The old garage has been transformed into its new life as a sewing and craft studio. Walls, power, and lights are in and ready for use. The windows have been fitted. They are completely recycled from the waste taken out of the house during its renovation.
Unlike the shed that cost us $23, this one needed some new product and cost more than $23. Drywall, insulation and timber were used to complete the walls and ceiling. A rotating ventilator was installed on the roof.
Margo fears the shed will heat up in summer, so we’ve implemented strategies to combat it. The insulation will make a huge difference after I close the ceiling and walls! An even bigger temperature drop will be noticed after installing the roof ventilator. Margo asked for another sliding window to be installed on the front of the building for extra ventilation. Altogether, we’ve achieved an acceptable result at beating rising temps. The other major issue is light. Margo wants to work with natural light.
The garage never had windows; it was just a metal box that went dark when its door was closed. Now, it has a window right where she plans to work. It also has a large sliding glass door and virtually allows direct light to stream in from one end of the building. It does the job, but that won’t be direct light for much longer. The old tilt-a-door we took off to replace it with the window will soon become an awning. It’ll produce shade over all that glass. It’ll reduce the heat… but it’ll also take away the brightness. The question she asks now is: Will it be too much?
Margo drags another dusty window frame from the stockpile of bits we took out of the house. “Can you add this somewhere?” She asks, eyeing off the walls from inside the building and visualizing positions of where it might go.
“Why not?” I reply, knowing that after a whole-house reno, one little window in a garage with no major plumbing or electrical sections makes the request relatively simple.
Shelves, Shelves, Shelves! There will be shelves, copious amounts of horizontal surfaces – varying levels of assorted and stacking space to put things in and rid ourselves of clutter, freeing up our man garage so we can park our damn cars in there!
It is ready right now. The challenge has been met. Margo will have fun moving her gear in over the holidays and setting up the place. Two sewing machines, an over-locker, two desks, and a plethora of fabrics, bits and bobs will fill this room in the coming days.
-Michael Forman (Author)
Discover more from Michael Forman – Author of Dark Fiction & Drama
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