[bennelson]

So here's the latest:

I have a weird lot.
They property is narrow and runs north and south. It used to be wider, but back in the 1960's a tiny local road got turned into a State Road, so everything was widened, making the property smaller.

Also, for whatever reason, I have TWO tax keys, one for the front part of the property, one for the back. I have to get that changed before I can build a garage.

In the last couple of months, I've been turning in forms, paperwork, and permitting.

I attended a town planning commission meeting, and they had no problem with me rebuilding my garage. It was a pretty straight-forward meeting.

Next, I had to attend a County meeting. I wouldn't be able to build my garage for 3 reasons - too close to lot line, too high of "building to lot ratio", and too tall of a building. The County planner makes a recommendation to the board, which can include exemptions for hardship.

The recommendation was to allow exemptions for being too close to the lot line. (That's where the garage and driveway already are, where else are you going to put them?) an exemption for "building to lot" (house has no basement or attic, etc.), but NOT to allow an exemption for for height.

Although I have several neighbors with two story garages, I would only be allowed to have a garage with a peak of no more than 18'. I pleaded before the board for a couple more feet, as my house is 5' BELOW the road (it's steeply downhill from the road to the garage or house.) and the road has a HIGHLY unusual setback, because it was a State Road, which recently was converted to a local road, yet retained the wider right of way. In my area, a building can be taller the farther it is in from a lot line. If it was a local road with a regular right of way, I could be allowed to have a higher roof line.

I wanted the higher roof for three reasons:
1) A steeper roof would match the angle of the house, therefore match and look nicer.
2) It would allow for an upstairs "storage area". This would NOT be a habitable area, and couldn't have a permanent staircase, but it could have a fold-down staircase, similar to what many people have for attic access. In reality, it could be used as an above garage home-office.
3) Steeper is better for solar. In my area, a 40-45 degree angle is ideal. Also, steeper helps snow melt off and slide away, instead of blocking the sunlight.

In the "public comments" part of the hearing, one guy in the crowd, who I didn't know, said basically, "Come on guys, let him have his solar roof!". One of the board members agreed that solar panels mounted flat on a roof (instead of on an angled rack) look much better.

After it was back to "board only discussion" (i.e., I'm not allowed to speak anymore) one of the board members, who didn't speak a single word when discussion was going on, said "I don't see why he doesn't just put the panels somewhere else in the yard. That was after I already had spoken on where all the shade trees in the yard are..... *Sigh* Some people don't get the concept that you need to put solar panels in the sun....

So, what it comes down to is that I am most of the way through getting all the permissions to build the garage, I can't build it quite as tall as I would like, but I can build a pretty good size - up to 27 feet wide by 29 feet deep. (It's currently 22'x22') So, that means I have enough extra width to now park my riding lawn mower INSIDE the new garage and enough extra depth for storage, workbenches, tools, and storage.

In general, I am planning for heated hydronic floor. Since I am building a new slab anyways, how can I NOT put in some PEX? I'd have foam under and around the slab, and insulation between the garage slab and concrete apron that would conned the garage to the blacktop driveway.

Planning on a metal roof. I really like the idea of it lasting longer, and being 100% recyclable when it's all worn out. Probably standing seam, because there are those cool little clamps that let you clamp solar panels right on there.

Solar panels - I'm planning on putting on as many PV solar panels on the roof as I can. What isn't yet clear is the setbacks from the two sides and the peak of the roof. I'm shooting for a 5 kilowatt grid-tie system.
A 5K system should produce 6,000 kWh per year, or about 500kwh per month. In the last year, my house has used anywhere from 207 to 444 kWh per month, averaging about 367 Kwh per month.

Theoretically, a 5K grid-tie solar system should produce, on average, about 150 kWh per month MORE than what the house uses. That much electricity could push an electric car up to 500 miles, or well over 1000 miles on an electric motorcycle.

General construction of the garage would be typical stud construction, cement board siding, and fiberglass insulation. My father is a general contractor and already orders and builds with these materials on a regular basis.

For heat, I would ideally like to go with electric, as the solar panels can create electricity, but not natural gas or firewood or any other source of heat. I'm not sure exactly what's out there for appropriate electric water heaters or boilers. I've also looked at mini-split air-source heat pumps. They are more efficient that resistive heaters (pulling heat from the air, instead of just creating it from electric resistance) and they can also do air-conditioning, which would be nice to have if I am using the upstairs as an office space. (Gets hot and humid here in the summer. Are there any affordable heat pump systems to rig to a heated slab setup?

Here's a few photos for you.
Mostly, these are just so you can see the general condition of the garage. There have been times where I've worked on a car and dropped a tool, and it would roll and disappear into a crack in the floor.






This is a sketch from a few years back for a proposed septic tank. It's a good sketch for just showing the general house/garage/lot line.


Below shows the lot lines as best I can, drawing them in in blue. Notice that the garage is on two lot lines. (Well, technically tax plot lines...) Also, take a look at the shadows from the evergreens on the east side of the property. They are pretty tall trees and throw a long shadow. This photo is from early afternoon. Notice how the shadow of the pine tree by the garage extends to the north of the garage. In the morning, it completely blocks the sun.


This image is from Google Maps. It appears to be from early spring, after the snow has melted, but before there are leaves on the trees. This is good because you can see the buildings well. I drew in where leaves are during the summer. Those are all Maples and make a big mess in the spring with helicopter seeds, and a big mess in the fall with leafs. Most of those trees are just on the west side of the property line, so they belong to my neighbor, but I'm downwind, and they block my solar access. (Although they do partially shade the house in the summer)
The garage is marked in red. The dark green circle below it represents a pine tree. It is as large as twenty feet across at the lowest branches. It's in exactly the wrong place for a solar garage. It will have to come down if I want solar panels. Otherwise, the roof of my garage doesn't see daylight 'til noon.


In response to some of the other comments, no, it would be extremely difficult to move the garage. It would be extremely impractical to attach it to the house - for example, the garage would then block half my windows, and I would have no front door! In fact, one of the limitations on the building is that no part of it can be within 10 feet of my house!

Yes, I do need some very bothersome permits irregardless of whether it is technically New vs a Remodel.

In other thoughts. I'm also thinking that the garage will NOT have windows. My current garage has small windows, which end up being completely blocked by shelves and storage anyways. In that case, I'd rather have well insulated walls. The upstairs would have a small window on either end, for light and ventilation. This also matches the style of the upstairs of the house.

I guess it was also so obvious that I didn't mention it, but on the new garage, the sloped roof will face north and south, whereas it faces east and west right now.