GARAGE RENOVATIONS
Renovate your garage to suit your needs. Build a workshop, change wiring and add light fixtures. Install windows, entry doors and garage door openers. Change finishing touches for walls, ceilings and floors. Organize with shelves and hanging devices. Add insulation, heating and cooling for added comfort. Create a comfortable home office, soundproofed music studio or laundry from your existing garage space and structure.
As with any such project, you'll want to make sure that the converted garage will have enough light and space, comply with local ordinances and building codes as well as be warm in winter and cool in summer. As always we are at hand to consult and provide professional advice before and during the renovation process.
More often than not, the existing garage floor concrete slab is sloped, cracked and quite a bit lower than the house floor. So converting a garage to living space usually requires installing a new floor structure. There are several options for doing this. One is to build up a wood framed floor that aligns with the floor in the main house. Another is to install a wood framed or concrete floor that is a step or two down from the main house.
When converting a garage to livable space, there's always the issue of what to do with the garage door opening. Because this opening and the garage doors have such a large impact on the overall look of the house, it makes sense to fill the opening with a large-scale element. For example, a good solution is to keep a garage door in the opening while making sure the door is weather tight. Another approach is to have large windows or doors fill the opening. Something like large folding glass doors can be a good option provided there's a fit with the overall aesthetics of the exterior.
Additional windows will more than likely have to be installed, as garages typically have few, if any, windows. It's important to check and comply with any local building codes and ordinances when sizing and locating these new windows. Adding a kitchen or bathroom to a garage conversion can be difficult because tying into the existing plumbing lines is problematic. That's not to say it shouldn't be done as, say, an additional bathroom is always a nice amenity to have. So investigating ways (such as building up the floor to provide a space for plumbing pipes) to overcome the technical difficulties is well worth doing.
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