Buildings
About
Historic Shed was contacted by a couple who live in the Hyde Park historic district in Tampa to design a garage and guest room for a very unusual lot. Triangular in shape, their small lot was just over 4,500 sf and contained a lovely one-story Craftsman bungalow with less than 1,000 sf. The atypical lot was further constrained by a large protected oak tree on the site, and one on a neighbor's lot, just over the property line. With Tampa's strong tree protection ordinances, this left little space to build. Building up was the only real option to maximize the remaining lot space.
Before: The site once had a one-story one-car garage on the lot, long since gone. The original concrete was still in place, complete with a 1919 date embossed. A ramshackle carport had been constructed by a previous owner.
The Main House: The historic bungalow on the site has a 3:12 roof pitch and 4' bead board eaves with bracket supports.
After tweaking the design to fit the lot and meeting with Tampa's Historic Preservation Office and Forestry Department, the resulting project created a 12'x20' one-car garage with apartment above. A 6'x8' one-story shed allowed additional storage while accommodating the lot's shape and giving a visual step down from the two-story volume to the street. The stairs were placed at the rear of the building for privacy with an exterior design that allowed them to encroach within the required oak tree setback.
Due to height constraints at the Historic Shed shop, the first and second floors were prefabricated separately.
Installation of the Garage Apartment adjacent to the historic Hyde Park bungalow.
Installation of the prefabricated outbuilding.
Trusses installed, roof sheathing on, and the shed addition in place on the right side.
The garage design itself took its cues from the main house which had a low-sloped front-gable roof and very wide eaves. Walls were clad in lap siding and an existing skirt board was inspiration for a belt course on the new building. The new outbuilding was kept simpler in architectural detail, but clearly complementing the main residence.
Windows and shed door installed. With no alley and an odd shaped lot, the garage faces the street and has the same front setback as the main house.
The stairs to the second floor apartment are set to the rear of the building for privacy. The exterior wood framed stairs allowed the building to set closer to the protected tree on the site.
Second floor interior view when you walk in the door. The floors are laminate, the ceiling is 1x6 V-groove pine, and the walls are drywall. A mini split ac system cools and heats the space.
The main room in the second floor apartment. The space will double as a home office and guest suite.
The French doors let in extra light. A 5'-6"x5'-6" 3/4 bath is located on the right.
View into the apartment bathroom.
The Garage Apartment Floor Plans
A steel overhead garage door with a carriage house overlay by CHI finishes out the front facade along with period-inspired lighting.
The ribbon driveway completes the exterior of the garage apartment with a period look.
The interior of the garage was finished in plywood fro added strength. The storage shed is located on the right.
The 6'x8' side storage shed features a cypress bead board door.
Details on the Garage Apartment front facade
Eave and trim details on the garage apartment
The finished product, waiting for sod.
A new deck creates a welcoming entry from the street.
Landscaping completes the look.
And the rear of the carriage house completed.
See more about the Two-story Garage-apartment options. A two-car version is in the works as well.
Our ten-year old son made this video for us. We're rather proud!
Bungalows typically have great curb appeal, but when set amid entire neighborhoods of historic bungalows they are even better. The shed featured in this Bungalow Shed post is located in a great tree-lined, National Register-listed, Florida neighborhood with 325 contributing buildings, the majority of which are bungalow residences. Like many areas we get the pleasure of working in, the attractive neighborhood is very walkable, neighbors are friendly, and the dogs are spoiled.
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| The shed under construction in our shop |
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| The finished storage shed with jerkinhead roof, gable vent, outriggers, and siding to match the main house |
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| Clipped eave detail |
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| Carriage House style door detail |
Used for storage, the shed has a plywood interior for added strength and to allow shelves, hooks and other accessories to be easily hung on the walls.
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| 1x6 roof sheathing over exposed trusses and plywood-covered walls |
We designed what I consider our cutest shed to date (it is pink, after all) for a 1920s jerkinhead Florida bungalow with Craftsman and Tudor influences. The stucco house has a prominent chimney on the front elevation, rounded rafter tails, wonderful arched brackets supporting broad eaves, and decorative cut outriggers on the clipped gable ends. The owners contacted Historic Shed for a series of home improvement projects including building a new fence and custom gate, installing new carriage house style doors on the historic garage, and constructing a new jerkinhead shed.
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| With the exception of replacement windows at the sunporch, this romantic bungalow remains largely unaltered with many great architectural details |
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| Decorative elements on the main elevation |
The first project we undertook at the bungalow was to relocate the side fence towards the front of the property in order to increase the backyard size. As part of the fence relocation, we installed a custom cypress gate with a speakeasy door with metal grill. The arch of the gate door was designed to reflect the arched front door of the home.
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| Arched garden gate |
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| Speakeasy door detail |
The historic garage on the property was largely intact, complete with a historic screened addition on one side, but with a 1950s-era metal garage door that looked out of character on the building. Historic Shed built and installed new carriage house type doors made of cypress bead board hung with heave duty strap hinges for a more compatible historic appearance.
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| Garage with new carriage house style doors installed |
The new outbuilding project that we constructed at the home was an 8'x10' jerkinhead shed that incorporated design elements from both the main house and historic garage. The owners were exploring ideas to hide the pool pump in the backyard and had considered several options before finding our HistoricShed.com ad in a historic neighborhood newsletter. They decided that our shed styles were the perfect solution for maintaining the historic look of their property, gaining useful space, and hiding the pool pump.
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| The yard with pool equipment visible |
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| The pool equipment hidden inside the new shed |
The shed incorporated the jerkinhead roof line, rounded rafter tails and arched screen door of the main house. The dropped siding used matched the historic garage screened addition. A screened door, two screened window openings protected by batten shutters, and gable end vents were utilized to ensure that the shed and equipment had adequate ventilation.
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| Arched screen door and exposed rounded rafter tails |
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| Batten awning shutters over screened openings |
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| The shed nestled in the yard |
The owners had this to say about their new shed, "We had a large group of people visit this weekend. People who had never visited assumed the shed was original to the property; people who knew it was new were amazed that it 'looks like it's always been here!' Good job!"
To see how this shed was built, watch the slideshow on the home page of our website at www.HistoricShed.com.
While definitions of what constitutes a bungalow home vary, the common ingredients generally include one to one-and-a-half stories, a full or nearly full-width front porch, and a low slope roof. Examples can exhibit a variety of architectural styles including Craftsman, Mission and vernacular. We have designed sheds to complement a variety of bungalow homes, most with Craftsman detailing such as eave brackets and exposed rafter tails.
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| Bungalow "Before" |
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Bungalow "After"
 New Breakfast Nook |
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| Framing the home office Historic Shed on site |
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| The home office shed nestled into the landscaping |
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| The shed is accessed via a bridge over a koi pond and has a reclaimed brick patio - not a bad commute! |
