Converting a garage into living space

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ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Feb 6, 2010 12:07am
Has anyone on here done this?
I've decided this will be the next project. It will add 576 sq ft of living space with an extra room and bathroom. I'll build a garage out back and run the drive around the side of the house. I want taller ceilings in the garage anyways so it only makes sense to go this route.

What was the cost of yours and did you contract it out or do it yourself?
T
tuskytuffguy
Posts: 615
Feb 6, 2010 12:46am
Well, being an engineer, one would think you could go the cheaper route and do it yourself. But that would require you to cut into your golf time and get your hands dirty. I mean, it's not like it could cut into golf, since it's winter and we're getting blasted, but doing real-man work is out of the question for you, regardless.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Feb 6, 2010 7:40am
tuskytuffguy wrote: Well, being an engineer, one would think you could go the cheaper route and do it yourself. But that would require you to cut into your golf time and get your hands dirty. I mean, it's not like it could cut into golf, since it's winter and we're getting blasted, but doing real-man work is out of the question for you, regardless.
Anyone who knows me knows I'll do it myself with some friends. Now, anyone who's actually done it and has some suggestions want to add in?
wes_mantooth's avatar
wes_mantooth
Posts: 17,977
Feb 6, 2010 7:43am
Never done that, but we did finish an old basement. We went the easy way.....used half inch foam insulation and baseboard heaters.
LJ's avatar
LJ
Posts: 16,351
Feb 6, 2010 7:45am
How big is the current house sq footage wise? Is it a 2 car garage you are looking at converting? Do you currently have an unfinished basement?
Belly35's avatar
Belly35
Posts: 9,716
Feb 6, 2010 7:49am
Z4P Depending where you live that driveway to the side may not be permitted.
Before doing any thing get written approval from the city.

Yes I have converted a garage 24x24 in to a large family room with fireplace ........
believer's avatar
believer
Posts: 8,153
Feb 6, 2010 8:00am
Belly35 wrote:Yes I have converted a garage 24x24 in to a large family room with fireplace ........
Careful Belly. You could get more Free Huddle timeout for being a man of many talents. ;)
C
Con_Alma
Posts: 12,198
Feb 6, 2010 8:46am
I would think a better route would be to add a room on to the hose that's a little elevated with a crawl space. I wouldn't want to have any living space on slab.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Feb 6, 2010 9:24am
Belly35 wrote: Z4P Depending where you live that driveway to the side may not be permitted.
Before doing any thing get written approval from the city.

Yes I have converted a garage 24x24 in to a large family room with fireplace ........
I was told you could pave all the way to the property line. It's also a 24x24 garage.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Feb 6, 2010 9:26am
LJ wrote: How big is the current house sq footage wise? Is it a 2 car garage you are looking at converting? Do you currently have an unfinished basement?
It's currently 1770 sq ft. It's a 2 car, 24x24 garage. The basement is mostly finished with an additional bedroom and bathroom but still has a storage room that isn't finished.
B
bartsimpson
Posts: 168
Feb 6, 2010 9:34am
ZWICK 4 PREZ wrote:
Belly35 wrote: Z4P Depending where you live that driveway to the side may not be permitted.
Before doing any thing get written approval from the city.

Yes I have converted a garage 24x24 in to a large family room with fireplace ........
I was told you could pave all the way to the property line. It's also a 24x24 garage.
I've never heard any where that you can do that...4-5' is the standard set-back for anything, whether it's driveway, storage shed,etc.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Feb 6, 2010 9:36am
bartsimpson wrote:
ZWICK 4 PREZ wrote:
Belly35 wrote: Z4P Depending where you live that driveway to the side may not be permitted.
Before doing any thing get written approval from the city.

