The cuckoo's nest

[ct71rr]

Hello all, like most here, I've been a long time lurker. Now, after 7 years of waiting, I'm finally starting the renovation of my garage. My garage is currently 22'X23' with a 10'X23' carport/shed thing attached to the right side. As you can see from the photos, it needs some serious help. My plan is to demo the carport/shed, rebuild it higher and extend it 3 more feet to the right to make my garage into a real 3 car garage. I am also extending the garage 8 feet off of the back, the entire length making the new garage
36'X31'.

As for the name of my garage, I will be rebuilding my '71 Road Runner when the garage is complete. Roadrunner's are commonly refered to as "ground cuckoo's". It was the best I could come up with...

I want to thank everyone on this site for providing me with great ideas and motivation!!

 

[49stude2r6]

Looks like lots of potential. Best of luck and keep us posted with pictures.

 

[Lippyp]

Own up, who forgot to brake and went through the back wall! I like that, its pretty and has a lot of potential after a good cleanup and some repairs.

 

[impulse922]

it has all the potential in the world, but it requires work to get it done, now get out there and quit wasting time on here!

 

[cowboy73]

Lots of potential there. Like impulse said, get off the internet and get to it.

 

[930dreamer]

A work in progress, I trying to guess the location. PA?

 

[wingcarenvy]

Love the 71 runners. Good luck with both of your builds.

 

[RUMBLON]

Did someone say Roadrunner? Here are a few mopar related pics from my shop, its all about the MOPARS. Dont want to hijack the thread but if your a MOPAR guy, you should like a few of these.

GOOD LUCK???? You will need some signs.

RUMBLON

shop pics/ mopar stuff

Roadnunners nest area, we have a 70 Belvedere/ post car and I just sold a 68 Roadrunner. I have owned many. Here is a pic of my daughters 70 and my 67 Dart and 70 440-6 Cuda vert.

HEMI VALVE COVER COLLECTION

SOME MOPAR GLOBES

 

[28HopUp]

That will be a great renovation when you're done. The place has so much character (inside and out). Once you're done, you will increase the value of your home and will have an awesome place to work on your cars. Please keep the pictures coming as you work on it.

 

[ct71rr]

Made some progress today. Cleaned out the car port/shed and took down about 1/3 of it. I hope to take down the rest tomorrow.

Thanks for all the comments. I live in Massachsuetts, sorry....

And yes, I have been collecting Mopar (Mopah, here in MA.) posters for some time just to put in my garage when it's done.

Rumblon, that Dodge/Plymouth Approved Service sign is awesome. Where did you get it??

Libbyp, that's the way the carport was when I bought it . I think the previous owners restored a VW Bug at some point. I found the whole bottom half of one dumped in the woods behind the garage. Not to mention all the other **** they dumped back there.

 

[ct71rr]

Made some progress today. It poured this morning but, I was still able to get the rest of the car port down. Had to change my clothes half way through because I got soaked...Now, just waiting for step-dad to come over with the backhoe to start digging for the footings/foundation. Conservation came by yesterday to check my silt screen/straw bale barrier. She wasn't happy that I ran over a bunch of weeds with the skidsteer that were growing in my back yard

 

[ct71rr]

Made some progress yesterday. We dug for the foundation and struck a bunch of ledge which, I was expecting, just not this much. I will have to speak with the building inspector this week to see if I can pin the footings/foundation to the ledge or if he will make me hammer it out.

I had a few extra helpers to lend me a hand...

 

[RAYJAY]

your last set of picture are a little small , great build

 

[rcayot]

LMAO when I saw how nice it looked form the 'home side' where I'm sure is where you wife gets here impression of the garage!

Nice project!

Roger

 

[Motown 454]

Thats adecent space to start with. It should be great when your done.

 

[ct71rr]

LMAO when I saw how nice it looked form the 'home side' where I'm sure is where you wife gets here impression of the garage!
Nice project!
Roger

Yeah, kind of used it as a "See what the garage can look like if we rebuild it" selling point to the wife.

your last set of picture are a little small , great build

When I get home, I will resize them, they are way too small.

 

[aqr81]

That is a diamond in the rough and will look great when you are done. It will have a lont of character. Too bad on the ledge...how thick would you guess runs there. What a PITA. You have been getting a lot done despite the rain. Keep the pics coming and get back to work now.

 

[ct71rr]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!!

