Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Modern House - Eastern Shore

[Brian R]

We spent a long weekend at the property two weeks ago. It was mostly for fun.

Richard Thompson was playing in Wilmington, DE. If you have not heard of him look him up. He was a founding member of Fairport Convention and he is wicked good guitar player. In addition he wrote the seminal 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. I would hazard a guess that I was the only person in the audience that owned a Vincent but I could be wrong. But I can also say, without reservation, that now that I own a Vincent and heard that song done live, I can die in peace.

His set includes a lot of story telling and his story about seeing the Who live as a teenager was worth the price of admission.

In addition, last summer my wife's friend offered to take my son hunting. I decided to tag along and that is how I spent the majority of my time. There were two days spend in a blind. We saw lots of geese but they all flared away as soon as they were even with the decoys so none of us got a shot off (but I'm not complaining).

On the third day Pete stuck my son in a deer blind. My son had never shot a crossbow but after only 2 test shots at targets he was able to take this buck.

That was a nice way to end weekend and now we have plenty of venison.


There was only a limited amount of time to spend on projects. I was able to install a few items we picked up from Ikea in the 3rd floor study.

I also spent an hour with the contractor who has been retained to build our garage! We spend some time discussing the build and staking out the property - more to follow with pictures and renderings.

 

[Brian R]

I really buried the lede in my last post.

Yes, I did garage planning!

Here is snapshot of what we are looking to build.

photo from interweb -

https://www.deckhouse.com/

We are planning on adding a carport on the other side but this is what we are starting with.

More to follow....

 

[Bob Heine]

I really buried the lede in my last post.

Yes, I did garage planning!

Here is snapshot of what we are looking to build.

photo from interweb -

https://www.deckhouse.com/

We are planning on adding a carport on the other side but this is what we are starting with.

More to follow....

Brian, I like the design and if you have the room it would be nice to scale it up. How about motorhome-siize doors wide enough for four cars and a big lift or two! Back in 1996 we looked at a house with two double garage doors (four cars wide) that was deep enough to park a dually with a 26-foot enclosed trailer attached. If it hadn't been in the swamps we might have purchased it.

 

[Brian R]

Bob,
That is one helluva a garage and I know whatever I build will be too small.

We have room to make it bigger and it's will be far enough from the house that there won't be compared to it in same frame but I'm thinking of a smaller scale.

Right now we are thinking of 24x24. Right now at home I'm in a 20x20 so I think the extra four feet on each side will be heaven. In addition, we are adding a 12x24 foot carport in the back that be useful for lots of stuff.

The house is based on a two over layments of 24x24 foot squares so we are hoping this 24x24 foot garage looks right at home.

I'm still in early stages of permits and talks but this is what we are leaning toward.

Finally - glad you are well enough that you can are still getting around (i.e. posting in other threads). Seriously, take care of yourself.

 

[Bob Heine]

Brian, my garage is a nice depth at 24 feet. Our Cadillac CTS-V is 18-feet long so 6-feet clear to the back wall (actually there's a 20-inch bump-out in that bay).

The Corvettes are shorter so there's even more space to fill. If you put standard kitchen cabinets on the back wall there's about four feet left. A decent walkway leaves room for storage racks, tables or heaven forbid bare floor.

At 28 feet wide, my garage fits three cars nicely. That is, it would fit them nicely if I didn't fill the garage with my tools and treasures. Liane isn't bad, needing only a couple of cabinets and most of the open space around the ceiling for her basket hoard.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm on here to save my sanity. Turned on the A/C in the shed to clean up the mess a little. We're expecting a visit from an important dignitary any day now.

 

[Brian R]

Covid-19 / Garage Update

I spent the last weekend in February at the property. We went out there to pick up the venison from the butcher, visit a dear friend who was very ill, and then stake out site for the garage.

This year was going to be the year. But as they say, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans."

We came home and modified plans, gave our builder an update, filled and then filed permit. Builder was on board for starting 4/1. It progressed far enough that a county representative came out to the property to discuss Critical Are Forest Clearing Plan (more on that later).

And then this pandemic. I'm lucky because I've got a job that an be done remotely and work in a section of an industry that projects have not slowed down and I will be busy for the remainder of the year.

However, I have friends who have lost parents and know that a very large section of the economy has come to a screeching halt which is causing an extreme amount of anxiety.

It seems almost vulgar to talk about this project and up until yesterday I thought the whole thing was on hold. But last night my builder informed me that some progress had been made and that since his work is considered essential he has made some progress.

He has some quotes for some of the material and has been able to revise permits and other papers through a system where the county has set up drop boxes so that social distancing is practiced.

So this build may be postponed but right now it appears that it could happen this spring and so I though I'd post an update.

