Building onto your home is never a simple task. I spoke with 6 different builders when trying to retrofit out house to move my mother into it. Initially we started with the biggest of plans, adding a full mother-in-law suite. After months of contemplation we decided to convert our basement into a mother-in-law suite and build a garage to accommodate
my home business and provide temporary storage. We also wanted to build a multiuse space that could later be used for a master suite or apartment, positioning the garage on our lot so it could later be attached to the house.
 |
| Our complete garage arrives on a big flatbed truck. |
I was interested in a prefab building for a host of reasons but finding one that built garages in our area proved to be limited. Local builders wanted to build the shell and finish the interior. I finally found several prefab shed builders that framed unfinished garages, a perfect fit for our needs as we wanted to finish the interior ourselves. A big benefit to prefab construction is that on-site construction time is significantly less than traditional stick building. Pre-constructed walls and roofing were assembled in a warehouse and transported, streamlining the process. Our new prefab garage was erected in an amazing 2.5 days! No waste, no mess, and no workers at your house for months or even years.
 |
| If you're afraid of heights, this job is not for you. |
Working with a company located in Pennsylvania five hours away was a little scary. I could only read online reviews and hope the company was truly legitimate. Making down payments over the phone and not receiving any product in return was unnerving. Some days I wondered if I was the biggest sucker in the world. Fortunately, we ended up with an amazing structurally sound garage, just as promised!
 |
| Foundation work by George Payne our concrete expert. |
The majority of my work for this project was in planning. I had to fit the structure on the lot properly, find a concrete company, come up with the design, and convey the details accurately to Mark, my patient Sales Rep at
Sheds Unlimited. I acted as the General Contractor so had to submit details to the county to get a building permit, which ended up being much easier than it sounds. Thankfully, our county does not have layers of requirements and the staff was always available to answer any questions.
 |
| AJ, Elmer, & David, our builders + our new darling garage! |
When the builders arrived, it was totally in their hands to be competent enough to construct the garage. Hauling in large equipment, tools, walls, trusses, shingles, boards, trim, a dumpster, and a generator on one monster flatbed was incredible. Working from sun up to sun down is not an exaggeration. We had a few materials missing from the order and even after working 12 hour days, the guys made it to Lowe's to pick up the missing items. Extreme workers but they completed each process with ease and calm.
 |
| Loading up to leave with a lot less stuff! |
We adore our new cottage garage and thank everyone at Sheds Unlimited that helped this become a reality; Mark, Austin, Gideon, AJ, Elmer, and David (plus a few shop elves).
We have a long road ahead as we'll be installing gutters, electric, insulation, drywall, trim and flooring ourselves and one day we hope to attach it to our house. Being big DIYers, this is what we call "fun" here.
This blog post is the second in a series,
Finding a Place for Mom.
~Rebecca
