This Odd House

The designer/contractor I have been working with put the latest plans together, included the recommendations from the structural engineer, and submitted them again to the city. The garage ceiling was now at 10-feet, zero-inches (depending on where you measured it against the sloping floor), and we thought this would be the end of it; a building permit would surely follow.

But having met the prime objection, there were now further restrictions on the books that could be brought to bear on this project. I have a broad paved area in front of the garage where vehicles can be parked, when not actually inside. But the “curb cut” makes about a third of the area ineffective. It is hard to actually position and park a vehicle in that space. To alleviate the issue, we planned a widened driveway, to allow cars to pull up to the full width of the garage.

This triggered a rash of violations.  Driveways (and the curb cut into them) may not be wider than a two-car garage, about 20 feet. Further, if we were doing any work on the driveway at all, it would need to be modified for a “grassy median strip” separating it from the alley. My disintegrating asphalt driveway had become the next obstacle to the project.

Rather than navigate these new restrictions on driveways, my builder wisely chose to simply exclude the driveway from the project. No changes to the driveway were included in the plan, so whatever its current state, code-compliant or not, legal or illegal, it would be accepted, since it was not in the plan under consideration.

The city rejected the garage plans.  The ceiling was too high.  Placing wide windows above a service door using standard construction practices, resulted in the top plate being above the city limit of 10-feet, zero-inches.

I wasn’t ready to give up on my high windows. I have learned what an impact natural light makes in a room, having converted a former chimney into a skylight that transformed the space in our upstairs kitchen and living area. 

But standard construction practice is based on conservative, rule of thumb materials and techniques, developed over the years to assure adequate structural integrity with a minimum of expense, including design expense. It works well for the general construction industry. It is also an interesting concept integrated into the engineering of buildings and structures in general.  There is what’s called a “margin of ignorance” factored into the design. This is for safety reasons. Material properties and environmental conditions are not always what was assumed during the design, and so a margin is provided.

The margin of ignorance is contained in the spirit of the residential building code conventions, but can become an unnecessary constraint. Take, for example, my case. I would like to install windows that have six-foot spans. Normally, this would demand a 12-inch header beam above it, to distribute the load around it to the sides of the window. And this is what the conventional building code would require.

But in this case, there is no load. The side walls of the garage are not load-bearing. There is no roof weight, and consequently no snow-load weight on these walls.  A 12-inch header is way overkill. Five inches will do fine. Other beams could be downsized as well. And I completed the calculations to confirm it. I was able to fit my windows in over the door and meet the ten-foot maximum ceiling requirement.

My design calculations are not sufficient for the city however. It struck me as a bit odd that the city building code officials were not structural engineers; isn’t that what they are there for? To review the designs that are submitted for structural integrity and the safety of our citizens?

Evidently not. But that doesn’t preclude them from approving, or not, the structural calculations of others, and so my design for snow loads, torques, shears, and stresses would not be accepted.  It had to come from a certified professional structural engineer.

I attempted to get my nephew, a civil engineer furiously studying for his PE (professional engineer) exam to use my garage as a practice problem. He wisely chose to defer the exercise. It wouldn’t have worked anyway. He would have reached the same results, but he didn’t yet have the credentials to convince the city.

Instead (via Angies List!) I was fortunate to find a local structural engineering firm that takes on both large and small projects. I submitted my design for a proper structural review, and with a few modifications, obtained a plan that should satisfy the most critical city planner.

I will be able to enjoy the clerestory windows after all!

Garage Framing Review Package – 14152

I live in Minneapolis. There is a vigilant city planning department that ensures that construction and development meets the codes that have evolved to prevent fire hazards, health risks and other zoning ordinances. I am entirely in support of communities managed by such concerns, even if it is expensive to obtain the requisite building permits.

It turns out that there are rules and regulations on the nature of “auxiliary structures” (garages and storage sheds) that may be built in my part of the city. The most basic limits pertain to the floor area and height of the building.

I have come up with a design that called for 24×36 = 864 square feet, but the city ordinance on garages sets a limit at 676. I suspect this is a number derived from the fact that a city lot is typically 40’ x 128’ and we don’t want oversize garages to dominate our neighborhood or to be available to nascent rock bands or technology company startups.

And because I want high windows (above the garage door), the height of the structure may exceed the 16-foot limit specified by the ordinance.

I don’t make the rules; I just have to live by them. There is an escape clause however. For a fee, the city planners will review my plans and decide if an exception can be made. If I agree that the style and finish of the garage will match the main structure, I may be allowed to expand the floor area.