The building is proposed to be 24x36. It will contain a 24x24 garage with an attached 12x24 carport. The carport will house an outdoor table tennis table in the summer and a boat in the winter. This structure is designed to match the modern look of the house. The structure is build behind a curve in the gravel drive so that you can back a boat into the carport with a straight shot.


Here is a sketch of the structure

And here is a picture of where it will sit on the property as you drive into the property.

 

[sean Buick 76]

best of luck with the project, so much work but you do not seem to be easily deterred!

 

[Brian R]

best of luck with the project, so much work but you do not seem to be easily deterred!

Sean,
Thanks for stopping by and following along. Slowly, but surely I'm getting there.

Brian

 

[GRN96WS6]

Is that a bobber address marker?

 

[Brian R]

Is that a bobber address marker?

GRN, Yes.

Nice bit of flotsam that I found in the woods. It sat in the yard for sometime and then when I was cleaning out boxes that were left on the property I found an envelop where the PO had left street number stickers.

I had an "Aha" moment and stuck them to ball and placed at end of driveway.

Thanks for checking in.

Brian

 

[Growlertdi]

Instead of feeling bad about talking about your project during these times, Think of it like this, your project is making it so that the workers for the company you hired to do the work are able to continue to work and support their families in a somewhat normal fashion.

to me this is a good thing so Please continue posting about it. I know I look forward to seeing updates on this interesting build.

 

[Finallygotit]

^^^^^^^^


What he said!

 

[Brian R]

Instead of feeling bad about talking about your project during these times, Think of it like this, your project is making it so that the workers for the company you hired to do the work are able to continue to work and support their families in a somewhat normal fashion.

to me this is a good thing so Please continue posting about it. I know I look forward to seeing updates on this interesting build.

^^^^^^^^


What he said!

Growl and Finally, thanks. Would love to post more but not much to report on and being 1500 miles away can't even provide decent pictures of where it will go.

I'll post more when I there is some movement with the project.

In the meantime I thought I'd post some of what is happening in my garage in Texas.

My firm started work from home over 6 weeks ago. I'm fortunate that this is possible and lucky to be in this situation. I miss interacting with my colleagues but I don't miss the commute. In addition, I have a nasty habit of when I'm at work staying there to get 'one' more thing done and then looking at the clock and seeing it is 7:15 PM.

Being stuck at home has resulted in me finishing a bunch of projects that have been on the 'do to' list for years.

I'm the second owner of a 1973 VW Thing with only 24,000 miles on it. I really like that it is all original but the top and seats were beat.

The top was ripped in several places.

In addition, the metal frame was bent (a common problem with this design.

The seats had lost all of the interior material so you sunk in several inches and the occasional pair of ripped pants.

I wanted to keep it original but was not a fan of black vinyl so went with this plaid.

Also ordered replacements for the back seats.

Finally a new top.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I once won a Survivor trophy at a VW show with over 200 cars but winning that award makes it so I can live with these changes (and won't qualify for that award ever again).

 

[wasfast]

Yours looks very intact and in good condition. Many "Things" were "fast rusters" even in dryer climates.

 

[Brian R]

Yours looks very intact and in good condition. Many "Things" were "fast rusters" even in dryer climates.

Wasfast,
You bet. I rode around in quite a few of them in high school in the Philadelphia area that were beyond saving. Super excited to find this one that was garaged most of its life. Dragged it to Texas and never looked back.

Mini update. There was some rust.

I didn't have access to a bead blaster to used Evapo-Rust.

Pretty happy with the results

Thanks for posting.

 

[Brian R]

Garage Update -

Cost: I had budgeted X and the cost proposal has now come back to me as 1.2 X (and this did not include insulation and interior finishes).

Some of this was driven by an increase in costs over the last several weeks. In addition, we selected materials to match the house which are expensive.

So to get this built we have chosen the following -
1. Wait on insulation and interior since this can be done later.
2. Swap out expensive doors and windows to match house
3. Swap out two expensive garage doors with cheaper units

Permit:
Three trees (one dead) have to be removed in order to build garage. I thought I only needed to replace those as part of permit. Actually, I needed to provide a Minor Buffer Replacement plan that includes 1,860 square feet of plantings.

I'm not exactly certain how that figures is derived. The structure is 864 sq ft (24x36).

Anyway, they provide a chart for credits where a 2" inch tree specimen is 200 square feet and a large bush is 50 square feet.

We submitted our plan this morning which includes 5 trees and 22 bushes and covers 1,900 square feet.

This is the last hurdle for the permit and so we should be good to go in the next day or two.

Brian

 

[southernfriedcj]

Permit:
Three trees (one dead) have to be removed in order to build garage. I thought I only needed to replace those as part of permit. Actually, I needed to provide a Minor Buffer Replacement plan that includes 1,860 square feet of plantings.

