Digging Holes

Next up, excavating!

As I've said, we're turning our existing garage into our new, fabulous kitchen.  A lot of thought went into this decision, actually.  Do we work with what we have, keep a smaller square-footage and likely outgrow the space?  In this option, we'd spend significantly less, but very likely have to move in five to ten years. Otherwise, do we expand our space by converting the existing garage into our kitchen while adding on a new entry-way and garage? We would be forced to spend a lot more in this instance, but we would be guaranteed to have plenty of space for our growing family.

We opted to expand our building palette.  Sure, we'll be spending a little more, but with as much work as we've put into this space up to now, we want this to be our forever home (or at least until the nest is empty).  The investment will be worth our while in the long run, and we'll have a little more flexibility to make the space unique to our tastes, rather than be concerned about what will "sell" in 5-10 years.

Time to excavate!  Greg was able to hire the job out to a good friend and get the excavating done this fall before the frost hit.

Poring over the plans

The entry will be angled off of the corner of the existing garage, with the new garage extending off the entry.

Greg decided to excavate over four feet down not only to accommodate the frost line, but to also create crawl space below the entry way that we can use for seasonal storage.  It will be accessible from the garage.  No need to stuff Christmas decorations in a closet somewhere in the house!

 

Ah....I love progress.