Garage detachment, Part 5

Once we settled on a location for the garage, the final decision we had to make was the design. Did we want one or two doors for the cars? How many other normal sized doors and windows? What did we want on top-- pull down stairs or walk-up? Unfinished storage space or full-fledged living quarters? The door issue was easy; we thought a two-car-door style looked nicer, and we sprinkled a couple of windows around the sides and a door leading to the walkway to the gazebo. But the height/top issue was trickier. Mindful of our neighbor Jane's objections to the massive garage being built on the other side of her, as well as the exponentially growing cost of this project, I advocated a bare bones garage, as short as possible, with minimal or even no storage space on top. I figured we had enough storage with our unfinished basement.

Jonathan, though, had other ideas. He argued that if we were going to spend this much money on the renovation, we might as well "do it right" and have "everything we need for the future." He pointed out that if we finished the space above the garage we could use it as another guest room for some hoped-for future day when the kids were coming back to visit with hoped-for lots of grandkids in tow. He also pointed out that a garage apartment could serve as a useful transition space for our son, Isaac, who has Asperger's syndrome (mild autism). Isaac is doing very well in school, and we are optimistic about his future, but it could well be that he decides to stay at home for college, and a place of his own above the garage could be a good way of helping him gradually achieve independence. And looking very far down the road into our old age, Jon and I have every intention of remaining in this house for the rest of our lives, and a garage apartment could be helpful if and when we need live-in help.

So of course I couldn't argue with that reasoning, so we told Wagner to change the plans once again (the man has been *very* patient with us throughout the entire planning process, and whenever we apologize for changing our minds he merely smiles patiently, if somewhat wearily, and says "it's better to make the changes on paper than after the concrete has been poured."). There was one little snag, though, which is that our city zoning requirements don't allow for garage apartments. Instead, there is a "one appliance" rule. You can have a bathroom and shower, and a place for a bed, but you can only have one appliance: a dishwasher, say, but not a stove; or a refrigerator but no dishwasher. We figure that whoever ends up using this space (guests, Isaac, or whoever) could probably get by using a microwave and washing dishes by hand, so we're opting for a refrigerator as our single appliance.

But because of the zoning rules, we can't call it an "apartment." Let's just say it's a "study" or "extra guest quarters" instead. ;-)