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Anyone convert attached garage into living space?

Posted on 2/5/24 at 10:17 pm
Posted by 23parker
Louisiana
Member since Aug 2011
251 posts
Posted on 2/5/24 at 10:17 pm
My garage is fully insulated, except for the door. It does not currently have HVAC.

This week my garage door was damaged and before replacing it, I’m considering framing in the opening.

The garage is not used for vehicles and would be a nice addition to the house.

Any reason to not do this? Can I just have a duct run through the attic to provide HVAC?
Posted by greenbean
USAF Retired - 31 years
Member since Feb 2019
5165 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 7:21 am to
Probably not on running the duct. Look into a mini split, that would probably be an easy space to do it. You'd probably be looking at $3000-$4000 to have one installed. You can do it yourself for less than half that. If you can do a window unit, that will be the easiest and cheapest method, about $500.
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
40776 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 7:26 am to
quote:

Can I just have a duct run through the attic to provide HVAC?
you can do anything. Whether it works depends on the size of your garage and the size of the unit you are pulling air from.

have an hvac guy come take a look
Posted by Tree_Fall
Member since Mar 2021
637 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 7:45 am to
A possible problem area is the quality of the garage floor. Lay a sheet of plastic down for a few days and see if moisture accumulates under it. If it does, have an epoxy sealant put on . In my house there is a plastic barrier in the slab only under the house floor, not so for the attached garage.
Posted by Tigers4Lyfe
Member since Nov 2010
4967 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 8:44 am to
KInd of trashy when people do this in my opinion.
Posted by gumbo2176
Member since May 2018
16344 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 8:49 am to
quote:

you can do anything. Whether it works depends on the size of your garage and the size of the unit you are pulling air from.

have an hvac guy come take a look



This. I would think the average garage is at least 400 sq. ft. and that is a lot to heat and cool in addition to your actual living area. Like already mentioned, split unit or window unit is the way to go-----that way, if not in use you can simply turn it off and save on electricity.

I have an 850 sq. ft. man cave on my first floor that is not in use every day, so the window A/C or heat is only used when actually down there doing something. It is so well insulated that it only takes about 1/2 hour to heat or cool.
Posted by weadjust
Member since Aug 2012
15375 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 9:11 am to
quote:

KInd of trashy when people do this in my opinion


Depends how it’s done. You would never know my parents converted their garage to a den back in the 70s. The opening was bricked up using matching brick with a big wood burning fireplace. A detatched 3 car garage was also built.

Framing the opening and adding a door/windows and some vinyl siding over the opening does kinda kill the curb appeal.
Posted by WhiskeyThrottle
Weatherford Tx
Member since Nov 2017
5838 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 9:50 am to
What does this do to the resale value on the house is always my concern. You're expanding the square footage, but I think most people want a garage attached to the house.

May just make the house less appealing to future buyers?

The converted garages I've been in, you can always tell that they converted the garage to a living space.

Just something else to consider if nothing else.
Posted by 23parker
Louisiana
Member since Aug 2011
251 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 10:56 am to
I have wondered what the effects to resale are as well.

On one hand it would increase the usable size of the home. I would ideally build a home office in there.

But I understand the loss of the garage may be a an issue for some. Most don’t park in their garages around here from what I have seen…

Posted by BRich
Old Metairie
Member since Aug 2017
2361 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 12:00 pm to
You should also check your local zoning and building regulations before you do so.

In more urbanized areas like Jefferson Parish, for example, you need one legal (20 ft. deep, 10 ft. wide) parking space behind the required front yard setback (20 ft.).

The legal parking space can be a driveway alongside the house, under an attached or detached carport, or in a detached or attached garage under the same roof as the house.

The idea behind this is the average household has two cars, and one will park in the required parking space, and the other will be parked in the 20 ft. long driveway leading to it without blocking a sidewalk.

Enclosing an attached garage likely eliminates that required legal parking space and may not be allowed if you go to obtain a construction permit.

I think it's sort of an ineffective rule, because probably 3/4s of attached garages in Metairie are NOT used to park a car, but used to store bikes, boats, and tons of junk. And folks enclose attached garages all the time, often without the required legal permits.