As a builder/developer one of the(many) things that piss me off are tree ordinances.

Trees are private property. The owner should be able to do what he wants with his private property.

Love your place and that plaid green interior on the Thing is ****!

 

[Brian R]

Southernfried,

Thanks for the comments and checking in. I'm really glad how the VW turned out and every time i drive it I know I made the right decision.

Tree thing is nuts. Lots of people don't follow the rules and so that one issue. Another problem is its a real hassle tracking down rules and then having the county sign off on it. We've been waiting since 5/8 for permission for our plan and contractor hasn't been able to do anything without it.

Bad enough as a homeowner, can't imagine the headaches for builder/developers....

 

[smschriefer]

It's actually part of the Chesapeake Bay Protection Plan. You are lucky all you have to do is plant. I live on the bay and not only do I have to plant trees for what I cut down, I also have to plant trees for the hardscape that is created. Even a gravel driveway is counted as hardscape.

I also have to do a water containment of either a retention pond, or a cistern to prevent direct runoff to the bay. When a person is caught - and they will get caught violating the law they will pay dearly.

Another note, do not under any circumstance put any concrete debris as rip-rap on your shoreline. That is a huge no-no.

Builders have it easy. They can purchase property anywhere on the bay watershed and plant stuff there to count for what they do on your property. Crazy, huh?

 

[Brian R]

It's actually part of the Chesapeake Bay Protection Plan. You are lucky all you have to do is plant. I live on the bay and not only do I have to plant trees for what I cut down, I also have to plant trees for the hardscape that is created. Even a gravel driveway is counted as hardscape.

I also have to do a water containment of either a retention pond, or a cistern to prevent direct runoff to the bay. When a person is caught - and they will get caught violating the law they will pay dearly.

Another note, do not under any circumstance put any concrete debris as rip-rap on your shoreline. That is a huge no-no.

Builders have it easy. They can purchase property anywhere on the bay watershed and plant stuff there to count for what they do on your property. Crazy, huh?

Smschreifer,
We are certainly planting more than we are cutting down and also more than the garage, so yeah, being within 1,000 of a tributary to the Bay there are requirements to follow.

We are actually only cutting down 3 trees and one is dead. The garage is 864 square feet and we need to plant 1860 square feet of plantings. I'm not certain of the exact formula but I imagine that it is based on footprint of garage and parking area plus some factor.

I was aware of this beforehand but I will admit when I first looked over where we were placing the garage I forgot about it and thought, great only need to replace 2-3 trees.

Again, I'm cognizant of the rules but what gets me is that at my old place (and still on a tributary of the bay and under same rules) my neighbor cut down 6 beautiful trees without any consequence because he just never requested permits for all the work he did.

I'm not certain builders have it easier, I imagine that they need to follow the same rules as us homeowners when they develop a property (but I could be wrong).

Thanks for checking in and posting.

 

[Brian R]

UGH

Buffer Enhancement Plan has been rejected by the county.

We were told that all plantings must be located with the 100-foot buffer. The garage is being placed / built outside of this buffer and so I thought that some of this planting should be in this area.


Secondly, we ran afoul of the maximum percent in which can be included in the plan. It's now obvious to me where we failed.

Back to the drawing board....

 

[Toolfool]

Bummer. It always seems to be a learning process.

 

[andyvh1959]

Really interesting. I too live in a contemporary house here in Green Bay. Had people ask if its a duplex, another person asked if its a dentist's office? It was designed by a commercial architect, but he had NO idea of interior flow and utility. Its a tri-level, with the east end ground entry and garage, then two levels of stairs up to the kitchen at the opposite (west) end of the house. But to get there you have to go through the living room. Kitchen should have been over the garage.

I'm building my detached shop garage, and matching the front of the garage to the house to maintain the look from the street. There is another contemporary house a few blocks away and they built a detached garage that suits the house really well. I'll try to get some pictures.

 

[smschriefer]

We were told that all plantings must be located with the 100-foot buffer. The garage is being placed / built outside of this buffer and so I thought that some of this planting should be in this area.

It would be nice if government agencies that have complex requirements could provide examples of what is/is not acceptable. It would save so much time for all involved. So much of the requirements are interpretive and you are expected to read the minds of the board. I know, preaching to the choir...

 

[Brian R]

Bummer. It always seems to be a learning process.

Toolfool,
Yep. The story of my life - everyday is a school day where I learn something new.

Really interesting. I too live in a contemporary house here in Green Bay. Had people ask if its a duplex, another person asked if its a dentist's office? It was designed by a commercial architect, but he had NO idea of interior flow and utility. Its a tri-level, with the east end ground entry and garage, then two levels of stairs up to the kitchen at the opposite (west) end of the house. But to get there you have to go through the living room. Kitchen should have been over the garage.

