davidstutler
Well-known member
Over the years of me perusing Garage Journal, I’ve noticed a consistent theme. Full garage gratification is almost always delayed. Timing, weather, location, finances … they all get in the way of finding the end goal of garage Nirvana.
My story is no different. And I hope the writing of my history, and documentation of the upcoming garage build will provide some therapy.
I love cars. This much I can admit. My dad would always take my twin brother and I around the car lots after church on Sundays growing up - I think mainly to entertain us while my mom attended the service. Cars were an easy distraction. So my twin and I - last of seven kids - grew up dreaming of Karman Ghia’s in the driveway - something to love on - something to improve.
As adulthood came - I was fortunate enough to always have at least two spaces in each garage and finally graduated to an oversized three car in my mid-30s. That allowed me to always have a “fun” car - and started me down a path of always hunting for something. We’ve always moved through cars quickly but having one extra space unlocked a side of me that truly was hungry for the hunt. In my first 15 years of marriage, my wife and I had 50 cars come through our life. In the last few, I’ve just stopped counting. Yes, I’m diseased.
About three years ago, we decided to move across town and utilize other passions of mine - house renovation and woodworking. We were moving out of a new construction custom home we designed, into a golf course lot home that needed some work. We love that process, so we jumped right in. My wife’s biggest concern for me was the missing extra spot - yep, going from three to two was enough to make her worried. I saw the nearly 50% cut in our mortgage as a worthy trade off.
The first year here was fine, though the lack of hunting was tough. I didn’t have anywhere to put an extra car, so I felt severely cramped. My wife is in real estate and put the feelers out to other agents looking to find a single car garage rental. We were lucky enough to find a month-to-month single car spot less than a mile from the house - easily walkable. Initial problem solved.
The next problem was the missing space to store my tools - table saw, miter saw, lawn equipment, etc. To resolve that, I designed and built a lean-to shed on the back of our current garage. Problem #2 solved.
With the extra garage rental, I was able to continue to hunt. I’m a German car fanatic and lean mostly toward 80s and 90s BMWs. My brother is much more mechanically-inclined than I am - I mostly love working on resurrecting the interiors and exteriors from a cosmetic perspective. And last year, I landed a holy grail car for me - a ’94 BMW 850CSi - one of 225 made. Long story short - I found it at a BMW dealer who didn’t quite know what they had. I did a refurbishment and sold it for many multiples of what I paid. Quite possibly the first car sale win I’ve ever experienced.
That sale lead some heavy hunting - cash in hand. After a couple car purchases, I was bursting at the seams. So last November I signed a lease on a small warehouse space near my house. Just a little over 800 square feet, room for storage and a short drive from the house made it a dream come true. It truly was my GarageMahal.
Within a couple months, I realized the only thing better than my current setup would be to bring that same experience to the house. Initially I was skeptical, because I have tried every iteration of garage expansion at the house. Every project hit a dead end. But I jumped head first into Chief Architect to try and design something that would fit the bill. Ultimately I settled on a design that would involve me removing the current shed, and replace it with a new garage and attached shed.
There would be a 9 foot opening on the right side of our current garage that would lead to an 880 square foot garage/shop. We’d add a side drive (too little setback to do a side garage) for parking our oldest son’s car. The shed would be built onto the side of the new garage, replacing the space lost by removing the old shed.
In the new structure, I dreamed of a roll-up door that would lead to our back patio. During nice days, I could be working in the garage with fresh air flowing in. When we have people over, I could roll up the door and invite people into the space.
After settling on a design, I sought to find a builder who would take on the project. After a few false starts, I decided to use a builder whose own workshop is two garage doors doors down from my GarageMahal. He’s also a car guy, so it’s not uncommon for us to share a few beers in my current rental, talking about what’s coming and going. As the months pass by, the garage keeps filling up with German goodness.
Fast forward - as of yesterday, the permit application has been officially filed with the city. The hope is that in a week or so, we’ll be fully permitted and can start digging.
Here are some shots of the architectural drawings:
The end result will be a 34x24 garage with a dual zone mini split covering the existing garage and the new space. 12' ceilings. A 6x19 shed will be attached - with a 3 foot roll-up door connecting the two. I’ll also have an 8 foot roll up door that’ll lead out to the patio. Lots of LED lighting, 4 in-ceiling speakers, all my car detailing tools and accessories - it should make for a fun and comfortable space.
I bought a drone to document the build process and took a few initial shots the other day.
And for those that are similarly afflicted with car disease, here is the current fleet - some of which will be sold to fund the new space
1972 Ford F250 (Big Green)
1978 Porsche 911 Targa
1988 BMW 325i Convertible
1988 BMW 535iS
1991 BMW M5
1991 BMW 850i (6-speed)
1999 BMW M Coupe
1999 M3 Convertible
2016 BMW 330i Sports Wagon
I hope everyone enjoys this build. I’ll be documenting the process daily once we start - which should only be a few weeks away now. I may also share various car projects I’m working on as they happen.
