Webmaster If you’ve got an attached garage that you’re not using for a car, the possibilities are many. Some 
people turn the space into an office or den, some even into an extra bedroom. If you want to convert garage to living space, you’ll appreciate these great tips on how to turn a garage into a room. Hope they help you realize your garage conversion ideas.
7 Hot Tips for Your Garage Conversion Ideas
1. If you don’t require any additional wiring or the extension of the plumbing, this makes for a great DIY project. However, if these changes are required, only the most experienced DIYer should undertake it. A poor quality job will reduced the value of your house and possibly compromise the safety of your home and family. If you go with a contractor, be sure to see our tips on hiring contractors. You may also want to look at our post on avoiding home improvement con artists.
2. Empty the garage of all of its contents. Easier said than done, I know. But all that time you procrastinated in dealing with the heaps of half empty paint cans, bicycle frames, unpacked cardboard boxes and so on, now has to be resolved. Now, you really do have to find a place for all that stuff.
3. Make a plan for the room. And we mean a thorough plan, right down to the plastering, addition of a wall, a floor or a dropped ceiling. Don’t make it up as you go along; that will only lead to trouble, later. Spell it all out in advance and get a budget estimate of your job. Is this a project that you can handle through current savings or will you need to look at a home equity loan?
4. Get started. If you’re hiring a contractor, be sure you got several estimates and looked into all references. Any qualified contractor should be able to handle the job in a straight forward manner. One additional worker is likely the only extra labor cost required. If you’re doing the work, enlist the help of one or two friends or family members.
5. Assuming that your project to turn a garage into a room does not require the installation of a new wall or door, you’ll be hanging sheetrock first wherever needed. Most of today’s garages are sheetrock ready, so the next step is to disconnect the garage door. If it’s going to be a cozy room, we don’t want the door accidentally popping open in the middle of winter or a summer thunderstorm, right? One option is to entirely remove and replace the door or you could just remove the tracks and the unit used to open the door and place drywall behind it. From the street, your new office or bedroom will look just like a garage. And that might be a good idea.
6. Lay down sheets and get to the painting. Begin with a primer base and follow it with a coat of paint. Patch holes and use painter’s tape to set off lines or to protect edges. See the HIR post on painting a room fast. Paint the ceiling when you paint the walls, putting this project behind you.
7. The final step is deciding what to do with the floor. You might want to add carpeting. HIR has a post offering some great carpet advice for that option. Assuming the concrete floor of the former garage isn’t heavily marked up with oil stains from parking the car there for years, you might in fact find that thoroughly cleaning and finishing the concrete is the way to go. See the HIR post concrete floors. Or, depending upon your local climate, you may also decide to install a raised floor with insulation underneath.
If you’ve thoughts to convert a garage to a living space, these hot tips have been for you. The possibilities are many, for making use of an underutilized garage. So, if you want to convert garage to living space, hope these hot tips on how to turn a garage into a room help you realize your garage conversion ideas.
