How to Make a Garage Living Space

With large families, it might be hard to find extra space. You might have your kids sharing a bedroom or lack a gathering place like a family room. You could always make a garage living space and turn it into something other than storage.

Your garage can become a family room, man cave, bedroom, office or even a small separate place for grown children between houses. If you’re going to do this, there are a few things you need to do to make sure it works out well.

In this article, we’ll show you everything you need to know to create a garage living space. You can finally use your garage for more than just a place to park your cars.

What Do You Want to Make Your Garage Living Space Into?

Planning is the key to everything and before you can get started turning your garage into a living space, you need to know what you’re going to do. What you’re turning your garage into can determine how much work you’re going to have to put into this project.

For instance, if you want to turn your garage into a family room or office, you’re going to need outlets and electricity running throughout your garage. This will require the assistance of an electrician. Same can be said with wanting to turn your garage into a wet bar – you’ll need to have water running through your garage.

By having water or electricity running through your garage, you’ll increase the value of your home. It opens up a world of possibilities for things you can do with your garage. So while the task seems difficult right now, the benefits might outweigh the work for your family.

You’ll Need to Get a Permit

Before you can start any remodeling or additions to your home, many towns require you to get permits. If you’re not sure, you should speak to your town hall to inquire if garage remodeling requires a permit.

Detached Garages Are Great for Garage Living Spaces

There are a lot of advantages to having a detached garage living space. Since it’s not attached to your home, there’s more privacy. If you’re having adults use your detached garage as a living space, you’ll still be able to have privacy.

You also have more customization options working with a detached garage. Since you’re working with a separate entity from your home, you won’t have to worry about any walls being attached to your home. There’s no limit to what you can do when building a living space in your detached garage.

Size of Your Garage

The size of your garage makes a huge difference when building a garage living space. A one car garage is much smaller and can only be turned into a bedroom, office or small living room. On the other hand, a three car garage can be made into a studio apartment. Remember, the larger the garage, the more you can do.

Start with the Floors

The best place to start when remodeling your garage is the floors. There are many directions you can go with your garage flooring. It all depends on what you want in your living space.

Raising the Floors

One thing you’ll need to do is to raise the floor. Since the floor of your garage isn’t at the same level as your home, you’ll experience water seeping inside if the floors aren’t raised.

By raising the floor, you’ll also be able to insulate it before choosing a type of flooring. The ground will still feel cold, even inside of your garage without the insulation. You need to put foam between the concrete of your garage and your flooring.

What Type of Floor do You Want?

There are several different directions you can go with your garage flooring. An epoxy is very common no matter what you’re doing with your garage. It looks sleek and is very easy to clean. You can’t go wrong with epoxy.

Since you won’t be parking your cars in the garage, no flooring is off limits. Tile, hardwood and carpeting are great options for your garage living space, especially if you’re making it a bedroom or living room. It’s not crazy to think about since you’d do the same for a bedroom or living room inside of your house. What’s the difference?

Insulate the Walls and the Ceiling

The floor isn’t the only thing that needs to be insulated. Your walls and ceiling will need to be as well. You don’t want to feel the extreme temperatures we experience in Chicago. Make sure you have foam insulation behind the drywall in your garage.

When Danley’s builds your garage, we take care of insulating it for you. Our expert builders make sure all of your walls and ceiling have foam insulation to prevent outside temperatures from getting into your garage. Get a free quote now and have a beautiful detached garage built for you.

Your Garage Door Needs to Become a Wall

If you’re turning your garage into a living space, you’re going to want to turn your garage door into a wall. This will prevent you from opening up an entire wall of your new room. Plus, you’ll be able to hang things on the wall without the fear of it moving.

Also, unless you have a foam-insulated steel door, you’re garage won’t be as energy efficient as it should be. You should replace that old wood garage door with an insulated wall. You’ll feel more comfortable immediately.

Running Electricity to the Garage

You already know that it’s important to have electricity running through your garage living space. Without it, you can’t have anything that requires power.

If you’re going to run electricity through your garage, your best bet it to hire a professional to do it for you. It’s extremely dangerous to run your own electricity through your garage. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can severely injure yourself.

Add Windows to Your Garage

Having windows in your garage living space is essential. It’ll help brighten up the room without having to turn on light and use electricity. Plus, you’ll get a great view outside and can enjoy fresh air.

Also, being exposed to natural light affects you. It’s proven that being exposed to natural light makes you feel happier and more productive. This is especially important if you’re turning your garage into an office or workshop.

Create the Perfect Garage Living Space

A garage living space is important for large families, especially if they’re not ready to move into a larger house. It gives you more room and can even create separation for two families living in the same home.

While any garage can be a living space, a detached garage gives  you more freedom to truly customize it. Plus, you’ll have more privacy and be able to have your own living situation separate from the rest of your family.

Speaking of customized detached garages, Danley’s can help you build your own garage that’s perfect for a living space. Our professional garage builders will come to your home and work with you to build the perfect garage for any situation. Get a free quote now and see why over 100,000 homeowners have trusted Danley’s.