With my construction contractor, we will be making such an appeal. Included will be a few references to the garages in my immediate neighborhood. Take the tour (next post).

I recently installed storm doors at This Odd House. From the beginning, I felt like there was something missing at our entries, and during the spring and fall seasons I realized it was that I could not open the doors to let the light and neighborhood view into the house; there was no glass or screen outer door!

After this last long cold winter, feeling the polar air sneaking in under the thresholds, and seeing the interior glass panes of the doors ice over, I realized this was another item that needed attention. But of course I would have certain requirements for it.

In addition to the trapping of an insulating air layer, I wanted an outer door that would provide a contemporary clear open view. And it should be secure. When the main door is open, the storm door should hold its own against the occasional (hopefully rare) passerby that might find the view into our home a tempting exercise of opportunity (remember This Odd House was a former corner store, and is positioned only a few feet from the sidewalks).

I found such a door in the Anderson 4000 series; it is classified as a “security door”, an unusual claim for the normally lightweight aluminum outer doors installed in our region of the country, especially since it is mostly open—it has no steel bars or grill. It does however have tempered safety glass, and when the lock is fully set, there are three separate latches that engage with the frame and door jamb. I can now open the main doors and feel content and safe while enjoying the open view.

There is a hazard with large glass surfaces however. On commercial buildings, glass walls are hazards to birds, which do not see them, but instead see the reflections of sky and clouds and will often fly full speed into them, to their instant demise.

At our human scale and velocities, the risk is not so much the reflections in the glass as it is their transparency. Here is a picture of our new glass door, from inside. It offers a great view to the neighbor’s house across the street. But what is that odd blur in the center?

And if we focus on the window, it shows this:

Here is a closer look. What is this?

Well, it is the recording of a human impact on the front door. My nephew Atlas visited us last week, and after saying his goodbyes and departing, shortly came back to retrieve a forgotten item. Not unlike the birds who see sky and clouds during the day, at night he saw open access to the house, and walked directly into the glass door, his face leaving a diffuse mark on its surface.

We are often advised to take effort to make a good first impression. Atlas made a great last impression.

I am about to build a workshop, but in reality I don’t really know what a workshop is.  I have spent much of my life engaged in various activities involving tools and fabrication, but not in any disciplined organized way.  I have used the space available, and acquired tools as needed, but often I have relied on others to provide key components, or the use of specialized equipment to make the things I am trying to create.

I contemplated how my use of tools has evolved.  It is an interesting list of observations:

—  In earlier days my workshop was a darkroom.  Today I make photographs with digital cameras, computers, and inkjet printers.

— In earlier days I designed and built my own computers.  Today computers are commodities.

— In (much) earlier days I did woodworking.  Today I wonder how modern woodworking tools are used.

— Some projects required tools I didn’t possess.  It was a great excuse to acquire them.  Eventually, a project wasn’t deemed significant unless it involved a new tool.

— Throughout my life, I have always been willing to spend money on books and tools.  It is rare that I have regretted any of these expenses.  They are the things that leverage us, “the things that make us smart”.

The renovation of This Odd House has been a means to improve some of my home maintenance craft, but to also witness and admire the skills of professional carpenters, plumbers, and electricians.  I will not reach their level, but I can still enjoy the pride in making useful things from raw materials.

And having a space in which to do so seems like a good first step.  So what is the best way to design and organize a workshop annex of a garage?

My son is a “maker” who takes on creative projects building things out of simpler, atomic elements.   He knows me well from a lifetime of exposure, and he hints that it is not so much the making of things, as it is the design of things, that I am most interested in.

And maybe he is right.  It might not be the making of the workshop, as it is the design of it that drives me.  Either way, if there is a workshop to be built, it must be designed, so what should go into it?

I am not in the “woodworking community”, but such a thing exists.  And I know several colleagues who are members.  I visited one of them who has taken on the ultimate of maker projects—building his own house.  He showed me his workshop (itself a work in progress as he finishes his home), the tools he uses, and offered tips on how to organize a workshop.

I also investigated workshop design case studies and plans offered on the internet.  There is a broad range of such things, from small basement rooms to expansive dedicated buildings.  I tried to digest it all and identify the things that would be relevant to me.

