Like the cottage it belonged to, this detached two-car garage had a number of challenges when we began planning its renovation. The shallow pitch of the roof was not ideal given the extensive snow that could accumulate. Previous winters had left the roof sagging severely, and the shingles had extensive damage. The roof had minimal eves and a short overhang, affording minimal weather protection to the structure.
The design of the new garage ties into the structure of the overall cottage. The original horizontal vinyl siding was removed, and replaced with traditional board-and-batten siding. The desire was for the finished structure to have open beams and rafters on both the garage and the bunkie.
In addition to increasing the pitch of the roof and extending the overhang of the eaves, the owners of the cottage wanted to incorporate guest quarters into the structure. A separate building had been considered, but it was ultimately decided to integrate the bungie into the garage.
The footings of the garage were extended to support the additional structure. The essential structure was created using timber-framed posts and beams, featuring a main longitudinal beam that would support the overall roofline.
The desire was for the newly constructed roofline to extend and extrude over the existing garage. Once the rafters of the new bunkie were in place, a one-off truss was constructed to verify the extended roofline of the garage. Scissor trusses were constructed to increase the pitch of the existing garage roof and cleanly integrate the two structures together. The result is a clean and coherent design that successfully ties together the renovated old garage and the newly constructed guest quarters.