... or how I spent my summer vacation
I've been seized with garage envy of those of you who talk about your
30x70 ft garages with lifts, etc, etc. I have a 14x27 garage; I can
squeeze Kermit the frogeye and my Accord in end-to-end, but it will be
expensive and very emotionally painful if my boot ever slips off the
Accord's clutch while I am shoehorning it in, so I reduce the risk by
leaving the Accord out in the summer. In the winter, I worry that snow
melting off the Accord creates damp around Kermit.
I can't decide if I will be in my house long enough to make a major garage
addition worthwhile, but on the other hand the realtor fees to move are
about what a garage addition would cost. Indecision is a terrible thing.
In the meantime, I am well under way on a relatively inexpensive stop gap
measure that some of the rest of the garage-deprived group may want to
consider.
In my area, home owners are allowed to erect a garden shed as a freebie.
If it is less than 100 sq ft and not on a permanent foundation, it is
exempt from zoning and taxes. A garden shed can be right on the lot line;
no 30 ft setback requirements. Basically, you gets your nails and start
building, and nobody cares.
With careful design, I can winter house both Kermit and my garden tractor
in a T-shaped structure 99.5 sq. ft floor area. The main section is 12'
6" by 6' 10" exterior dimension, and there is a small side extension the
size of the garden tractor. The side part is located so the car door
opens into it (clever, eh?) It will be tightish, about 1 foot on either
side of the car and a few inches on either end, so you would not want to
use it daily, but it will be fine for winter storage. Those of you with
larger cars would have to forego the tractor storage. I'll continue to
keep Kermit in the regular garage and let the Accord sit out in the
summer, but the tractor, snowblower, and all the garden tools and stuff
can be in the shed giving more room to work in the garage. In the winter,
I will put Kermit into the garden shed cocoon, together with the lawn
tractor, and have the regular garage for the snowy Accord (and maybe some
bits of the Alpine).
I have about 60 hrs work and $775 in this, and I'm about 3/4 way through.
I guestimate the final cost at about $1K. The design is comparatively
wasteful of material to fit in the zoning regs; if you built an 8x12
structure it would be both easier and cheaper. A conventional garden shed
like you buy at a home center sits on the ground; I figured this would be
a terrible way to store a car. I built a heavy duty floor joist system of
pressure treated 2x8 lumber placed on solid concrete blocks. Fortunately,
my soil is sandy, so I should not have too much frost heaving. There is
about a 6 inch air space under the joists so moisture should not get
trapped. Over the frame, I laid a 6 mil continuous poly vapor barrier,
then used 3/4 inch pressure treated plywood for the floor. The rest is
conventional construction, except that I have designed it with key parts
screwed together, so it can be disassembled comparatively easily and moved
if I move and want to take it with me. I built 8 inch overhangs on all
roof edges to keep water away from the walls, and plan eve venting to let
air circulate. Not only are my neighbors not complaining, they have
complimented me on the design.
There was one hidden cost most people would not have. I could not bring
myself to store Kermit under tall cottonwood trees, so I did have a bill
for $450 for tree removal before I could start the shed. But I'm
convinced this will keep Kermit in a dryer, safer environment that a
garage with a concrete floor shared with a wet daily driver and do so
fairly cheaply. Check your zoning ordinances.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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