Turning a Garage to an extra Room

[Keen]

Hi all,
I am keen to know how others have approached turning a garage into an extra room and just how professional does this look?

Do you get a ceiling hung? Foundations for the floor laid? Worth getting the walls plastered? Is a single brick garage now a single brick room satisfactory if the rest of the house is double brick?

What houses are best for this? Ones with space to the side for a patio style garage to be added after the reno? And the likely cost?

I am looking to buy in a prodomitely 3 x 1 area and wish to convert to a 4 x 2. Anything I should look for in particular?

Regards

Keen

 

[skater]

If you are handy, it is easy. We converted an attached carport into an extra room in our PPOR. First we enclosed the walls & put in a roller door to make a garage. Then about a year later wanted extra room so turned it into one. As there is an easement next to it for the neighbours drive it is not legal for it to be a room, so from the outside it still looks like a garage, rollerdoor & all.

To do this we put down a floor, similar to a deck but with floorboards, changed a window into a doorway & built some steps into the new room. Lining the walls is the easy part. We had a childrens bedroom suite that we had tried to give away & couldn't (it had pink handles & the person that wanted it wanted blue) so we made that a builtin wardrobe underneath the rollerdoor & built a kind of hob above it. It looks real good. From the inside you would never be able to tell that there is a rollerdoor.

 

[duncan_m]

so from the outside it still looks like a garage, rollerdoor & all.

I've noticed a few houses in my area that have enclosed their garage.. they also built the internal wall back about 50cm from the retained roller door then used that space as an external cupboard with the roller door providing access.. they use it to store all the car-cleaning bits and peices, garden tools etc..

 

[Peter Parker]

Don't bedrooms legally have to have a window?

The owner of the other half of my duplex is doing this. There is enough space for a carport on his side, so presumably he'll construct one. Then he'll have 3br + carport instead of 2br + garage.

Given that a garage is better than a carport and my long-term tenant is single, I think I'll leave my half as is, though it's something to keep in mind for the future.

Rgds, Peter

 

[Aceyducey]

Not a window as such. Simply ventilation and sunlight to certain dimensions.

We have a room we placed a large openable (and double-glazed) skylight in rather than a window (which would have required council approvals, building licence, etc).

But depends on the jurisdiction

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[Peter 14.7]

HI Keen

I will try my best to address each point:

Hi all,
I am keen to know how others have approached turning a garage into an extra room and just how professional does this look?
Keen

Well my tenant did it and simply replaced the roller door with sliding glass and we carpeted the floor. Floor was a step down and there was no risk of water entering so carpet was ok. It still looks like a garage but tenant is happy.

To make it look right you would need to add a few courses of bricks to the front to build a window sill to match the rest of the house.

It is worth it? Probably not as when you sell it is on title not a room and the new owner may actually want the garage back.

Hi all,
Do you get a ceiling hung? Foundations for the floor laid? Worth getting the walls plastered? Is a single brick garage now a single brick room satisfactory if the rest of the house is double brick?

Assuming from your description you have slab on ground and face brickwork.

OK. If you are looking to raise the floor to suit the house then a simple floor can be laid on the concrete with no need for foundations.

Single Skin brick have no cavity like double skin so moisture can travel into the internal face which if left face will simply evaporate. if you line with render/plasterboard to match the house you could have mould on the paint surface.

if you build an internal timber wall and plasterboard and keep a 40mm air gap you should be ok but you will not have weep holes in the external face to ventilate the space.

Of course in a dry environment this risk is greatly reduced.

Consider Termites as well. Maybee better to use steel frame as it is will be hard to termite proof the additional walls and such.

If you have no ceiling you need a ceiling. Again plasterboard will be ok. Looks better and improves light and dust issues.

What houses are best for this? Ones with space to the side for a patio style garage to be added after the reno? And the likely cost?

I would answer the above question with "the best one are the one where the extra rent well exceeds the cost of the works." That is, where you improve the yield.

Design factors are pretty but dont really matter on costs but DO matter on sale.

I am looking to buy in a prodomitely 3 x 1 area and wish to convert to a 4 x 2. Anything I should look for in particular?

Regards

Keen

I dont understand this question?

Please explaaiin

Peter 147

 

[Peter 14.7]

I've noticed a few houses in my area that have enclosed their garage.. they also built the internal wall back about 50cm from the retained roller door then used that space as an external cupboard with the roller door providing access.. they use it to store all the car-cleaning bits and peices, garden tools etc..

This is not a bad idea.

Maintain the street scape. Somewhere for the mower, etc..

Easiu to remove wall in the future and if you can DIY cheaper than glass door.

Peter 147

 

[yadreamin]

I've noticed a few houses in my area that have enclosed their garage.. they also built the internal wall back about 50cm from the retained roller door then used that space as an external cupboard with the roller door providing access.. they use it to store all the car-cleaning bits and peices, garden tools etc..

What a cleaver idea.

cheers yadreamin

 

[4GH1RH]

My room in a rented share house was a converted garage. They added sliding glass doors where the door used to be. There was no other window. The major problem with that conversion was the garage was not the same level as the house, it was lower, and given the volume of rain we get in Cairns sometimes, the sliding doors used to lead sometimes and the water would seep in under the carpet. That led to a terrible smell for days afterwards. The landlord did a silicone bodgy job which never really worked. The other problem was it was a concrete block structure, but the breeze blocks on the side had been replaced with a timber frame and clad. Termites got in and ate it all away. so effectively there was not much of an exterior wall on that side. The only other issue I can think of is to make sure it is legal height once the ceiling and floor are in.

Other than that, I have happily lived in quite a few garages in my time! Hmmm, never thought of it before, but I was living in the garage, and a friends Harley Davidson was parked in the lounge.... that does not make sense...

 

[jgray1982]

I can only offer advice in relation to Victorian Building Regulations, however i would suggest you contact your local government and find out if you need a building permit or not.

In Victoria you would require a building permit for the 'change of use' of the building. As a result you would need to bring the building into compliance with the Building Code of Australia which considers natural lights, insulation levels, ventilation, freeboard, water proofing, etc. You will be changing a Class 10 (outbuilding, garage, carport, etc) to a class 1 (dwelling), ensure that you advise the building department of this.

I would assume that you would require a building permit in which case all of the above will be madatory. But as i said, it is really best to contact the local goverment and find out the exact stance on the regulations within your state.

Cheers