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The exterior of the entire house is nearly complete.
The new roof of the original house was installed last week and the painters need just two more days to finish a second coat of trim.
The paint on the shingles and around windows is Sherwin Williams Colonial Revival Gray (ironic given it is a modern house!).
The trim is white (not sure exactly what shade of white).
Metal around the windows and the wooden beams are black.
Exterior tile is tan.
And the 24 gauge Galvalume metal roof is Dove Grey.
The most frequent question we've received during the (so far) year-long construction project has been “What are you doing with your old garage?” A variation on this I heard a few times was: “Why do you need 5 garages?”
No, we don’t have five cars. The new 3-car garage built as part of the addition is the only garage. This will get all three of our cars indoors for the first time in 20 years living in Lexington.
This week the team removed the two old garage doors, re-sided the wall, and are ready to install two new windows. This space is being re-used as a large storage area.
Those who own Techbuilt homes (or are considering purchasing a Techbuilt) know that there is very little storage in these homes. These houses were built on slabs and have no attic. The closets are tiny. It means that stuff collects and that can ruin the midcentury modern aesthetic.
Woo Hoo! We will now have tons of storage!
One challenge with the design was that we didn’t want this change to scream: “This is an old garage!”
We solved that by making the design asymmetrical. Had we installed the two windows in the positions of the old garage doors, it would have been a constant reminder of what the space used to be. Now it will blend in to the landscape in a more natural way.
In the Spring we will be landscaping to help hide this area.
We've always loved Japanese rock gardens. When we lived in Tokyo, every day I walked past the Nezu Museum and admire see their rock entrance. Frequently I'd go into the museum and spend time in the wonderful garden.
We worked with Chris Bailey at CS Bailey Landscape on landscape work. We did a few plants but the majority of planting happens in the Spring. This Fall we focused on hardscape.
Between our vision and Chris' expertise, we worked up a wonderful Japanese influenced hardscape.
The front entrance has correct Feng Shui with the entrance walkway curving towards the front door so that you approach facing the door. We re-used some rocks and a stone lantern from our original front entrance.
The back courtyard area is particularly interesting. Chris' team installed an underground drainage system and some cool rocks that were either dug up upon excavation onsite or were part of the old entrance rock garden. It looks particularly great in the rain.
The "waterfall" from the "V" in the roof hits one rock on the side so that the effect looks natural and not forced. And all the water disappears even in a downpour.
The gray river stones from Mexico turn nearly black in the rain and are multicolor as they dry.
The old garage was added to the original Techbuilt house in the 1970’s. Because it is not original from the 1950’s we are repurposing the old garage into a storage room. In the next several weeks, the old garage doors will be removed and several windows installed.
This week, the old driveway was ripped up. We will add soil to make some natural looking contours in the area where the old drive was so that over time as the area grows over, it doesn’t look like a driveway was there.
