Convert Your Garage to Liveable Space with These Tips

If you're looking to add new living space to your home, then one of the smartest ways that you can do it is convert your garage. If your garage is already attached to the house, it's got that cohesive flow through with the internal door and you'll be able to transform it into a living space pretty quickly and affordably. A garage conversion doesn't just help you to create a new room, however. 

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You'll be able to create something that blends with the existing house and can be adapted to serve many different purposes.If you want to add a new bedroom instead of a garage, you can also throw up some PVC wall panels to create space for an ensuite. There are so many possibilities when it comes to converting your garage, and most of the time, an attached garage makes for the ideal location for an expanded office, a new bedroom, or a guest suite. With a little bit of planning, you can serve your garage as an extra room, and you can rent it out to gain some cash. But what should you be considering when turning your garage into a living space? Our tips below can help you to convert yours.

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Think about the temperature

When you consider converting your garage into a new space, you need to make it livable, which means you need to think about the temperature system within it. Usually a ducted heating and cooling system doesn't extend to the garage. In some cases you might be able to extend the system that you've got, but if it's not an option, you should have a look at independent systems. You can use a HVAC in the room which can handle the warm weather very well with air conditioning and also add heating for when it's winter.

Need to change up the wiring?

When converting it to a livable space, there's every chance that you need to increase the electrical usage in that space. Does that mean you add a 20AMP circuit? Or do you reroute the wiring completely to have more than one powerpoint? You're turning it into a living space, which means that you can run extra wiring from the house through an underground conduit. But you do need to make sure that you hire an electrician to do this. Whether your garage is attached or not, you need to ensure that it's wired correctly. This is not a DIY job.

Don't forget to check the plumbing

If the garage will be converted into a room that requires plumbing, make sure that you prepare for some trouble here. It's easy to supply water to the garage, but it's the drainage that might be a problem. In the similar vein to adding electricals, you need to call a plumber when it comes to adding new pipe work. The space itself doesn't need to have plumbing, but it is definitely an option depending on why you are converting the garage.

Don't forget to get permission

You cannot convert your garage into a space to live in unless you get building regulation approval. Just because you are converting an existing space rather than constructing a new building, it doesn't mean that you won't need to get it licensed or permitted. The use of the building and its construction may be of interest to the local authorities. So you don't want to spend a lot of money on a big renovation only for them to tell you that you can't do that and to put it back to where it's supposed to be.

Are you planning to install some windows?

Making this a studio space or an extra bedroom may mean that you have to think about whether you add windows. Some people choose not to add a window to their garage, but to ensure that they have a back door which has opened out into the rest of the world. This allows light to come in while allowing ventilation.

Reinforce the walls

Did you know that garage walls are usually single course brickwork? If that's the case, it may not meet building regulations for moisture or insulation, but this is a problem that you can solve by adding an interior insulated stud wall. We already talked about using PVC walls to add partitions to create other rooms.

Replace the garage door

The garage door itself may have to be replaced with a new one if you're converting it to an extra room in your house. This may mean that you'll need new foundations, and if that's the case, there are several options that you may need to choose from. 

Conclusion

It is totally possible to convert your garage into a liveable space. If you decide to make it a studio apartment to rent out, you can quickly get the money back you spent. If not, surely you and your family's long term enjoyment of the new living space will outweigh any costs.

This is a contributed post.

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