Lawn Repair

The lawn was in very poor shape because of all the construction early this spring. I wanted to wait until early fall until I did some repairs to it. I'll post images to show what it looks like once all the grass is in.

Other Views

Another View

Exterior Lights

Finished At Last

Well the day has come and the garage is now finished. It took longer than expected but with weather delays I should have known better. It came out the way I wanted it. People have been driving by when I was outside and said they wanted one like mine. Hopefully this blog has showed you what steps it takes and the time involed with building something like this. In the coming weeks I will be starting on the main house and look forward to documenting the progress.

My Two Cats

During the remodel that is taking place outside. I have my two cats Recess (left) & Oreo (right). They watch the works all day while they are doing their thing. Here is a picture of them taking a lunch break. They are brother and sister. They will be 5 years old on July 13th.

New Driveway

This is a view from the top of the driveway. This is where I expanded it to add enough room for the second car to get in and out comfortably.

This is a picture when the old driveway was taken out. I expanded it from 8 foot wide to 10 foot wide. What a difference.

This was after the concrete truck came over to pour the floor in the garage

When I planned this project I didn't think that my driveway would get destroyed in the process. It was built in 1952 with the house. It didn't have any stone under it and was in some places 3 inches think. The final blow came when the concrete truck came in to pour the floor and the entire thing cracked and shifted out of place. I never seen that before. The workers were even shocked. The new driveway is 1,588 square feet. I adding in new drains and making it 6 inches thick. It will be highway grade. I will be long gone before anyone would have to replace it down the road. The process has been slow. My concrete contractor was referred to me by my uncle and the guy was three days late and now over a week later he hasn't finished. Hopefully he will have it poured before the end of this week.

What Does This All Cost ??

I have received many e-mails from viewers about my project. Thank you for all of your feedback. The most common question is "I love your design...How much did this cost you so I could build one." Well this is a loaded question. Here is how it breaks down.

Tear down of old garage and disposal = $600.00
Permits = $90.00
Footings and cement floor = $4,912.51 (42 inch deep footings & $5.75 sq ft. for concrete)
Framing materials = $1,884.84
Shingles (8 square) = $617.17
Siding = $1,090.00 (10 square)
Door = $119.00
Windows = $545.67
New electrical = $912.13
Lighting fixtures = $289.90
Garage doors = $2,300.00 (2 doors 9x8 carriage style, custom order)
Garage door openers & install = $625.00
Labor = $7,500.00

Total = $21,486.22

I had 9 different contractors price this out and the average amount to do this was $30,000.00
I bought a lot of materials because I had a designer discount licence. I had a friend how does appraisals and this has added $30,000 value to my home. It's over sized with 9 foot ceilings.

****Coming May 10th is a new concrete driveway. 1,488 sqaure feet and I got it priced for $4.09 a sqaure foot. Total pice is $6,100.00. I got 7 other estimates that averaged $8,900.00. Pictures coming soon.****

Cement, Windows, And Doors Are In

I had the cement floor poured today. I wanted a smooth finish but a little bit of grit so nobody slips in wet conditions. It's 4 inches thick and should be ready to walk on in 24 hours.
















Before the floor was poured I had the windows and doors installed. I'm glad I went with three windows on each side. It looks alot better. I just need to spay the door white to match the trim.