From Tractor Garage to Office

Working on a discrete, separate out-building often makes for a fun project.

The costs can be lower, because of the smaller size. There are no strict rules to be followed to match the rest of the existing house or any particular style, necessarily. Clients often feel they can take more chances/risks and sometimes choose to do some funky or trendy finishes, that they might not be bold enough to do in their house.

This project is an old tractor storage barn. It is attached to another barn-type space that is near a pool, and has been renovated into a rough bathroom/changing room/pool house.

Tractor Garage  - Before

Pool House - Before

The bones of the building will remain as is: the foundation, the exterior walls and roof, the wood siding. New energy-star windows and doors have been installed to take the place of the existing over-head door. The walls and roof are insulated with spray foam. The dirt floor of the tractor garage now has rigid insulation and radiant heat tubes laid into a new concrete floor. What was a gravel floored, un-heated garage will become a new home office.


The pool house is being renovated with a new layout boasting beautiful new bathroom and laundry room inside and some sprucing up on the outside porch space. All new flooring, bead board walls, and paint- plus removing that indoor/outdoor plastic carpet- will go a long way to cleaning up this part of the building.

The whole structure will benefit from all new electrical wiring and plumbing and heating/air-conditioning. We have moved the pool mechanicals out of the building to ensure the office is a quiet place to work. We have kept the ceiling high in the new office and installed large windows facing toward the pastoral views. We have connected the office to the new bathroom so it can also function as a guest house.

Here are some photos of the work in progress:

Light and Shadow

Roof Overhangs Added & New Windows Installed

Before

Light:
In the interior spaces of a building, natural light is very important. Sometimes when a house is erected by a builder or developer without an architect or designer to help make the design site responsive, you can end up without windows where you wish you had them.

That was the case here. The south (read: "where the sunshine is") of this home had only one window upstairs. We took the opportunity while renovating and re-siding to install another second floor bedroom window and a first floor dining room window. A room is *always* nicer when it has windows on at least 2 sides (and on that note, a room can feel really special when it has windows on 3 sides... more on that in a future post). So now these room have better natural light- yay!

The other reason/bonus for the new first floor window was giving the resident's a view into their own driveway to see who might be arriving- very helpful.

Shadows:
How the shape (architect's call it "massing") of a house looks can be influenced by shadows. Roof overhangs are one way shadows are created on the elevation. This isn't only for appearances; correctly sized overhangs provide multiple functions in the "mechanics" of how the house performs. If correctly sized, they provide shading to help keep a house cool in the summer, while allowing light inside in the winter. They also help drain water (rain and melting snow) away from the wall.

This 1970s suburban house did not have the benefit of many roof overhangs. See the before pic - no rake (the triangle side) overhangs at all.  See the other pic, how the framers added one on to both look better and help keep the wall dry.

The scale of this south elevation is quite tall, because of the basement garage. We added another new roof overhang to help mitigate that. It breaks up that 3 story tall elevation while also helping with snow piling up in front of the garage doors. It will provide a nice shadow line to help make the garage more discrete. (us architects always want to hide the garage! And a garage under - or basement garage, like this house has- is one way to do that- it's completely invisible from the street.) Click here to see a previous post about designing the place for a garage: the-new-garage-next-door

Transformation

Front - before

Back - before

I have a project under construction that is quite amazing in scope and scale. What was a pretty mundane suburban "colonial" (realtor term for two story box - not a historic colonial)- vinyl siding, bow window, on-the-cheap sort of construction methods from the 1970s... is being transformed into a super-well insulated "Farmhouse" beauty with large, high ceiling-ed spaces for entertaining and a modern aesthetic.

Here are some photos now that construction and demolition has begun:

All new Windows & Cantilevered window seat built in place of former bow window

Small bump out on the back for expanded eating area and covered grilling area on new deck

Adding Space by Detaching the Garage

After almost half a year hiatus from posting, I'm back! Happy 2015 Everyone!

I want to try to steer this blog into a new direction.  I won't be following the chronological progress of one project, like when the New House Next Door to my house was being built and this blog was born, but rather, this blog can be a bit more "free form", talking about lots of different architectural projects and ideas.

Today's Topic: Pulling the garage out of the house

Some clients want an enclosed or covered space for their car(s) and have never had one, and hire me to design them a garage or carport. But some clients have a house with an attached garage space and when they wish their home had a bit more space, rather than designing an addition, we can redesign this unfinished garage space to become part of the house.

In some cases the garage becomes a a studio or work space. Sometimes a spacious master bedroom suite is created. It can be a family room or exercise space- whatever is needed. In this way, the living space of the home is increased relatively inexpensively. And then we design and build a new detached garage to provide storage for the car.

New  Garage on Left, Part of House that was Garage on Right, Porta-Potty in the Middle

 Depending on where they are placed on the site in relation to the house, detached garages can help define outdoor "rooms". They can be set back (a requirement in many zoning codes) so that the home and it's front door are primary, and the car doors are secondary.

If the owner is always going to arrive home by parking inside the garage, then this new space and how it's doors are arranged in relation to the house entry will become part of what architects call "the entry sequence." This coming and going can be made pleasant by good design, positively affecting our day. Or, if poorly thought out, it can detract from our happiness, possibly by being too cramped or too abrupt. (click HERE to go to my website and read about re-designing an entry sequence in "Transition Zones")

Entry Sequence: Pergola Connects Garage to House, Garage Has Covered Side Door

 Detached garage buildings can be placed on the site so they are hidden from view inside or they can be placed so a window inside the house frames a view of them. Usually the style mimics or coordinates with that of the house, but the opposite can be true, as well. Choosing paint colors or trim details that don't mimic the primary structure can add uniqueness to the new building. Detached garages can look like a quaint, charming cottage, or a rustic wood shed, or a modern, functional box, depending on the owner's style. Unlike most attached garages, they are not just trying to blend in or be invisible - they are "design-ful" in their own right. (I just made up that hyphenated word!)

Two Car Garage Built Beside a Ranch

I cannot find the source, but I remember hearing the saying that the attached garage is the "un-invited guest who never left" in American homes. Click HERE read my previous "soap box" post about why garages are better detached than attached to our houses.

The New Neighbors Next Door

Well, it's been almost two months since I last wrote a post... The New House Next Door now has our new neighbors living in it! These past months have seen some minor activity at the NHND - swapping a  non-working part in the hot water heater, touching up some painting, a bit of regrading, a 911 compliant street number sign, and getting the final inspection and Certificate of Occupancy from the building inspector.

The last contractors on the job - movers!

 Today was the big move day. Grandma and Grandpa have been packing and sorting through their life's possessions this summer and now they are in their fresh, new house! It's about half the size of their previous house, where they've lived for more than 40 years. It took a lot of planning and deciding and hard work - physical and emotional- to pare down their stuff and make this move. Now they have a space that is much better sized for two people and much easier to maintain than their 1840s farmhouse. (I hope I don't jinx anything - but NO MORE MOUSE TRAPS, for instance)

Welcome to your new home!

So, the new house next door to my house is all finished - but I've been thinking that every project I work on as an architect, is a new house next door to someone... so I plan to continue this blog and share some more of my work and thoughts about design with you. I won't be writing multiple posts per week, like I was, and I won't be able to be on site taking photos as frequently as I could with this project, but I hope you continue to find what I have to say interesting. Thanks for "listening" and stay tuned for more!