My Dream Garage in the Mountains

My garage has been 3 years in planning while we built [and continue to improve] our home in the WNC mountains. Finally my dream garage is going up as I write this.

Building in the mountains complicates any construction. To have a site to build I had to make it flat. Huge boulder retaining wall and fill on the low side and cuts into the mountain on the high side were required. The overall width of the garage is 62' and depth varies from 20' to 38' to 34' for the 3 bays. Deep enough for my small Sprinter RV plus 1 car in one bay while the other two can hold 4 cars each. Total spaces equal 10. Plenty of head height to add lifts anywhere. I measured and laid each car into the floor plan to insure proper fitment in arranging the 7 cars and RV that I currently have. 2 Alfas, 4 Ferraris, 1 Maser QP. 3 double garage doors for access to each bay.


There will be a dedicated "man cave" area w/ furnishings and TV. Also a stand-up bar w/ kitchenette. Powder room under the stairs to the loft and a long work bench along the rear wall of one of the bays. Second floor is a loft overlooking the center bay. Loft can be finished later to an office and a BR [or 2 BRs] and 2 BAs.

What makes this garage special [to me anyway] is that I chose to build it out of logs for the walls and heavy timber and T&G for the roof and loft structure. No drywall anywhere. Once the structure is complete the walls will be stained and sealed outside. Inside only girders, beams, rafters and trusses will be stained to contrast with the clear natural sealer on the logs. Metal panels over peel and stick underlayment will finish the roofing.

Lots more to talk and ask advice about but enough for now. Attached are a couple of current pictures. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That looks incredible!

 

All wood construction, so nice! Less is definitely more when it comes to 'finishing' it.

 

Love it! Looks like you also don't have an HOA to tell what you can and can't do.

 

Congrats. on the garage and home.

I'd love to see more pix. when you have them. We are breaking ground on our new home just outside Asheville next month. Always looking for inspiration for my much more humble garage/ man cave.

 

Looks fantastic, Steve. We may be in your area in April doing a “grand tour”, visiting friends in WNC, Greenville and north Georgia. And Diane wants to do equine stuff at Biltmore.

 

Wow! Dream Garage is right? Congrats. Can’t wait to monitor the progress. Subscribed.

 

That is one of the reasons I chose log and timber construction. Once the structure is up it's easy to finish and fit. Electrical is simple, HVAC will be mini-splits, lighting will be dome LEDs hanging from the ceiling. Stain and seal the outside w/ Sikkens [Proluxe by PPG] and Minwax stain of beams inside. Doesn't get more simple than that.

 

HOA? Heck our neighbors are goats! We have 50 acres and a 60' high cascading waterfall behind our house. The garage is 1/4 mile from the house and downstream of the falls.
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Jack....that would be great if you could come visit our little slice of heaven! Asheville and the Biltmore is about 35 minutes away. The garage should be "mostly" complete and my cars relocated from FL to here at Living Falls. Looking forward to seeing you again.

 

Tomorrow the center section of the roof is to be erected. Tough conditions right now. It's 15 degrees and will drop to the single digits later. The builder said no matter what they will be "flying" the beams, trusses and rafters tomorrow. Mountain man toughness is something I respect!

 

Keep us updated on progress. Love what you are doing. Can't wait to see the final structure

 

I'm sure the garage will be terrific but it looks like the property itself is truly spectacular. More pics of both please!

 

cant wait to see finished pictures

 

Looks like it will be an amazing build. And the view of the falls would never get old.

 

I love the asheville area, but Floridas has its own appeal too.
Im curious about the reasons(besides great roads) you chose to move from FL to NC, esp as were just in the process of getting out of the NE..

 

Hmmm.....how do I keep this short? I was born raised in DE and after college moved back to work in the family biz. But I tired of the cold and gray and 35 and raining from Nov thru April. Worse was that people are not happy in the NE [sorry gross generalization]. In the 70s I was a Vandy student and later UF grad and remembered how the sun and South made a difference. So I packed up and moved to Naples after 23 years working in DE. That was 2000. But I tired of the 6 months of 92 degrees and humidity in FL. I always loved the mountains more than the beach. And here I am 18 years later as a "half-back" in NC. The definition is NE to FL then halfway back. Naples was good to me from a business standpoint. But at 65 I am now living my dream w/ 50 acres, a 65' waterfall behind my home and dream garage under construction. The great roads are just the cream on the top.

Funny.....you obviously are a Boxer aficionado. I have cared for 2. My current is a pretty "hot" BB512 done by Carobu. For the last couple of years I have thought seriously about selling it since I don't drive it in FL. But I decided to hold off. It's such a special example that I want to get it on the roads up here in the mountains. I can honestly say a BB is not worth owning in FL unless you are on the show circuit. And I still have not determined with certainty if it's a keeper. But I want to give this beauty it's due here in driving nirvana. This is an updated picture of her soon to be new home.


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Good morning Steve, Your garage is just wonderful. It just blends in with the terrain. Great job. Look forward to seeing it maybe this summer. You know how to make it, and you know how to spend it! Take care.
Kind regards,

 

Thanks Woody. Winter has made it more difficult to build. I woke up to 4” of new snow on the ground this morning. Regardless I should have the job done in about 6-8 weeks.

I will plan on having an FCA event out here in the mountains and our waterfall home and log garage will be a part of the weekend festivities. Maybe late summer or early fall. Will coordinate with Howard.

 

Looks great, Enjoy it as much as possible.

 

Wow. Nice one. I cant wait to see the photos of it after completion.

 

Those falls are incredible. Are they on your property? Usually, it seems, falls like that are on state park land. I would think they would be a well known hikers/tourists destination.

 

Yes the 65’ cascading waterfall is on our property. We designed and built our home to have the beautiful views that we enjoy all day. We don’t even have to lift our head off the pillow to be mesmerized by the gift from Mother Nature.

 

wow, nice. Falls like that must be well known by locals (and with internet, widely known by 'falls' chasers) and hikers. People would not respect a 'No Trespassing' sign to get a photo. (because nature belongs to all of us )
You must have 'visitors' ALL the time no?

 

Actually not all that many visitors. I never checked if it's even on any "falls" or other scenic site guides or maps. The road we live off of dead ends into a community of lots w/ 5+ areas each. 80 lots but only 20 homes built. Since they and their contractors and service providers are the only traffic it's kinda old news to them. While lots of people in the area know about the falls and used to visit in the summer now that they know our new home was built they don't come around anymore. People around these parts are generally private and very respectful of each other. And we look out for each other too. The neighbors are not always gonna be close friends but they are mindful of each other.

My office is on the loft overlooking our Kit-DR-LR great room open to each other. Here is a view from over my computer taken last summer.

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