That is a diamond in the rough and will look great when you are done. It will have a lont of character. Too bad on the ledge...how thick would you guess runs there...

I'm pretty sure, by the looks of it, the ledge goes all the way to the Earth's core!! It is solid and deep. The good news is, I'm thinking that the existing part of my garage is built right on top of it...it's not going anywhere!!

 

[akdiesel]

Watch out for those Child Labor Laws lol.
Good luck on the transformation and rebuild.

 

[ct71rr]

Well, I got the approval from the building inspector to pin to the ledge. I shoveled, power broomed and then power washed the ledge to remove the dirt. I then marked out the ceter point of the footings (approximately) with orange marking paint. I then drilled 65 one inch holes six inches deep and 16" on center. Next, I will be building forms for the footings/foundation. Not sure if I'm going to do the footing/foundation and floor in one monolithic pour or not since most of the foundation will not be that high.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Conservation came by yesterday to check my silt screen/straw bale barrier. She wasn't happy that I ran over a bunch of weeds with the skidsteer that were growing in my back yard

Conservation a bunch of tree huggers ?


I think that ledge would be perfect for the footing to sit on, I doubt it's going anywhere.

 

[ct71rr]

Conservation a bunch of tree huggers ?


I think that ledge would be perfect for the footing to sit on, I doubt it's going anywhere.

My garage is about 200 feet from a vernal pool that sits on the back end of my property. In my town there is a 100 foot "no build zone" from a pool with another 100 foot "buffer zone". I'm just at the limit of the buffer zone, so, technically they can't tell me what I can/can not do but, it's always best to play nice with Conservation...

I think both my existing garage and house sit in/on ledge. The Building Inspector called it a "mammoth piece of ledge". My father's backhoe barely even scratched it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

My garage is about 200 feet from a vernal pool that sits on the back end of my property. In my town there is a 100 foot "no build zone" from a pool with another 100 foot "buffer zone". I'm just at the limit of the buffer zone, so, technically they can't tell me what I can/can not do but, it's always best to play nice with Conservation...
Ah, I understand now, they have some wet lands around here that are a no-no to mess with
I think both my existing garage and house sit in/on ledge. The Building Inspector called it a "mammoth piece of ledge". My father's backhoe barely even scratched it.

Well, atleast he seems to have some common sense and not demanding you dig it out

 

[ct71rr]

Making some progress, although it is slow going because I am working by myself and on my days off. All of the pins are in and anchored with anchoring cement (of course). I started building the form for the foundation earlier this week. I hope to have the form done by early next week so that I can get it approved and poured by the end of next week.

 

[ct71rr]

Well, after about two weeks of rain, I finally finished building the form The concrete should be coming tomorrow A.M. The form took much longer to build than I anticipated.

 

[steven083008]

You may want to check w/ a structural engineer, but I don't think that shovel handle is going to provide much support on the side wall of that form.

Looks like you're doing a great job!

 

[Neighbor]

took much longer to build than I anticipated.

that will not be the last time you say that. Good luck.

 

[ct71rr]

Concrete came yesterday and the foundation is poured.

 

[ct71rr]

Well, it's been about 7 months since I last updated on this thread and there's been a few changes. After I poured my foundation, I had the "as built" done by an engineer as directed by the building inspector. This is where the fun begins. According to the engineer, The right back corner of my foundation is at approximately 28' from the side setback. My house has a side setback of 40' . Apparently there was a "miscommunication" between the building inspector and me. I know he told me 30' but, let's not get into that. I had to go before the ZBA to see if I could get the foundation passed with a variance. I've always been told my town does not give variances for anything. So, I wasn't too optimistic going in. I also received a call from the conservation commission. She told me that "I lied to her" and I went 13' feet off of the back, not the 8' I told her. She stated she got the info from a copy of the "as-built". Long story short, she was reading the "as-built" wrong ... Before the meeting, I was able to contact my neighbor, whom is directly effected by this, while he was vacationing in Arizona. He told me he got the ZBA meeting announcement in the mail. He stated he supported anything I wanted to do and asked how could he help. I told him that there probably wasn't much he could do, but a letter or phone call to the ZBA might help. He was out in his camper in some tiny town in Arizona and didn't know where the nearest post office was. My neighbor ended up sending a letter next day air to me and the ZBA. He also called them by phone, as well. This turned out to be extremely helpful during my meeting. The ZBA allowed me a varience of 35', where the foundation to the lean-to was that I had already demo'ed.

