A garage that grew upward A small, sloping yard left no room to spread out, so the storage went overhead.
What the client wanted
The client wanted a custom detached garage that worked as a real workspace and storage building, not just parking. The lot was tight and sloped in one direction, so floor area was limited from the start.
The key request was a mezzanine loft, and with it a staircase that would not permanently eat the floor below. The client asked for stairs that lift up out of the way when they are not in use, so a motorcycle could still park underneath, and a separate way to lift items up to the loft without carrying them by hand.
They also wanted the garage fully insulated and finished, heated for year round use, and fitted with a double man door for easy access to the yard, with the adjacent deck tying in cleanly to the building.
What Alta Home delivered
Alta Home designed and built a 24 by 24 detached garage on an engineered foundation, with a retaining wall to deal with the slope and a thickened slab edge to carry the loft above.
The mezzanine loft, about 14 by 24, was engineered rather than framed by rule of thumb, because two things had to work at once. The staircase had to hinge and lift clear on a powered winch and pulley system, and the loft structure had to be raised locally over the double man door so the doors could still swing. A second winch and platform system lifts tools and boxes up to the loft.
To make the loft feel like usable space rather than a crawl, the roof was built with vaulted trusses, designed so the extra volume did not push the insulation package out of proportion.
Alta Home handled the drawings and the engineering required for a development permit with height relaxation, and the application was approved.
What was included
- Site preparation and levelling on a sloping lot
- 18 inch retaining wall
- Engineered concrete foundation with thickened slab edge
- 24 x 24 detached garage, 2x6 framing, 12 foot walls
- Vaulted trusses
- Engineered mezzanine loft, approximately 14 x 24
- Retracting staircase on a powered winch and pulley system
- Separate winch lift platform for moving items to the loft
- 16 ft x 8 ft overhead door, double steel man door, vinyl window
- Upgraded electrical, 50 amp sub panel, lighting, EV charging package
- Insulation and drywall, supply, install, mud and tape
- Calcana Thermo gas radiant tube heater, ceiling fan, deck with railing
What we worked through
A tight yard that sloped one way
The lot was small and fell away in one direction. Levelling the building pad and holding the grade meant earthworks and an 18 inch retaining wall before any framing could start.
Engineering the mezzanine
The loft was the hardest part of the build. It had to be engineered rather than framed conventionally, because it carried real storage loads and because the stair system hung off it.
Stairs that had to disappear
The client wanted the staircase to lift up out of the way when not in use so a motorcycle could park underneath, and drop back down on demand. That drove the winch, pulley and pivot design, and it drove the loft framing that supports it.
Headroom over the double man door
The double man door had to open properly, which meant the mezzanine could not be a simple flat platform. That section of the loft had to be lifted locally and framed around the door.
Development permit with height relaxation
The building height needed a relaxation from the city. Alta Home prepared the drawings and the supporting engineering for the application, which was approved.
What they said
We had Alta Home build a custom 24x24 garage for us and the whole project turned out really well. It wasn't a simple build since it required a retaining wall and a development permit with height relaxation from the city so we could add a mezzanine loft. They handled the drawings and the engineering for the application, and it all got approved without issues.
The mezzanine loft area is about 14x24 and is a useful space. One of the coolest parts is the stair system. It lifts out of the way with a pulley setup so our motorcycle can still park underneath, and then drops down when we need access. There is also a winch system to lift items up to the loft which we use a lot more than we expected.
Overall, we are really happy with how it turned out. Alta Home was easy to work with and helped figure out some creative solutions to make the space work the way we wanted.