build a house

Okay, so maybe the place to start is with something small and manageable – doghouse. Someone laughed when I told them that: Start with a bird house – doghouse – shed – deck – work up to garage. Looks like it’s all about weight bearing, isn’t it?

Well, I started looking at some garage plans. There is a nice one on Behm designs. It has given me some ideas, and some impetus to inquire at the city about first steps. Holmes on Homes is from here, and believe me, I know first hand about lousy contractors, so I am going to be very careful.

I went to look at some guy’s garage that he built just around the corner. Man, it’s great looking! He put a kind of ‘diaphragm roof’ on it so it has no trusses. Does anybody know about building a roof like that?

Here in Toronto there’s a little movement to build more ‘laneway houses’. Does anyone else have experience with this kind of building? Basically, it’s looking for underused urban space, like the kind devoted to laneways of garages behind residential homes, and building small, affordable houses there.
I have a wrecked old garage behind my place and I’d like to make better use of the space. I have two young adult kids who need housing, and Toronto is a very expensive place to live.
Any advice from those architecturally inclined would be very welcome. (or cheers from well-wishers, too!)