South Hill garage

Moving stairs to the outside eased access and made room for better storage in the garage.

Cohesive

One goal was to make the garage, added to the property in the 1980s, look like it belonged to the 100+ year-old house, shown here at the front entry.

If there were a prize for having the most efficient, durable garage in the land, Paul Shelley could probably claim it. Which is great for many reasons, not least because at some point someone — maybe even Paul— will live above it. For now, it’s home to his new gym and solar array, in addition to performing regular garage duties as car, tools and gear storage.

As a retired Merchant Marine who captained container ships for three decades, Paul has seen much of the world through its port cities, returning to his South Hill home between stints at sea. Over the years, he’s made improvements to the 1906 house, the kind of a guy who can wield his own hammer, working with neighbors to build a fence or deck, developing a landscape sanctuary, or serving as general contractor to oversee interior remodels and repairs.

When he decided to upgrade the 1980s-era garage, added prior to his ownership, Paul knew enough to know he wanted A1 to handle it. For one thing, he still travels a fair amount (Iceland recently; Bhutan on the wish list). For another:

“I didn’t want to go through all the effort. I chose A1 because I think they’re the best in Bellingham and I admire the fact that they’re worker-owned. Plus, A1’s been here a long time…they have a great rolodex.”

The garage was a mess: failed ceiling, carpenter ants, rot, mold — all the enemies of sound health, for both the building and its inhabitants.

It had a second-story storage space, accessed by pull-down stairs inside the garage. Paul wanted to turn the upper floor into a gym and guest quarters, use the roof to generate solar power and extend the life of the building.

We worked with him to refine his vision, going through a few design iterations to resolve a variety of goals, and to take advantage, midway through the project, of a new ordinance that allows detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) in all Bellingham neighborhoods.

Then, rebuilding from the inside out: stripping the building to the studs, amplifying building integrity and efficiency with high-performance “layers” that include the building version of Gore-Tex and a rainscreen beneath cedar siding, replacing the roof, adding solar panels, and adding outside entry to the second floor.

“I appreciate A1’s professionalism. They do little things like clean up after they finish for the day. They have a general decorum around the jobsite that says they respect my neighbors, they respect me, and they want to do a good job.”

When permitting comes through, a small bath and kitchen will complete the DADU. For now, a ductless heat pump and a hot roof keep things toasty or cool upstairs, depending on the season, more windows, skylights and views of the bay keep things light and inspiring, while renewable power connected to the grid keeps Paul happy about his electric bill; he’s yet to use more than his garage generates.