Makeovers and more...

Tom and Jacqueline's Catalina tucks snugly into a tight space.

Tom & Jacqueline's 5-Sided Space Solution

Tom and Jacqueline K weren't happy with their old garage. "It made the back ten feet of our small urban yard unusable," Jacqueline said. Space is precious everywhere. But in the San Francisco Bay Area, where they live, to waste even a square inch feels like a crime.

So they decided to tear the garage down and replace it with a quality storage shed. If it was nice, they thought, maybe it could double as a studio or peaceful retreat.

They consulted an architect. "After about 9 months of work with him we ended up with a huge structure that would have cost over $150,000 for 400 square feet."

It was far too much. "I guess we fired him," said Tom. "He just sort of went away."

They did some research and even started looking at pre-fab solutions at their local home improvement center and online. Pre-fab ... the very word is uninspiring and that's what they found. Most looked flimsy and were made of cheap materials. The looks were boring or tacky. "Then we found YOU!" Jacqueline said of Summerwood ... in a happy way.

Catalina in the Corner

What captured their imagination most was the Summerwood Catalina structure, pictured above.

Marvellously versatile, they're used as garden sheds, home offices, studios and pool cabanas. And while we regret giving away the final effect so early in the article, the picture illustrates a Catalina's advantage. As flexible as Catalina's are in their utility, they're even more so in their design.

Note the fifth wall. This unique feature is not only an interesting detail, visually, it allows the designer to expand or collapse the structure significantly. So it fits in tight, awkward and seemingly unusable spaces. In fact Jacqueline believed it actually created "usable space because it fits into the corner so well." Tom agreed: "It's exactly what we needed."

Borrowing tools from a neighbour (and, frankly, borrowing the neighbour too) Tom was able - with the exception of the roofing - to construct the shed completely without professional help.

Before! They contracted a company to scrape the yard bare.

Unravelling the Red Tape

All told, the backyard makeover took 5 or 6 months. They started in September. "Then we had to start over," said Tom. The architect had acquired the original permits. "We just assumed those permits would carry over."

They didn't.

"We had a 3-month delay in construction." The permit process took until December. The Catalina required a different permit. So he waded through the red tape and learned a lot in the process. "Gas, power, or water would have made the permit prohibitive," added Tom, because then the city believed it could be rented out as an apartment. They would have been compelled to install parking too. So they decided to designate it a garden shed - which it is ... just a really, really nice one that they can sit in with a pot of tea and enjoy a sunset.

They were all set to begin anew. "Then the rain season started," Tom laughed. We got just little bit done here and there over the next month."

Construction Begins

Above you see the true "before." Tom and Jacqueline wanted a clean slate, so they hired a company of labourers to "scrape" the backyard completely clean of foliage and everything else. First they removed a fence they were sharing with neighbours. It's the pile of dark brown wood you see beside the collapsible chair. The garage was the white structure with the peeling paint. They took it down too. "It was gonna fall down a week later anyway," Tom half joked.

They were so pleased with the scraping that they invited the labourers back later to raze the front yard too but we'll save that for later.

Fault Line Foundation

"We're in earthquake territory," Tom reminded us. So he didn't want to build on a traditional cement pad. A friend who just happens to be an earthquake expert suggested piers. Tom decided to overkill. The whole foundation is on 19 short cement pier cement blocks. Even though it was the recommendation of an expert, the city may not have granted him a permit had it not been a simple garden shed they were installing. The city had no specifications for pier-supported "apartment dwellings." Once again the designated name of the structure, a humble shed, saved them aggravation.

Next, Tom laid 2" x 6" pressure-treated lumber runners to support the floor. He filled it all in with gravel. Unfortunately, he didn't photograph the installation of the pier blocks for our review, "but trust me," said Tom. "I dug the hole. I know they're there."

Piecing it All Together

Summerwood kits can be ordered pre-cut or pre-assembled. Theirs was pre-cut; it costs less because there's more for the customer to assemble. However the kits all come with easy-to-follow instructions and access to a step-by-step video online. Besides, Summerwood's support staff are always just an email or toll-free phone call away. Tom called three times during the construction process and got answers to his questions immediately on each occasion.

It was the instructions that led to the photo above. They suggest you build the floor upside down then flip it when ready to install. However Tom had upgraded to heavier 2" x 8" supporting beams from the standard 2" x 8". When it was time to up-end it, he wasn't sure that just he and his neighbour were up to the task.

Fortunately, at that precise moment, the aforementioned yard scrapers were razing the front of his property. A quick bribe later and they were all helpfully flipping away.

Tom found the instructions very helpful. They suggested building the roof upon the completed floor, then storing it off to the side while you build the walls. "We just built the 5-star part of the roof instead - the hip rafters." The centre and jack rafters were less necessary at this point as their function is stability. Then Tom and his friend heaved the partially built roof up over the skeletal wall studs and added the rest of the roof up there. See the picture below.

When it came to fitting those hip rafters together, Tom says: "I tried to be very meticulous." He measured and reread everything several times. Even then, he had to force fit the final angle somewhat. It was a quarter inch off."

Again the instructions proved most beneficial. They actually warned that some mild variation may occur and isn't uncommon. This made him much more comfortable. "We gave it some tension and got it to fit together really nice."

Zen garden effect: their landscaper learned his craft in Japan.

Installing and Fire Proofing the Siding

Installing the Canexel siding was no problem. "Just required nails and hammering." However they were compelled by the municipality to coat it with 5 layers of fire retardant because they had chosen to build within 36" of the neighbor's property. "I did the calculations and it would have meant 4 1/2 coats' worth," said Tom. Then he added, "But that's impossible. So we applied five coats." They also had to add 5/8" of gypsum board inside as an extra precaution.

The color of the siding was a welcome thrill. The Acadia green perfectly matches their and their neighbor's home. "Too bad we can't control when the neighbor chooses to paint."

Crowned with Magnificent Landscaping

As it turns Jacqueline is a master gardener. However they did all this work with a new baby in the home! (Hats off to them!) And with their infant son, she didn't have time to do their landscaping.

The professional landscaper they chose was a veritable artist who had studied in Japan and actually teaches courses in rock placement. He loved that the yard had been scraped - a blank canvas for him to exercise his talents on. They decided to let him come up with his own ideas. All they demanded was that he keep five small trees Jacqueline had planted and nurtured. After the job was done a month later, the only minor change they made to their landscape artist's design can't actually be see in the picture above.

What the Future Has in Store (and Storage)

The experience must have been great because Tom bought a complete set of tools from another neighbor! And, yes, they're being stored in the shed. "Eventually we are going to use it as a workshop and a 'getaway'."

They find it relaxing to spend time in their Catalina. Jacqueline observes that once you're inside this pristine structure, it feels a lot farther than 25 minutes to downtown San Francisco.

And a million miles from where they started last summer!

Before and After - The Photos

 

		Before: father, son and man's best friend assess the job ahead.			Instruction said to build the floor upside down, then flip it.
		Floor in mid flip.			Moving the floor onto the concrete pier foundation.
		The floor gets mounted to the concrete piers.			The floor is in place.
		Plywood flooring caps the supporting beams.			Assembling the hip rafters - an exercise in precision.
		By this point, it was getting very heavy, Tom recalled.			They moved it off the floor to await the walls' assembly.
		Two of the five walls going up			The skeleton is formed - time to cuddle a bundle of joy.
		The instructions warned that it's not always precise.			Tom forced that extra quarter inch to fit.
		Capping the shell with the hip rafters.			The 5-sided design creates previously unusable space.

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