I'm building my detached shop garage, and matching the front of the garage to the house to maintain the look from the street. There is another contemporary house a few blocks away and they built a detached garage that suits the house really well. I'll try to get some pictures.

Andy,
Thanks for checking in. I've seen your thread and like what you are doing. I had a similar situation in my old house. Brick house build in around 1915 and the layout was horrible. The kitchen was 8 feet by 11 feet. It also had a cinder block garage tacked on the back in the 60's. Flat roof with 2 levels of height since one was outside the living room and so to make use of those windows had to be lower.

We torn it down and built a freestanding garage. The side facing the street was done in brick to match the house while the other sides were stucco. We also attached veneer to garage door to make it look like an older building.

It would be nice if government agencies that have complex requirements could provide examples of what is/is not acceptable. It would save so much time for all involved. So much of the requirements are interpretive and you are expected to read the minds of the board. I know, preaching to the choir...

I'm telling you that would have been super beneficial. Like there is nothing that told me all the plantings had to be within 100 feet of waterline.

Thanks everyone for following along.

 

[Brian R]

Garage Update -

Off and running. Permit approved last Friday. Attached are first two pictures of clearing site for garage. Note that these trees were not felled but rather underneath all the brambles in the area.

As recently as 1980 this property was a farm. And now most of it is so overgrown it is difficult to walk through.

 

[Toolfool]

Permit !!! Will be following the progress.

 

[Brian R]

Permit !!! Will be following the progress.

Thanks for posting and following along. Somehow I missed you relocated. Hope you are happy and congrats to your wife on passing the bar. I'm married to a lawyer and my daughter is starting her third year of law school. Usually these events cause stress but sounds like your spouse aced 3 of them!

 

[Brian R]

Clearing Update.

Where things stand this afternoon.

 

[GRN96WS6]

Some good firepit wood there...

 

[Brian R]

Some good firepit wood there...

GRN,

My sentiments exactly.



Brian

 

[Brian R]

Where the work stands right now. Can't add much in description since I'm 1400 miles away. Working to rectify and planning a mad dash to get there but in the meantime contractor is sending pictures.

 

[GRN96WS6]

******, can't see the pic.

 

[Brian R]

******, can't see the pic.

How about now?

 

[Finallygotit]

How about now?

 

[smschriefer]

Brian, will this be pole barn construction and if so, will the posts be set in the ground, or on raised footers?

 

[Brian R]

Brian, will this be pole barn construction and if so, will the posts be set in the ground, or on raised footers?

SMS,
Yes, it will be pole barn construction. However, work is progressing quicker than plans so I haven't seen if they will be set or on raised footers.

The recent environment has thrown lots of curve balls and so still waiting on detailed plans (I've heard they are coming shortly and I will post).

Latest news is that inspector found issue with some of the holes. It has now been rectified but a week of lots of rain and more predicted has slowed things to a crawl.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Brian R]

I was sent plans last night. Up until now I've been working with a sketch I sent to contractor with dimensions and outlines. He had his architect develop these:

Framing

Elevations

Closer inspection reveals that posts will actually sit on footers. Can't lie, been dreaming of this since I bought the place 5 years ago - super excited to see this coming together.

 

[Toolfool]

Good for you, Brian. Nice to see dreams come true. Looks like it will be a nice building.

 

[Brian R]

Of all things a start-up firm swooped in from literally nowhere and informed our very sparsely populated county that they were running fiber optic cable everywhere and installation was free with no required contract.

I was skeptical to say the least. We are a solid 7 miles from the closest town of 5,000 and really nothing but farmland between there and our home. They assured us that internet would be installed on 6/26. We decided to take a leap and headed out to MD from TX. I had done research and found a hotel in VA that accepted dogs and printed protocols for COVID and so off we went.

We arrived in MD and waited two weeks for cable. The first was ok since I figured it might be a week delayed and I could take a vacation days to work around the property. That week passed and we were assured that installation was coming. Another week passed. No cable.

That week was pretty aggravating. I'm able to work from home (and very fortunate to do so) but I require internet. I had a Verizon jet-pack that enabled me to work but not very efficiently. Cable was connected on 7/13. Over two weeks late but once it was in I was able to work and a big relieve that that problem was resolved.

So I've spent the last two months in MD watching the garage go up. It was not without issues (rain -over 14 inches, hurricane threats, delayed materials, contractor needed retina re-attachment surgery and one worker had heart issues and another suffered rotator-cuff problems). But progress was made and I was able to document most of it.

First were holes. Originally dug at 12 inches wide but failed inspection.

In the picture below you can see the pump that was used to get water out of hole.

Apparently need to be 3 times width (6x6 poles).

The adventure begins.