And lastly - if you have a must-have garage accessory - something you couldn’t live without - feel free to share it here.
More as it happens …
My story is no different. And I hope the writing of my history, and documentation of the upcoming garage build will provide some therapy.
I love cars. This much I can admit. My dad would always take my twin brother and I around the car lots after church on Sundays growing up - I think mainly to entertain us while my mom attended the service. Cars were an easy distraction. So my twin and I - last of seven kids - grew up dreaming of Karman Ghia’s in the driveway - something to love on - something to improve.
As adulthood came - I was fortunate enough to always have at least two spaces in each garage and finally graduated to an oversized three car in my mid-30s. That allowed me to always have a “fun” car - and started me down a path of always hunting for something. We’ve always moved through cars quickly but having one extra space unlocked a side of me that truly was hungry for the hunt. In my first 15 years of marriage, my wife and I had 50 cars come through our life. In the last few, I’ve just stopped counting. Yes, I’m diseased.
About three years ago, we decided to move across town and utilize other passions of mine - house renovation and woodworking. We were moving out of a new construction custom home we designed, into a golf course lot home that needed some work. We love that process, so we jumped right in. My wife’s biggest concern for me was the missing extra spot - yep, going from three to two was enough to make her worried. I saw the nearly 50% cut in our mortgage as a worthy trade off.
The first year here was fine, though the lack of hunting was tough. I didn’t have anywhere to put an extra car, so I felt severely cramped. My wife is in real estate and put the feelers out to other agents looking to find a single car garage rental. We were lucky enough to find a month-to-month single car spot less than a mile from the house - easily walkable. Initial problem solved.
The next problem was the missing space to store my tools - table saw, miter saw, lawn equipment, etc. To resolve that, I designed and built a lean-to shed on the back of our current garage. Problem #2 solved.
With the extra garage rental, I was able to continue to hunt. I’m a German car fanatic and lean mostly toward 80s and 90s BMWs. My brother is much more mechanically-inclined than I am - I mostly love working on resurrecting the interiors and exteriors from a cosmetic perspective. And last year, I landed a holy grail car for me - a ’94 BMW 850CSi - one of 225 made. Long story short - I found it at a BMW dealer who didn’t quite know what they had. I did a refurbishment and sold it for many multiples of what I paid. Quite possibly the first car sale win I’ve ever experienced.
That sale lead some heavy hunting - cash in hand. After a couple car purchases, I was bursting at the seams. So last November I signed a lease on a small warehouse space near my house. Just a little over 800 square feet, room for storage and a short drive from the house made it a dream come true. It truly was my GarageMahal.
Within a couple months, I realized the only thing better than my current setup would be to bring that same experience to the house. Initially I was skeptical, because I have tried every iteration of garage expansion at the house. Every project hit a dead end. But I jumped head first into Chief Architect to try and design something that would fit the bill. Ultimately I settled on a design that would involve me removing the current shed, and replace it with a new garage and attached shed.
There would be a 9 foot opening on the right side of our current garage that would lead to an 880 square foot garage/shop. We’d add a side drive (too little setback to do a side garage) for parking our oldest son’s car. The shed would be built onto the side of the new garage, replacing the space lost by removing the old shed.
In the new structure, I dreamed of a roll-up door that would lead to our back patio. During nice days, I could be working in the garage with fresh air flowing in. When we have people over, I could roll up the door and invite people into the space.
After settling on a design, I sought to find a builder who would take on the project. After a few false starts, I decided to use a builder whose own workshop is two garage doors doors down from my GarageMahal. He’s also a car guy, so it’s not uncommon for us to share a few beers in my current rental, talking about what’s coming and going. As the months pass by, the garage keeps filling up with German goodness.
Fast forward - as of yesterday, the permit application has been officially filed with the city. The hope is that in a week or so, we’ll be fully permitted and can start digging.
Here are some shots of the architectural drawings:
The end result will be a 34x24 garage with a dual zone mini split covering the existing garage and the new space. 12' ceilings. A 6x19 shed will be attached - with a 3 foot roll-up door connecting the two. I’ll also have an 8 foot roll up door that’ll lead out to the patio. Lots of LED lighting, 4 in-ceiling speakers, all my car detailing tools and accessories - it should make for a fun and comfortable space.
I bought a drone to document the build process and took a few initial shots the other day.
And for those that are similarly afflicted with car disease, here is the current fleet - some of which will be sold to fund the new space
1972 Ford F250 (Big Green)
1978 Porsche 911 Targa
1988 BMW 325i Convertible
1988 BMW 535iS
1991 BMW M5
1991 BMW 850i (6-speed)
1999 BMW M Coupe
1999 M3 Convertible
2016 BMW 330i Sports Wagon
I hope everyone enjoys this build. I’ll be documenting the process daily once we start - which should only be a few weeks away now. I may also share various car projects I’m working on as they happen.
And lastly - if you have a must-have garage accessory - something you couldn’t live without - feel free to share it here.
More as it happens …
