Renovating from Inside Out

North wall before demo

Removal of North wall and ceiling

We have begun construction to convert our 1920s garage into an Owner's Accessory Unit (OAU).  Because we live in the Mapleton Historic District of Boulder and cannot alter the exterior appearance of the building, we are renovating the garage from the inside out.  We will need to build a stronger interior structure that ties into the exterior structure, a structure which has some major weaknesses.   The first step in the renovation is shoring up the north wall, which was built against a steep hillside when it was constructed in the 1920s.  The wall developed major cracks over the past 90 years, becoming more structurally unsound after the Boulder floods of September, 2013.  With some small but mighty equipment, our contractor Joel removed the entire back wall and some of the western and eastern walls.  He also removed some of the slab, which will have to be completely removed and re-poured in order to bring in plumbing lines and new radiant floor heating.