A brief detour.

After spending a month researching the local building codes, I had a plan for how I was going to build this garage. I had two problems to contend with. The first one was simple, the second took a bolder solution.

My first problem was that my Firebird was sitting comfortably next to the house with the engine in a non-running state. It needed a place to go and the means to get there. I had purchased a large vacant lot next door a few years previous and just needed to rent a trailer to get it there. I live on a hill so I pulled the trailer up behind it and pushed the car downhill. It took a couple tries to get the car set perfectly but in a few minutes it was right where I needed it.




The second problem was that I had no back yard. The slope behind my house was so great that the grass never grew back there in the three years since we had moved in. If I was going to remedy this, it had to be done now. Once the garage was up, there would be no acess to the back of the house. I called around and found an excavator that could do the job I wanted and we got it done. 300 yards of dirt were removed from the back and side of the house to prepare for the garage. Now I was set to build.







Finding the right time as well as the financing was difficult and resulted in selling off the vacant lot next door. The buyer understood that the two vehicles on the lot would be moved as soon as the garage was finished. I finished the garage to my plans except timeline. I had expected to finish in three months and then move the car. The build took six months, and I didn't get to move the car until January 2007.



Moving day was exciting and Julie took the photos. I was lost in the moment and was beyond operating a camera. I had to wipe away a couple tears as I realized that my car was finally home under it's own roof after all these years. Now it was time for cleaning and inspecting the damage that all that time had caused.