Attached vs. detached infills

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

Yeah I see you all the way over there at your house, that's right, I can just give you a friendly wave without having to chat for 10 minutes. . . Yup, waving and walking in the house, see ya another day. Oh, there you are again as I'm rushing out? Guess what, I'm just going to do a friendly neighbor wave and walk straight out of here without having a conversation about it. . . . LOVE IT!

That doesn't always work. My old neighbor across the street would accost me whenever he'd see me out in the yard. The only thing that saved me was a rear drive garage so I'd be safe for the winter when he'd never see me. It really pissed me off that he'd waltz right in my yard through the closed front gate and strike up a conversation when I was obviously busy.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

My dream would be to pick up a larger inner city lot in a couple years with an defunct house, tear it down and put up a duplex, with an entrance between the two units. Then I'd move my mom into the other side. That way, as she ages, I can still be around to take care of some maintenance and keep an eye on her, but still have a place to call my own.

[fundmark19]

Same with me but no door and any friend or family member beside me

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by kevman

Kind of related but...

Does anyone have experience with an attached garage? They seem to be pretty popular in Sunnyside/Hillhurst with both attached and detached infills. I don't have a garage and my neighbours are in desperate need of a new garage so I was going to propose the idea. I reckon on a small lot the extra 4ft. is a pretty big selling feature!

I've got one on my infill - it's perfectly fine as long as both parties are using it for normal garage purposes. Gives you an extra bit of space for you to either have an oversized garage or a bit of outside storage. There are code requirements for the dividing wall for fire rating. I'd recommend getting a party wall agreement to spell out requirements if you need to replace the roof or anything. Other than that, it's pretty much a normal garage. I finished and heated my garaged but my neighbor didn't - it's yours to do with as you please.



One thing for the attached infill to consider if you're looking at A/C - make sure there is room for the A/C unit either in the front yard or front yard (or a specific spot on the one clear side you have). There are code regulations on obstructing your one clear side of the house and most of the time it means you can't put it on the side of the house.