina. After we purchased this 1400 square foot house, without a basement or garage, we knew there was no room for any of it. That was the impetus for the garage build. We wanted a place to put our stuff. I can’t tell you how many times in the past 11 months we have been looking for something and someone says “It’s in the PODS.” Well, no more. The garage is done so the PODS are coming! I am doing my happy dance but I won’t post a picture because it isn’t pretty.
The happy dance does not last long. I know that even when the house is completely remodeled and the addition (210 square feet for two bathrooms) done, we still will not have room for all that stuff. Besides that, we don’t need all that stuff. (Want vs. Need) We are trying to live more simply. So, my plan is to unpack the PODS and sort them into keep and sell piles (which I already did before we moved). The way I figure it is, aside from the things we wanted and realized they were on the PODS, the rest of the stuff we have lived without for almost a year. That means there has to be a ton of things to get rid of. Man I wish I knew that a year ago. It would have been a lot easier (and cheaper!) to pack, transport and store less stuff. Ugh! Live and learn I guess.
