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Has anyone changed their garage into a living space? I would LOVE some tips. We have a 1-car garage that also houses my washer/dryer and water heater. Right now it is a room of junk and dirt. My 2 cats also live there (their choice - not ours; probably because it is the quietest room!) We never use or intended to use it for cars.
Anyhow, I was thinking after a major decluttering and CLEANING I could throw down some vinyl tiles, paint, and whatever to make it into a room where I could hold extra non-perishable food, paper goods, etc. Also set up shelving for dh's collections, a homework area, maybe an area for video games...I don't know. I would just like to take off some of the "pressure" from my living room from being the catch-all area and make the garage into a family room type area. I guess I would have to stick something up to cover the back of the garage door, too. I would like to work on this while I am home over the summer, so I am trying to plan ahead now. I would also like to it on the cheap Any thoughts or experiences would be much appreciated! Thanks.
Answer:
We just converted half of our two car garage into a playroom/extra area. We LOVE it! It added over 200 sq ft to our living area.
Is it already heated/cooled? What about electricity? My friend did all this for super cheap for us! We had to add a air duct and it's still quite a bit colder in that room then anywhere else. (I'm in OK btw if that matters any)
For $350 we bought all the lumber, sheetrock, electrical supplies, insulation, base boards etc. needed.
Hubby framed a wall w/ 2x4's and sheet rocked it. He then tape and bedded it and layered two coats of joint compound on it. I would suggest doing this about 2-4 feet in front of your garage door and you'll still have a 'mini storage' area when you raise the door for stuff you don't want IN your extra room.
We ran baseboards and painted the whole garage. Hubby is a professional painter so it looks awesome! <<braggin' on my sweetie>>
The wall was insulated on the outside and covered with heavy duty black plastic. Our garage walls were amazingly insulated already!
We didn't have the money for flooring so for $25 we bought a gallon of Behr epoxy floor paint and painted the concrete a nice burgandy color. And thanks to freecycle we have a nice area rug in there.
It is now our playroom/school room/extra dining room as needed for company!
WOOHOO!
If you want to know any specifics or have any questions just let me know.
~Melissa~
Answer:
Thanks for the great ideas! I like the idea of having a little storage area in the front, when I read that I immediately thought of my hurricane shutters! The garage shares the wall with my living room and I was told they could just make an extra a/c vent. I do have electric outlets already there. Yay. I love how you kept the cost down. I plan to do this myself with the exception of the a/c vent, so I am hoping I can also keep the cost down. I'm glad you are enjoying your room, it makes me excited to do this!
Answer:
not queit a garage, but we converted our basement into an apartment...looks really nice, only we need a heating source. However we aren't going to be worrying about it as we are trying to sell our home.