Just sayin'...
This post was edited on 2/6/24 at 2:33 pm
Posted by poochie
Houma, la
Member since Apr 2007
6624 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 12:05 pm to
quote:

KInd of trashy when people do this in my opinion.


Not kind of, straight up is.
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
40776 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 12:05 pm to
quote:

Enclosing an attached garage likely eliminates that required legal parking space and may not be allowed if you go to obtain a construction permit.

1) close the overhead door
2) frame and close the opening from the inside
3) build out the space inside
4) profit
Posted by DrewTheEngineer
Baton Rouge (Oak Hills)
Member since Jun 2006
1051 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 6:12 pm to
I had this done Summer of 2022.

Had the carport closed in, and had a new carport built out in front because I absolutely did not want to park in the driveway.

With regard to HVAC, my existing space was completely maxed out with the single unit that I have, so a mini-split was installed in the new space. The mini-split works great. Just set it and forget it. No noticeable increase in electricity bill.

I mainly closed in the space as a game room for the kids and have absolutely zero regrets.

Posted by Hankg
Member since Feb 2011
632 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 7:02 pm to
What did you do with the space where the garage door was. I’m considering the same thing and thinking add a wall / window/ door combination. Built where I can turn it back into a garage later if wanted. Thanks
Posted by 23parker
Louisiana
Member since Aug 2011
251 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 7:24 pm to
I too plan on this approach.

I have ample parking area and think the house would benefit from the added space.

I was thinking a double door within the wall that is framed at the new opening.
Posted by 3BlockUber
Member since Aug 2022
547 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 7:31 pm to
I’m sure there is it a raised foundation like you have in your house. You always step up to enter the house, not for the garage. That would need to be considered.
Posted by The Last Coco
On the water
Member since Mar 2009
6861 posts
Posted on 2/6/24 at 10:31 pm to
We have 2 two-car garages separated by a framed wall.

We looked into converting one of these into a bedroom, office and large walk in closet.

We had plans drawn up by architects and got a bid. For around 425sf, the bid we received to convert the space was $150k. We decided not to move forward with the project. We probably need to get another quote just to make sure, but even if that original bid is $50k over what another bid would be, it still makes 0 sense. We paid ~$175/sq ft when we bought in June 2022. Converting a garage for well above that cost is insane.

Our plans included:
- pouring new floors to match the elevation of the current indoor living area
- adding 2 windows where the garage door currently sits
- removing brick from an existing external wall to use around said windows to make the exterior look seemless (and replacing that brick with siding)
- removing existing driveway leading to converted space
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
64259 posts
Posted on 2/7/24 at 6:16 am to
I built my shop in my basement back in Georgia. I had a garage door to deal with. You can buy big pieces of foam insulation from Home Depot to put up against the garage door. They are more than 5"thick. Put up plastic before hand, completely covering the door opening so no wind could get through. I then stuffed insulation all around the outside of the foam panels then plastic over the top again. I used thick plastic.

Im sure there are more ways to do it to look better but I never got any buggs, water or cold through it. I could stand very close to that door and I counld not tell any difference in the temps.

Also, when I moved, I just took the stuff down and the door was operational again.

There are ways to do it better Im sure but that worked
Posted by warm
Louisiana
Member since Jan 2022
99 posts
Posted on 2/8/24 at 12:53 pm to
I converted mine... 19x19 space. Bought rubber flooring interlocking tiles from Rubber Flooring Direct. Have two dumbbell racks, bench, and pull up bar in there. It is partly my workout room but also a play room for the kids since it's so wide open. We just put a big window unit in there (it had a small little closet with a window) and I added a return duct to my HVAC right outside the door to help keep it cool.
Posted by Drunken Crawfish
Member since Apr 2017
3848 posts
Posted on 2/8/24 at 2:53 pm to
I did this in 2021. You don't need to run HVAC, just frame the opening, run a 2 ton mini-split and get enough concrete to make the floor level with the rest of the house.

Its our kids playroom now, built in bunkbeds, pingpong table, play kitchen, all that isn't in our main living space. Added about 575sqft to the house so itll be the best bang for your buck.
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