“Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it." Psalm 127:1
The Pallet Garage
This garage is one of three structures that make up the living space referred to as Cabin(s) in the Woods by its owners, architect Wes Janz and his wife, Marcia Stone. The 2.5 acre site provides a unique natural setting in the city for the original limestone-clad house, the new timber-framed addition, and the two-car garage, which was constructed using wooden pallet members.
Project Architect Paul Puzzello, Janz, and Stone believe that the garage is likely to be the first timber-pallet building in the United States that has been granted a building permit. Janz, a professor of architecture at Ball State University, continues to explore new ideas for the use of found materials.
Silver Creek Engineering designed the roof trusses for the 30x30 foot garage. The trusses were also constructed of pallet members, which presented some new challenges. Their unique shape and dimensions required unconventional design and connections. We provided connection details for the trusses as well as detailed drawings showing how to cut and fabricate the pallet members to create an efficient web configuration and truss design.
In addition to the pallet trusses for the garage, we also designed precast concrete panels which were used as a façade for the exterior of the new timber-framed living addition. The panels provide decorative finish and sound attenuation. This was important to the owners because the wooded site is bound on one side by a busy commuter street.
