"Garage Apartment"

Construction fun is about to begin again!

Over the weekend, I have been sketching plans for a garage apartment I have been wanting to do for almost a year now. I currently have a one car detached garage, which over the many years has developed a large crack, well more so a crevasse, as one side has sunk. The original shake singles are so on their way out, they have been flying away in the wind we have had recently.

I will tear it down, as its needs to welcome a two car garage with an apartment above! Chicka chicka ya ya!

I've gone through all the zoning layouts to find out I'm in an RF2 zone. I've gone through the regulations for RF2 and Mature Neighbourhoods. I have determined the rules for building an accessory building, distances for side, rear, and from house setbacks, the minimum slope of roof, the need to minimize overlook into neighbours yards, that I need 3 parking spaces, that it cannot be taller than my house, and that because I am next to an apartment building R8 zone, I am the only lot that can actually have a garage apartment. Sweet!

Given all of the above, we had thought I could get away with a 24x26, a decent size. However, to my dismay, there was one more regulation we had to calculate, and by we, I mean my handy dandy contractor.

Turns out the accessory building can only we a max of 12% of my site. With the calculations, that means I can only build a 20x24 garage, meaning only 435 sq ft! So sketch and decision number one went out the window and more sketches and decision number two was made over the weekend.

This is what I have come up with:

The height and size were the major restrictions. If I had a two storey house, the garage height would not be an issue. To keep under 21 ft, a minimum roof slope of 4:12 with a 24 ft wide garage, 8 ft height in garage minimum, I am able to achieve a height of 8 ft in the apartment and with a fancy "cross gable roof" I won't have a sloped roof on two sides, just 6 ft height in the four sloped corners. Plus the gable roof mimics my house. I sent off my sketch to my contractor to have made into real plans. Yippee!!

I'm hoping it's all do-able and that the sizing is liveable. I took out my measuring tape a lot this weekend, and actually measured within my bedroom and living area according to what sizing I had planned and it seems pretty good. I even googled the average size of a queen bed and know that at least a queen will fit with dressers in a 9 x 14 room. I tried to keep the plumbing as close together as possible as my contractor reminded me it's cheaper that way. So my small apartment will be European in a sense, as the stackable laundry will be in the kitchen. Oh Europe, how you know how to do small spaces. 

FYI: New found sweet website http://freshome.com/ rocks my socks.

Soon I'll be able to pick out flooring, appliances, and bathroom fixtures. I can't wait!!!!

Though next will be getting permits and approval to build. 

Fingers crossed!

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I want to live in this apartment!

That's the point I suppose. I want it to be somewhere I would want to live.