House Update: New Garage

I went back through old blog posts to see if I had photos from when we first built our carport, but unfortunately I can't find any. 

Here's a summary of the timeline, which I want to share because it's important for me to remember that our home is always a work in progress. It's shocking when I go back and look at how far we have come in the 13 years we've lived here, yet at the same time, it can often feel slow. 

There's always going to be budget considerations, unexpected home expenses, changes in trends, and changes in our own personal seasons of life that result in different needs/functions/space uses.

We moved in on November 2012 and our driveway was completely wooded with a small parking pad. 

These are some pictures before we removed a ton of trees from our yard in 2013:

And here is the one photo I have after we removed the trees and built a larger parking pad:

Later that year, a friend of Brian's built our 3-car carport, which Brian designed (fairly tricky given the driveway slope). I remember we had gotten a verbal estimate on what it would take to add an addition to our house for an attached garage, and the number was in the 6 figures. At the time, there was no way we could afford it, so we landed on building a carport, which I think cost around $20k in 2014 if I remember correctly.

I have no picture of the carport being built, but once it was done, it definitely looked like it fit with the original house. We have a long driveway so it's pretty much tucked away in the woods and not noticeable from the street. Overall, it fits the house perfectly. Something that has always been top priority for Brian and I with any home renovations: it must fit the look of our 1960's contemporary home. It can't look like a cheap job. It can't be something that looks added on. We love our home and will not make any sacrifice to the integrity of it's design and overall look. 

Here's the carport in 2019 when we apparently had 5 cars (!!!!). And this is the same time we added a third bulldog. I'm aghast. It was definitely a "more is more" phase of life.

That said, the carport looked great but it was not built with permits and I'm not sure it was done correctly, because earlier this year the ceiling started caving in. 

The timing worked out well because Brian had been wanting to build a garage (which I did not and still do not want).  We had an engineer come out to assess the structural integrity of the carport, and he told us it was about to collapse.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear. But Brian, seeing a garage in his future, did not seem upset by this.

Brian found a great construction company and they were at our house daily - rain or shine - for several weeks this summer, re-building our carport ceiling and enclosing the third bay for a garage. 

While this isn't a home project that excites me, I do think it turned out very nice and looks like it fits with our house. I like the garage door, the lighting, and the stone detail around the bottom that was added, so that it looks like it fits with our main house. Good work, Brian.