So, I had to cut a corner off of my foundation. I waited until the weather warmed up and the snow melted to begin.

 

[NUTTSGT]

They made you cut a back corner off ?

 

[ct71rr]

Yup, they were debating whether or not to have me remove the entire foundation I poured. The building inspector actually stepped up and showed the ZBA board members where he thought the foundation to the lean-to was. There are a lot of little things that were considered during the meeting. My house is zoned as a "Class B" which requires a minimum of 2 acres, I only have 1.5 acres. There are 2 boundary marks (drill point in ledge) at the side setback, I did not see the correct one, and went by that. It is about 5 feet from the correct point. The engineers also used this wrong point at first, as well. I have to remove about 7' off of the back and about 12' off of the side. I'm not sure if you can see the white string running from cut to cut but, that is where the outside of the form will be. I have to get my father's backhoe over here to remove the corner...

I was just reading your thread. Nice place you got there

 

[NASMAN]

Did see the string. Had to look at it and reread it three times, but having lived in MA for 59 years I can believe that they would do something like that. Went thru some of those meetings myself. And the real knot in your shorts is on the way home from the meeting you realize that your taxes are paying their salary.
It is one of the reasons we moved. Shame too, because central New England is so nice.

 

[ct71rr]

This may make it a little easier to see what I'm doing. The red lines represent where the new foundation will be poured.

 

[madstat]

Making some progress, although it is slow going because I am working by myself and on my days off. All of the pins are in and anchored with anchoring cement (of course). I started building the form for the foundation earlier this week. I hope to have the form done by early next week so that I can get it approved and poured by the end of next week.

Ct,

I'm curious what did you use to line the inside of those form panels? Did you do this because you would be reusing the wood in your build and wanted an easy cleanup? If so, how was the result?

By the way, your place does have a ton of character. I'm subscribing for sure.

Side note: I'm starting a build of my own that will require a small variance (6 sqft TOTAL). I've been preparing for my appeal by reading the last three years of minutes from our ZBA meetings. I suddenly know all about your ordeal: "Altering non-conforming structure on non-conforming lot yadda yadda", you certainly must have put in a lot of effort just to get the variance you were granted even if it meant chopping a corner off your build.

Best,
Madstat

 

[ct71rr]

Ct,

I'm curious what did you use to line the inside of those form panels? Did you do this because you would be reusing the wood in your build and wanted an easy cleanup? If so, how was the result?...Best,
Madstat

Madstat, I used a few cans of semi-gloss and gloss exterior paint I had left over from other projects. I did this so the concrete would not stick to the bare wood. Worked out well. I did put a thick coat on though.

The ZBA meeting was a little frustrating. It was a three board panel and one member was all set to have me tear it all down before I pled my case. I went in with a ton of pictures I took and info from the engineer. If you can, get letters from your neighbors, this helped me a great deal.

 

[Gareth]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, but at least you aren't back to square 1!

I think the change will add to the character of the building as I like unusual lines, and it's often changes like this that add far more character to a building than a deliberately designed feature. In my house build I was struggling with wall plate heights and door heights onto the roof terrace, and the way I managed to solve the problems has left me with a really interesting ceiling shape which so far everyone has thought was a deliberate design feature!

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[BEAVO]

that ***** i would leave the corner up until u poored your new wall so you will have something to mount the form to to make it stronger just an idea

 

[ct71rr]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, but at least you aren't back to square 1!...I think the change will add to the character of the building as I like unusual lines, and it's often changes like this that add far more character to a building than a deliberately designed feature. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Thanks Gareth, a friend of the family is an architect and is drawing up some plans/renderings for me. I just read through your post. Your garage and home are really nice. Those tile roofs are awesome!

that ***** i would leave the corner up until u poored your new wall so you will have something to mount the form to to make it stronger just an idea

That was my plan. There's not much dirt depth to pound stakes for bracing. As you can see from the photos, the entire garage is sitting on a huge piece of ledge. In some spots, there is only a about a foot of dirt.

 

[Plump]

That rock ledge is an interesting thing to deal with. That should be a fantastic foundation and not go ANYWHERE!

Get everything in writing. Funny how the inspectors come up with different ideas and opinions on every trip over. Good luck, looks awesome.

 

[EuroVt]

Your zoning is unreasonable. They are supposed to protect your neighbor. If he doesn't have a problem, who the hell are they protecting?

Zoning free small town VT!