Among the items that seemed important:  access, space (including doors to bring in sheets of plywood), and power for a table saw. Power outlets for other tools like miter saws, drill presses, jointers.  A work bench.  Vacuum systems for exhausting sawdust.  Ventilation.  Adequate lighting.  Storage space for materials.

All of this resulted in designing an auxiliary area that would be half-again the size of the basic double garage, making it 24’ x 36’.  I could put an additional overhead door in front of this area, making it essentially a triple garage if one wanted to use it as such.  It would be an enhancement to my property value.  What’s not to like?

His workshop in progress as my friend Loren builds his new house.

Some people in the position of having to replace a garage would seek the most efficient solution:  a garage kit, a standard partially pre-fabricated structure that could be constructed at minimal expense and provide perfectly adequate protection for cars and lawn tools.

But where’s the pleasure in that?  To me, this seems like it would miss out on a great design opportunity.  If I have to incur the cost of building a garage, well then, I want to get something more out of it than just a nondescript roof over my car.

Maybe this is the difference between seeing something as an unpleasant necessity or as a life opportunity.   For example, one can see calling the drain-clearing service when your sewer backs up as a pure expense, or you can see it as an opportunity to watch a skilled professional operate a remote sewer camera to find the obstructing tree roots at an improperly joined pipe and prescribe the exact procedure to solve the problem.  And then watch as the backhoe slices the power to the entire neighborhood.  (It was all great adventure, and worth it).

So now that I will be designing a custom garage to suit my purpose, just exactly what is my purpose?  I sat down to write down what I thought should be included:

1.  Space for two cars, one of them a VW Eurovan.  Oh, and a motorcycle.

2.  Space for yard tools, ladders, and bicycles.

3.  Space for garbage and recycling bins.

In a previous home, I had a garage that accommodated this, all in a 24’ x 24’ footprint.  But it was pretty full.  There was room for storing sawhorses, but not much more:

4.  Space for a workshop with a workbench and woodworking tools like table saws and drill presses.  Storage for tools and materials.

5.  Adequate power.  This means a subpanel from the main house, or a completely separate line to the garage.

6.  Heating and ventilation.  Garages are notorious for being too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.  Workshops and garages need ventilation to keep car and paint fumes and sawdust from accumulating.

And then there are things that matter:

7.  Lighting; natural if possible.  Windows (skylights?), and adequate workshop lighting is critical.

8.  EV-capable.  Part of the power requirements includes being able to charge an electric vehicle.  Another reason to have a dedicated power line.

9.  Solar panel-ready.  My rooftop solar-collection plan for the This Odd House has not worked out.  I have a south-facing exposure; the roof should be capable of supporting solar panels when the time is right.

10.  Security.  A garage is a mostly untended space.  It needs to be resistant to opportunists.

This last item deserves some comment.  In the time living here, I have had to adjust to a higher population density, which translates to more people looking for sources of income, or sources of destructive amusement.  I have mentioned the secondary recycling system by nighttime “scrappers”, but they are not the main concern.  I have had things taken from my car (most likely because I failed to lock it), and we have had the experience of arsonists in the neighborhood.  I installed a security camera to monitor the garage and alley.  It was stolen.  (Ironic, eh? The recording somehow stopped before the event).

I will be designing in features to help keep the garage secure.  The windows will be fixed to avoid breaking in, and high to avoid being able to see in.  Lights will be motion activated.  The doors will be solid and will have network-connected locks and sensors.   A curtain will conceal the shop tools when the garage door is open so passersby do not see anything more than cars and snow shovels.  The idea is to make it unattractive to thieves and vandals, a harder and more exposed target than some other, more vulnerable garage down the alley (sorry, neighbor).

plan view

It has been half a year or more since my last posting on the renovation of This Odd House.  The After Party was the official endpoint, but of course as anyone who has taken on a major construction project knows, the project never is truly done.  It just makes a transition from the finishing punch list to ongoing home maintenance.

It is no different at TOH, the weekend chores always include a bit of finish work.  But the full renovation was never really completed, I just ran out of time and money.

The brutal winter has been hard on all of us, and also on my poor VW Eurovan, whose 6-1/2-foot profile prevented it from taking cover in the garage.  The garage doors are too short to admit my van, but it protects Portia’s compact car, at the risk of possible roof collapse under the snowload.

The garage has shown increasing signs of such a risk.  The ridgeline sags, the frost heaves have created crevasses in the concrete floor that buckle and widen each year.  The walls are gradually spreading apart, causing the garage doors to bind in their tracks and their handles to miss the latch.  This garage is an avalanche waiting to happen.

