Picture of the gable
Here is another picture
There is so much to talk about on this project…
First of all, the owner of the home is a terrific person, Rosemary and her husband Carl bought this beautiful home in Winchester, MA in 1964. In this home, they raised 7 children – many of whom live close by with their spouses and children. In fact, two of Rosemary’s grandchildren are my son’s college room mates and have been friends since 1st grade. So, we all know each other pretty well.
One thing Rosemary always wanted was a garage she could park her car in. A garage that could be heated in the winter so the car was not frozen when she walked to it. Rosemary very much wanted a garage, and she had the perfect place for it at the end of the driveway.
Design, faithful the main house
Don is Rosemary’s son and also happens to be a gifted architect. Don’s vision for this beautiful addition to this home was to make the garage look like it had always been there. And it does.
A unique roof
The structure is 22 feet square. Those of you with a practiced eye will notice that there is a ridge in the center of the roof. This is because the North and South facets on the roof are a 6 pitch, yet the East and West facets are a 8 pitch. This is referred to as a ‘bastard hip’ roof. If you have ever framed one, you will agree the style is aptly named ! There is a gable on the front, with a radius window set into it. The roof has copper valleys, and is shingled with ‘cottage red’ architectural shingles to match the main house.
Detailed Cornice
The cornice consists of 14 separate parts. The wood gutter is mounted onto a shelf, buried in the cornice. The front face of the gutter is exposed which provides a crown detail to the top of the cornice. Transitions between the the vertical and horizontal components of the cornice are provided by scotia and quarter round trim elements.
Custom Corbels
The cornice corbels match the corbels on the main home in proportion. There are three separate styles of corbel – one for the soffit under the 6 pitch, a second for the 8 pitch, and the third for the angled blocks adorning the front gable. These corbels were cut from thick Spanish cedar boards using a custom blade made to match the profile of the main house corbels. Each each was hand finished to bring the final block into exact proportion based on its soffit placement. The corbels were first mounted on plates, pre-routed with the 1/4 round on the edges, with the back edge cut to receive the 1/4 round at the back of the corbel between the soffit the upper frieze board.
Natural Cedar Sidewall
The shingles are 18″ red cedar shingles, installed with a 6″ exposure. The watertable trim element, located at the transition between the sidewall and the foundation, was fashioned from a 5 – 3/4 crown molding with the bead removed and mounted upside-down – again, to match the main house. The shutters are antique, and were mounted using period hardware from House of Antique Hardware.com
Period Foundation
The foundation is a poured concrete stem wall with a fieldstone ‘Boston Blend’ natural stone veneer applied from Stoneyard,com. This gives the appearance of real fieldstone, because it is actual field stone that has been cut to a veneer width.
Modern Amenities
The entire structure is insulated with both closed-cell foam (several inches) and fiberglass batts. The concrete floor was poured over 1-1/2 ” foam insulation, and the garage door is also insulated. The building is heated with a gas heater. set to 45 degrees in the winter.
Surrounded by natural beauty
Landscape Design was envisioned by Jessalyn Jarest (jessalynj@gmail.com) , Landscape Architect. The landscape features a bluestone walkway up to the main house, as well as a bluestone path to the backyard, and granite cobblestone blocks for the garage apron. A new asphalt driveway was also installed. Plantings and ground covers were installed to bring texture and color to the wonderful new , 150 year old space.
Pictures of the garage can be seen here >>CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES
The project is now complete. Every effort was made to bring Don’s vision to fruition. We have build a useful garage that matches in every detail the grandeur of the original. And most importantly, Rosemary finally gets the garage she always wanted !