One of the primary reasons we bought this place (now over eight years ago!) was the ginormous garage. In the two years of looking at houses we had come close a few times but close only meant the garage was nice and roomy but the house needed to be set on fire and completely rebuilt; or that the location was not optimal –like say off Highway 17 which frequently turns into a car park; or the pool was only large enough to dabble ones toes into.
So we ended up here with huge garage, great big pool, more land than we ever intended, an unusual house and so many projects.
Here are some shots of the garage: first from before we bought the place and then a few from the early years.
After seven years here the space in the garage was starting to get a bit tight. With the far left side segmented into parking for the daily drivers in the front and storage (including the Radical a post about that is coming up soon!) behind them, we (well really Agent Smith) wanted a bit more space. Thanks to the mess with the Pit and Santa Clara County Department of Planning we can’t fix up the barn just yet as that requires permits which we cannot get until we’re out of their bad books.
Turns out though there was another, better solution. There is an aftermarket for….mezzanines! That’s right, people buy and sell all sorts of stuff on the interwebs After a bit of window shopping, something of the right dimensions popped up for sale and as a bonus delivery was included. The only sticky wicket was all the remaining old cabinetry that was original to the garage finally had to be removed. Out to the trash pile it all went and the swanky new mezzanine eventually went up.
Agent Smith installed some plywood to provide a suitable floor and then while I was off diving at my Happy Place, our regular painter came and spent a day sealing the new floor and painting it.
While the platform structure was easy enough to put in place, the large (and heavy) staircase was another matter. Thankfully our “regular” house guest came to stay in March of 2022 and was able to assist with getting the staircase in place.
First a platform extending over the bit of empty space to the right of the mezzanine had to be constructed. Else people going up the steps would simply plunged back down to the floor of the garage.
Once the platform was in place they attached a stair bracket and then it was “simply” a matter of lifting up the staircase and attaching it. For that task they brought in Bambi as the stairs are incredibly industrial. And very heavy.
Once the stairs were up, there were just a few more details that needed sorting, but one can now easily climb up to the extra space.