A double garage, but my Eurovan cannot enter.

I have always had a desire for a nice workshop.  This Odd House provides me with studio and project space, but the basement, with its low ceilings and restricted area, is really only suitable for storage and boilers; not so much for woodworking or larger scale projects.

This suggests a plan: replace the dilapidated garage with an entirely new structure, one that can accommodate two cars and have some additional space for a workshop.  After the challenges of renovating a century-old house, building a garage from scratch using modern construction techniques should be easy, right?

And what about the remaining unfinished sections of the house?  There is still work for the master bedroom and bath:  a cabinet under the sink, replace the bathroom carpet with tile (who would put carpet next to a bathtub?), replace the aged bedroom carpet with… something better.

The stairways were deliberately left in their prior worn and rough state so that the construction activity of hauling materials and tools up and down would take their toll before any new stairway surface is installed.   It is time to provide a proper finish to them.

Oh, and the doors leaked cold air the whole winter, shouldn’t we have storm doors?

And so begins the next phase of work on This Odd House- “Part Deux”

This Odd Cake

The most popular feature at the After Party was not the food or drink or photo albums or sixties nostalgia, it was the cake.

A cake is a feature of many celebrations, and I wanted something to mark this hat-trick event in my life, so I commissioned a custom cake to add whimsy: a cake in the shape of This Odd House.

I accidentally knew someone who decorates cakes as a profession; she was in the circle of my son’s friends, and so I approached her with this project and she took it on with gusto.

I provided some pictures, and she did the rest, creating a masterpiece of edible art.  The details she created were nothing short of amazing.  We consider this to be one of the most remarkable housewarming/birthday/wedding cakes ever created.

She is too modest to say so, but I will.  Every detail was represented, and every feature was edible.  The spicy chocolate roofing tiles, the glazed rice krispie vegetation, the colored windows and frames, the details of doors and decks, all was confection, the buttercream stucco frosting (it is NOT what you expect, it is delicious)!  She must have spent hours and hours creating this wonderful object.

I could not in clear conscience perform the ceremonial cutting of this cake, but she could.  Like a performance artist whose creations are temporal and fleeting, to be enjoyed by an audience, the cake was cut and consumed; it was delicious, and in the end, none remained.

Here are some pictures to remember that unique performance, including some construction photos.  Thank you Raquel!

I had promised an After Party when the renovation of This Odd House was complete.  It turned into a (happily ever) After Party, a date was set, and now I had a deadline for completing the project.

It helped focus my work this summer, though I am sorry to say that the renovation is not entirely completed.  But life is filled with tradeoffs, and the important items got finished, while the lower priority ones will end up in that endless punch list of “house maintenance”, the life sentence of Sisyphean tasks given to every homeowner.

I put that list off for a while; planning the After Party took priority, and I give most credit to Portia for anticipating what we needed before actually needing it, ordering food, drink, and decorations, renting party equipment (canopies, tables, chairs) and arranging visitor accommodations.  We had eager helpers for some tasks, specifically in the testing of champagne options, and willing helpers for everything else.  Good will was abundant among our family and friends for this event.

The original concept of an After Party was to invite back the attendees of the Before Party, about forty.  When it became a birthday party, more friends and family were invited.  And when it then included a wedding ceremony, an even larger circle of people were added to the list.

Expecting that many would be unable to attend, we felt confident that  we could host this larger party, but as the date approached, we discovered that nearly everyone would be coming!  Now we needed to worry about the capacity of This Odd Backyard to accommodate them all and what we would do in the case of bad weather.

We never had a credible backup plan, so it was a relief to watch the forecast evolve from 80% chance of precipitation and thunderstorms a week prior, to 0% at moderate temperature under sunny skies as the day arrived.

The house and yard was decorated to a sixties theme:  tie dye and psychedelic day glow, daisies and flower power, Peter Max posters, and Beatles music.

I prepared a TOH After Party program, something of a self-guided tour, for attendees so that they would know what they were seeing and what to expect.  On the back I listed the things that had been done, on a room by room basis, during the renovation of the previous year.  I had to use a small font.

It was wonderful to have such a show of love and friendship.  I appreciated everyone coming, and as usual, regretted that I could not spend as much time with each person as I wanted.  We will have to invite everyone back, a few at a time, to properly thank them.

Here are a few photos from the After Party.  Much more can be found in some slide shows that were made after the event, but I think you get some of the feeling of the event from these…