I can understand your thoughts, we did same thing,when we retired, wanted away from city hustle and bustle, so bought a nice house on 7ac, and no garage. wife could only take 30 days of no garage,( me whining) she agreed we need a garage, we had room,(7ac) so built a 30x50, w/lift, and 40x50 approach in concrete, in my situation , we BOTH had to be happy, or why do anything? she has her craft room, ( I never enter) LOL not faulting you , but I could never give up cars and fixin em!
I guess it’s a question of fairness. Some backstory; When I met my wife she was living near downtown Vancouver B.C. with amazing city views from her apartment. We got married and she moved into my place in Port Moody up a steep dead end road with pacific inlet ocean views and mountains at my back. She hated being 3 km’s from the nearest coffee shop etc. and having to drive everywhere. We stayed for 10 years. I promised next time we could be closer to the city. We retired and that city turned out to be Montreal where I’m originally from. She was from a small town in Saskatchewan and couldn’t wait to get out. On the plus side, we are near (within 1 km) of easily 30 restaurants, and a vibrant street scene. She would be miserable and feel isolated on an acreage. She also puts up with how much I spend on these cars with little complaint so there’s that. I will come up with a way to make the garage work for me somehow, but my acreage fantasy ain’t gonna happen.
The only wood in the place is the rotten roof. there’s brick behind the flashing. the walls are two layers of brick with an air gap between of around 6 inches. no framing at all. Must be a 1920’s thing.
I will always hold my wife's purse when she asks. I can take the time to peak inside to check on my nads. That's fun! It's when I mentioned there might other women needing help, that my wife drew the line. Geez, a guy can't be too helpful.
Gary, I take it that your home is in a historical district. If the structural integrity is compromised, you may get a pass on rebuilding as long as the 'look' remains consistent with original. I'd do some investigating. Here, in our Heritage Hill area, they have let modifications, like making larger door openings, safety updates, etc. pass as long as the 'appearance' is inline with the home's heritage.
Same deal here, but more hard core. people were replacing thier big heavy stained glass oak front doors and the city put a stop to that. I'm on board with that, but it's pretty heavy handed. I will have a meeting with a local contractor in the spring and see what I can do. The number one issue (other than the fact the car barely fits through the doors) is the depth. I have about 6 inches between the back bumper and the door with the front bumper at the wall, so I'm hoping if I can come in at a diagonal, (thru a single large garage door) I might be able to put on wheel skates and move the car sideways. That's the hope at the moment. I actually love the house and location and when we purchased the house, I didn't own a 20 foot long Buick! and no I'm not trading it in on a Lark. Here's a pic to give context. I find the garage kinda ugly and not heritagey at all.
Feel you pain brother. 47 year old heavy equipment mechanic here. not retired yet but already beat up, deaf, and sore. Had the same dreams as you with property and a big garage to retire and tinker in, but alas, I am stuck here in suburbia with a single car attached garage. still manage to work in the driveway with jackstands, but for how much longer?
Is there an architectural review board that you could submit proper drawings and rendering of a rebuilt garage plan that looks more like the house?
I have only asked a local contractor ( a neighbour) what the deal was and he gave me an overview. There are strange anomolies , like garage roof decks are allowed and the very few homes in the hood that have garages have these decks that are certainly not historical at all. I will have to research it more before I would be able to submit drawings. The best would be coming in the alley side and bricking up the old garage doors ( or leaving “ mock” ones). Then I could have room for a low clearance hoist
Fascinating thread. Figured everyone in Montreal IS French, lol. And speaks it quite well, to rub it in your face. Some, quite a few Spanish speakers do that down here. Have learned quite a bit (Spanish) but am no native speaker by any means. 1912 state constitution has it written in (spanish on equal footing).
Popular misconception that everybody speaks French in Montreal and while it may be true in the rest of the Province (there are enclaves), Montreal is almost European in feel and quite multicultural. Fortunately, when we travel, my wife handles the Spanish, and I do the French and German. We have lately had a major jump in "Pot tourists" from NY and Vermont. Keeps it interesting.
