For homeowners seeking to transform lacklustre garages into functional living spaces, rely on the experience of Solid Construction & Design. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide for transforming garages into livable spaces. Read on for expert insights that maximize your property’s potential.
Research Zoning First
It’s crucial to research your local zoning laws and permit requirements before undertaking any garage conversion project. Many municipalities either restrict certain types of garage conversions or require special permits. To prevent wasted time and expenses, take the time to thoroughly understand if your planned conversion aligns with zoning categorizations and code requirements before investing in renovation costs.
Adjust Financial Expectations
Although converting your garage won’t ever be an inexpensive project, it is likely to cost less than building an extension. The exact price will depend on factors like the complexity of the project and the finishes you choose. But you should expect to invest somewhere between $20,000 and $50,000 if you hire contractors to transform your garage into usable, legally compliant extra space up to code.
When planned and executed properly, garage conversions offer a cost-effective way of gaining additional living areas.
Raise Garage Floor
In terms of structure, garage conversions involve raising the floor level at least several inches to assist with insulation, plumbing, and airflow. Garage floor slabs sit lower than main house foundations, causing risks from moisture pooling. Lifting the height eases installing subfloor insulation underneath while also allowing better pipe gradients and ventilation.
After detaching the garage slab, use sand, gravel, and compacting equipment to build up the new soil grade. Then pour a fresh thick concrete slab atop the leveled fill dirt to raise the floor plane closer to the main house floor level. This remedies drainage and installation challenges. For optimum garage conversion results, you should factor proper floor lifting into the timeline and budget planning.
Hide Functional Areas
Besides structure and functionality, carefully weigh aesthetics versus functionality for elements like laundry, storage rooms, closets, and bathrooms when converting your garage. To maintain clean sightlines, make sure to strategically hide functional spaces in clever ways.
For example, you can hide a washer-dryer behind café doors styled as a continuation of cabinets along one wall. Additionally, you can use a pocket door with no hardware that disappears into a wall crevice to mask a walk-in closet space.
You can get as creative as you want with layouts to embed essential utility areas without sacrificing the aesthetics. The final result will be a beautiful livable area rather than disjointed rooms off the main area.
Widen Access Door
Standard garage access doors measure nine feet wide on average. When converting into livable areas, consider widening the entryway to 12 feet or more. This allows moving larger pieces of furniture through the doorway with ease preventing complicated disassembly and reassembly maneuvers.
Create Covered Parking
If your property layout, add a covered carport-style extension or detached structure near the converted garage. You can then connect it through a covered walkway. Besides solving parking needs, this also maintains storage for the outdoor equipment that previously occupied the garage space.
Improve Exterior Appeal
Any major garage conversion warrants upgrading the outside appearance to meld with the architecture of the home.
Don’t stop at the interior transformation, but embrace the opportunity to improve not only living spaces but also neighbourhood street aesthetics. Key focal points like entry doors, shutters, trim details, and lighting fixtures go a long way in creating a welcoming first impression and heightened overall property value perception.
Rather than take on the demanding garage conversion as a DIY project, leverage the expertise of professional contractors. Companies like Solid Construction & Design specialize in garage remodels that can increase your home value while providing customized solutions that match your unique needs.
Install Insulated Garage Door
One highly recommended upgrade for converted spaces is to insulate the garage door, even if that is no longer used for access to vehicles. In times of bad weather, uninsulated garage doors seep cold through worn seals and thin metal materials. By contrast, new well-sealed doors with injected foam insulation block drafts and assist climate control efficiency.
You can reuse an existing garage door or even purchase a new no-fuss model without ornamental windows or hardware if you want to save costs. But you have to make sure the door construction and gaskets provide ample insulation rating. If gaps that allow air passage into the converted room exist, install weather sealing around the door perimeter trim. This insulation boost keeps the new luxurious built-out space pleasantly comfortable during all seasons of the year.
Brighten Up Your Garage Conversion
Lighting upgrades are a must when transforming your garage into a livable space. As garages tend to be the darkest parts of a home, adding ample illumination makes the area feel warm and welcoming.
Make sure to replace the old garage door opening with a framed-in wall sporting at least one new window, as required by law.
Then, supplement with additional lighting fixtures and wiring to create a bright and airy environment. If you want a room that serves as an entertainment or work zone, then consider convenient wall outlets powering TVs and computers. With strategic lighting improvements that replace shadowy corners with light-filled radiance, your garage conversion can shift from dreary to cheerful.
Build Supplemental Storage
A garage that is turned into a livable area often eliminates storage capacity for yard tools, seasonal items, and other equipment that consumes space. Constructing alternative storage closets or sheds helps offset missing cubed footage which can get quickly consumed in other parts of a home.
If you have a smaller property, assemble stackable vertical storage units or secure sturdy weather-resistant sheds to handle volume overflow and organize contents efficiently. Regain hallmark garage storage capacity using cost-effective supplementary buildings strategically positioned around the lot perimeter. Reclaim the order and organization capacity of your space to continue housing necessary equipment items without feeling deprived by the sacrificed garage.
Conclusion
Converting garages requires tackling extensive structural and regulatory considerations, but the exponentially usable new space makes the investment worthwhile. With proper planning guided by conversion professionals, that underused garage finally realizes its full potential.
