Recent content by AKADriver

Hope your new place ends up as nice as the old one! Your new backyard looks a lot like mine in terms of topography. I've got about an 8x10 shed in that spot that I'd love to someday run power to.

Work is underway. I'm really glad I hired a GC for this. When they first submitted the plans to the county they got rejected, because at some point since 1983 my zoning had changed. Because the garage is considered new construction it now had to comply with a 12' minimum side yard. I had 10'...

Four years later. It turned out all that stuff I thought I was going to need... I was going to need. So nothing got done. Other house projects took precedence. I had an inheritance come in this year, so, the project starts as soon as the permit gets approved. I've hired a general contractor to...

Whoa, this post is exactly what I want to do, and you're local! Hello from Springfield! If you don't mind, I've got some local jurisdiction/permit questions. Was your carport just a slab or did yours have actual foundation under those half brick walls? How did the permit process go, did you...

Springfield checking in. Just bought the one house in my development with a carport instead of a garage, but that's fine because I got it cheap (from family) and I can build it however I want. :P Anyone else in fairfax county build a new garage recently?

Hmm, that's encouraging. Virginia (at least Fairfax County) does require permit and inspection though they don't require explicit plans. Basically you just say "I agree to enclose my carport according to the Typical Carport Enclosure Details" on the permit application. That document basically...

As I mentioned in my introduction some time ago, I'm converting my carport into an enclosed garage. It's already enclosed on three sides and basically, to become a functional garage, would only 'need' some minimal framing on the overhead door side, and then hanging the doors. However I may have...

Thanks guys! Traffic isn't so bad for me, I don't work in DC so I don't drive that way. Both houses are actually in Springfield and I drive west to my job. But I've seen the worst of it - I used to drive to Maryland every day via 495 and 270. Hence the condo purgatory, it's all I could afford...

Yes, the land of $3000 speeding tickets (well, not anymore) and half-million-dollar houses with no garage. My wife and I are buying a home after spending years in condo purgatory. It's come down to a house we both like, with a nice, basic, empty 20x23 2-car garage; or her parents' old house...