Remember over a month ago when I shared the design plans for our upcoming garage build? I thought that we would be done by now and I’d have some nice photos to show, but that is not the case! Our garage construction progress has been stop-and-go stop-and-go… Let me catch you up to what’s happened and what’s left to do!
I feel like we’re so close to being finished… but also so far! We knew we would have to build a garage when we bought the house, so tried to start on that as quick as possible.
(You know, once the permits/construction had opened again from COVID closures).
Alright, so last time I chatted about our garage design plans, I shared that we were waiting for the concrete to be poured. Make sure to follow my Instagram Garage Highlight/Stories to get updates as they happen :)
That happened the last week of July. We had left that day to run some errands in Sudbury, and came home with everything complete :)
This was probably the most fun part for the kids/dog since they could now walk “through” the garage.
We had a bunch of materials delivered in the next few days, and were ready to go!
Garage Construction in a Weekend
Luckily, we had a crew scheduled for that weekend! The Husband estimates we saved a lot of money by doing this work “sort of ourselves”. By that I mean, we had handy friends/family members come work (along with our contractor to direct everything).
They built the walls complete (framing, and sheathing together) then started on assembling the roof.
We bought a truss package, meaning that the trusses were already pre-designed and assembled. (We just had to attach them.)
Essentially, the walls go up into place, then you put the built roof section on top and continue the roof from there.
I like the photo above because it’s like the Husband is Atlas, holding the weight of the world… ha!
We had about half of the garage up by the end of the first day and continued work to get the rest of the shell assembled.
I believe the additional roof trusses were then added individually, and it sort of comes together quickly from there.
By the end of the second day, they had the whole structure pretty much done.
It definitely looked like a garage now, and all our neighbours commented how quickly it had gone up.
And I feel like it’s been slow ever since :(
(Although, maybe it was my mistake thinking it would be that fast for the rest of it…).
Continuing the Garage Construction
From there, the contractor’s crew came back during the week to get the roof on and shingled, install the windows, wrap the house, etc.
The photo above shows the slow/step down from various parts of the yard (going into the backyard). We need to address this zone before we get snow!
On the other side of our yard, you can see some of the mess that was leftover from the construction process. (You can sort of see the raised gardens too).
After the roof/windows/doors were in, I felt like this was the longest wait period. We had to wait for the siding and the garage door to come in.
The siding did come, but it was the wrong material and I sent it back. I wanted a 6″ horizontal profile, and unfortunately, it was discontinued :( The 4″ was the next thickest option, so that’s what I went with.
Spoiler alert – the siding has finally been installed! (You can see a sneak peek in the last photo). They had wanted to do everything all at once (siding, door, electrical) but we urged them to come in anyways (minus the door).
The photos above show the inside of the garage (before the electrical went in). As of right now, we’re waiting for that inspection (2 more weeks!) AND the garage door…
Where We’re Headed
For reference, I had ordered the door the last week of July (when we put the concrete in). I was told it would take 2 weeks to build, one week for delivery. Each time I’ve called, they’ve assured me “it will be here next week”.
We’re at 6 weeks if you’re counting!
We also didn’t anticipate that the electrical inspection would take so long to book. We’re in a small town, and I thought that they came every other week. BUT apparently, they only come twice per month, and with this month having 5 weeks, we’re on a weird extra-long wait.
In the meantime, I’ve painted the side door and we sort of started to get the yard cleaned up. My original idea was to also get the driveway paved and redo the front walkway… but we might have to live with what we have for another winter.
As in, I called the asphalt company and they told me that there are over 50 people ahead of me and I’ll probably get my quote by the end of next summer. I put the Husband in charge of finding something else, so fingers crossed!
I hope I can share the complete “garage” before the end of the year, but it may be a while before everything else comes together… Oh and that also means that there won’t be other outdoor projects. Because it’s getting cold here and I’m worried about snow. Again, follow on Instagram for the up-to-date details.
Wish us luck!
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