Remodeling Your Garage - Movers.com
Home > Moving Guides > Home Improvement 101 > Garage > Remodeling Your Garage

Remodeling Your Garage

  4.5/5 based on 2 visitor(s)
views  1,322 Views
Say you want to add another room to your home, but you don't have the money or patience to have an addition built from scratch. A viable solution to this problem is to remodel your garage into a usable room. This guide will help you figure out if remodeling your garage is the right decision and, if doing so is right for you, how to convert it into a livable space.

Weighing Your Options

The first step in remodeling your garage into a new room is to decide what type of room you'd like it to be. For instance, you could make it into an additional bedroom or living room or into an office. You could even build an extra bathroom and make it into a studio apartment. Whatever you decide, you can find contractors to take on your project and make the garage into the room you desire.

Before you start creating the plans for your garage remodel, carefully consider what you need from your home. Consider the following points:
  • Since you wouldn't be able to keep your vehicle in the garage anymore, are you okay with leaving it outside and exposed to the elements?

  • Garages are great for storing all sorts of items. Do you have room throughout the rest of your home to keep the goods currently stored in your garage?

  • Do you really need the extra space? If you plan on remodeling the garage into a spare guest bedroom that won't be used that often, will it really be worth the trouble?
TIP: If you have a two-car garage, you may want to only convert half of it into a room, leaving the other half for its original purpose.

The Specifics

Once you have decided to go with a garage remodel, it has best to hire professionals to take care of the conversion process for you. Although garages often have electricity, you might want to add more lighting units and outlets. If desired, you might also want your new room to have access to plumbing and your home's heating and cooling system.

While these two previous issues are more "wants" than "needs," there are several things your garage will be required to have for it to be considered livable space. These include ventilation, insulation, heating and cooling, and proper exits. Keep in mind that any construction made to your garage will have to be done according to code, and, thus, another reason to hire professionals.

The Process

Now that you know what purpose your room will be used for and what amenities you want, it will be time for your contractors to get to work. This will involve putting up finished walls, making the appropriate utility connections, and everything else it takes to make the garage suitable for human use.

Once the major construction is completed, you can decide how you want the room to look. For instance, you'll need to decide on the flooring and how you want to paint or wall paper the walls of the room. These are things you can likely do yourself, but, if you wanted to, you can always hire a contractor for these steps as well.

After these finishing touches are completed, you can bring furniture into the room and decorate it however you wish. Before long, you'll forget your new room ever was a place to park your car!

Adam Mandelbaum  Posted by Adam Mandelbaum on January 7, 2013

Rate this guide Remodeling Your Garage