I now have a building permit for the house, a construction contract for the garage, and a budget for the garage.
Because I cannot afford to build everything at once I have decided to build the garage first. It is a smaller, simpler project that will give the contractor and me a chance to get used to working together. It will also allow me to see how well or poorly my chemical sensitivity issues are handled.
Attached garages are very convenient but they are also quite toxic because vehicle exhaust and fumes from any rubber or chemical things stored in the garage get drawn into the home’s ventilation system. For that reason most chemically sensitive people require a detached garage.
In Kitsap County a detached garage requires a separate building permit. I am still waiting for the garage building permit but we can do site prep work and excavation while waiting.
These guys are pruning a very tall Douglas fir to make room for the roof of the house. This tree seems enormous to me but it is still a youngster. Douglas firs can live for 1,300 years. Measuring the circumference of this tree and using an online tree age calculator I estimate that this tree is 174 years old. The thought of living in the shelter of trees that old comforts and calms me.
