The homeowners at 11 Kathleen Street in Paris wanted a detached garage that looked like it belonged — not a prefab box dropped in the backyard, but a structure with a real roof, proper siding, and a covered porch that complemented the existing house. The lot also had a pool area with a door opening that needed to be addressed. The result is a garage that reads as a deliberate addition to the property rather than an afterthought.
The brief
Build a new single-car detached garage from scratch. Stick-framed walls and roof, proper shingles matched to the existing house, board-and-batten vertical siding in a colour palette that works with the property. Include a covered porch overhang off the front, underground electrical service from the house, a motorized overhead door, and a separate garden door opening to the pool area.
Framing
The garage was framed with conventional 2×6 exterior walls and stick-framed roof trusses — not engineered trusses, which allows for a more custom roofline and easier integration with the covered porch overhang. PT posts were set for the porch section, with Simpson clips at all critical connections. OSB sheathing on the roof and walls, Tyvek housewrap on the exterior before siding went on.
Roofing
Asphalt shingles were selected to match the existing house roof — a detail that matters more than people think. A garage with a mismatched roof colour draws the eye in the wrong way; matching it makes the addition feel intentional. All shingles and underlayment were installed by our roofing crew.
Doors, windows, and hardware
The door package was selected carefully for both function and appearance:
- Overhead door: 9×8 Gallery Collection long-panel door in black with French-door-style glass panels (REC14) — motorized with a keypad operator, no external key required
- Man door: Decorative passage door with keypad lock, white aluminum frame, grille inserts — the kind of door that looks finished rather than utility-grade
- Garden doors: Double garden doors approximately 72"×82" at the pool area — a large opening that makes the pool side of the property feel connected to the garage structure
- Windows: Two 36"×36" white windows with no-slide configuration
Siding
The exterior colour palette was chosen to work across the different surfaces of the building. Board-and-batten vertical siding in Harvard Slate covers the garage body — a deep, warm grey that grounds the structure. The gable ends and porch patio sections are finished in Rustic Grey shake for visual contrast at the roofline. All window and door trim is white, which cleans up the edges and keeps the detailing sharp.
Soffit, fascia, and eavestrough
Eighty-eight linear feet of soffit and fascia, 40 linear feet of downspout with elbows — all sized and routed to move water away from the foundation properly. A new structure like this needs its drainage thought through from the start; adding it as an afterthought creates problems at the slab.
Electrical
Underground electrical service was trenched from the house panel to the garage. Inside: five receptacles on the walls, three LED ceiling lights, exterior lights on the building, and three switches. It's enough capacity to run tools and charge equipment without constantly tripping breakers — the minimum that makes a garage genuinely useful.
A detached garage is one of the best property investments in Brant County. Done right — proper structure, matched finishes, underground electrical — it adds usable space and lasting value.
What this project illustrates
Detached garage builds in Paris and Brant County require a building permit, and the work has to meet OBC standards for the structure, electrical, and sometimes the site drainage. We handle the permit process as part of the job, not as an add-on — it's included in the project management scope from the start.
The material choices here — board-and-batten in a deliberate colour palette, a black Gallery door, a proper covered porch — are what separate a garage from a shed. If you're considering adding a detached garage or accessory structure in Paris or the surrounding area, start with a site visit. We also work on larger additions and ARUs if your project has grown beyond a single structure.