Yes I have converted a garage 24x24 in to a large family room with fireplace ........
I was told you could pave all the way to the property line. It's also a 24x24 garage.
I've never heard any where that you can do that...4-5' is the standard set-back for anything, whether it's driveway, storage shed,etc.
I was told drives were different than buildings and could go right up to the line.
LJ's avatar
LJ
Posts: 16,351
Feb 6, 2010 9:43am
ZWICK 4 PREZ wrote:
LJ wrote: How big is the current house sq footage wise? Is it a 2 car garage you are looking at converting? Do you currently have an unfinished basement?
It's currently 1770 sq ft. It's a 2 car, 24x24 garage. The basement is mostly finished with an additional bedroom and bathroom but still has a storage room that isn't finished.
not worth it resale wise imo.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Feb 6, 2010 9:46am
LJ wrote:
ZWICK 4 PREZ wrote:
LJ wrote: How big is the current house sq footage wise? Is it a 2 car garage you are looking at converting? Do you currently have an unfinished basement?
It's currently 1770 sq ft. It's a 2 car, 24x24 garage. The basement is mostly finished with an additional bedroom and bathroom but still has a storage room that isn't finished.
not worth it resale wise imo.
I dunno.. most houses in the allotment are 2200-2500 sq. ft. Anytime you can add sq. footage to match the houses in the area, it will raise your property value.
LJ's avatar
LJ
Posts: 16,351
Feb 6, 2010 9:49am
ZWICK 4 PREZ wrote:
LJ wrote:
ZWICK 4 PREZ wrote:
LJ wrote: How big is the current house sq footage wise? Is it a 2 car garage you are looking at converting? Do you currently have an unfinished basement?
It's currently 1770 sq ft. It's a 2 car, 24x24 garage. The basement is mostly finished with an additional bedroom and bathroom but still has a storage room that isn't finished.
not worth it resale wise imo.
I dunno.. most houses in the allotment are 2200-2500 sq. ft. Anytime you can add sq. footage to match the houses in the area, it will raise your property value.
Yeah, but they also have attached 2 car garages. If you have a usable living space, taking away the attached garage isn't going to help.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Feb 6, 2010 9:53am
LJ wrote:


Yeah, but they also have attached 2 car garages. If you have a usable living space, taking away the attached garage isn't going to help.
True. It made more sense last night when I was hung up on adding a bigger garage out back and adding more sq. footage.
Trueblue23's avatar
Trueblue23
Posts: 7,463
Feb 6, 2010 12:46pm
How much land do you have in your backyard Z?

I don't know a whole lot about things like this, but you would think the property value may be impacted by reducing the backyard.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Feb 6, 2010 12:52pm
Trueblue23 wrote: How much land do you have in your backyard Z?

I don't know a whole lot about things like this, but you would think the property value may be impacted by reducing the backyard.
not a whole lot (100x250) but certainly room for a good size garage.
S
Society
Posts: 1,146
Feb 6, 2010 1:03pm
ccrunner609 wrote: My one story ranch has a heated garage with textured ceiling and large windows. It was built to be enclosed and used as living space.
This is useful for the discussion at hand.
DeyDurkie5's avatar
DeyDurkie5
Posts: 11,324
Feb 6, 2010 3:37pm
Society wrote:
ccrunner609 wrote: My one story ranch has a heated garage with textured ceiling and large windows. It was built to be enclosed and used as living space.
This is useful for the discussion at hand.
lol
Scarlet_Buckeye's avatar
Scarlet_Buckeye
Posts: 5,264
Feb 6, 2010 3:47pm
My humble opinion for what it's worth. Each and every "garage" turned "extra living space" looked just like that and, to me, that's a cheap look. Plus for resale, most people want an "attached" garage, over a stand-a-lone garage. If you are wanting more square footage, I would prefer an additional onto the existing home.
C
Con_Alma
Posts: 12,198
Feb 6, 2010 3:49pm
That was my opinion also.
A
antonysharples
Posts: 13
Feb 9, 2010 12:16am
i bought my house with a garage that was turned into a family room. It was what sold us on the house, since it added so much more space compared to what we had been looking at. I also said I would build a garage out back, and 6 years later no garage, and I wish everyday that I had that attached garage back. So just something to think about.

As far as the construction aspect, it doesn't appear to be very difficult what they did, and I have never had any problems with it being on a slab. Just lay down a vapor barrier, use treated 2x's to make a "false floor, then deck it.
J
jmog
Posts: 6,567
Feb 9, 2010 8:17am
tuskytuffguy wrote: Well, being an engineer, one would think you could go the cheaper route and do it yourself. But that would require you to cut into your golf time and get your hands dirty. I mean, it's not like it could cut into golf, since it's winter and we're getting blasted, but doing real-man work is out of the question for you, regardless.
You do know that everytime you attack engineers like this you look completely retarded right?

Nothing you typed there showed any reading comprehension of the original post at all.

I read the first post and completely understood Z4P meant he planned on doing the work himself.
THE4RINGZ's avatar
THE4RINGZ
Posts: 16,816
Feb 9, 2010 8:24am
So it is basically just some smal framing, insulation and drywall? Doesn't sound too difficult. Are you going to be adding windows to the current structure?