Our culture deems that when one year gives way to another we take stock and resolve to better ourselves for the next twelvemonth. In 1978, I resolved to build a garage.
My car collection was under cover, but it was 25 miles away, which meant I spent more time driving to and fro than I did on the cars. The only solution was a garage on home turf, one big enough to shelter not only my collectibles but also the everyday cars. I spent the spring drawing plans for a two-story structure to fit at the
back of our lot.
When summer came, the
excavators showed up and dug a big hole. At the bottom we poured
stout footings, then the
foundation contractors put up the
reinforced concrete walls. For the main level we used
steel joists, covered with a
concrete deck. Steel I-beams supported the attic floor, for a clear span interior.
The
framing I did myself, constructing
four bays on the upper level, The
lower level was one large open area, accessed from the end. The finishing touches were complete on Christmas Eve 1979, in time for
Angus, my 1925 Hudson, to take up residence before the
first snowfall. For Christmas my wife Jill gave me a
weathervane with Angus’s silhouette, which she had spent hours making when I was not at home. We installed it atop a martin house
on the roof.
In Foster fashion, we’ve spent 25 years filling it up, so now most of our everyday cars
sit outside. I’m installing new overhead doors and it’s about due for a new roof. My worst habit is a tolerance for
clutter, and my garage has it. If you don’t have a garage, perhaps your resolution for 2006 should be to build one. If you have a garage and it’s
messy like mine, resolve, like me, to clean it up. Happy new year, and may all our resolutions come true.
