Turning Your Garage Into a Living Space

If you are looking to add additional square feet of living space to your home, your garage is a great place to start. You’ll be giving up a protected parking and storage area, but you’ll be gaining around 600 square feet of additional space — without paying the high prices associated with a full-scale addition. 

What’s Involved in a Garage Conversion Project? 

While there are multiple steps involved in remodeling a garage, you can expect the process to last around four to six weeks. You’ll pay approximately half of what you’d spend on a new home addition. The total cost can vary depending on what you install and which features you want. However, you can expect to pay anywhere from around $6,000 to $50,000 to convert a standard two-car garage. 

Any time you want to convert your garage into a living space, you’ll have to consider any legal or zoning requirements. That’s because converting your garage into another room might involve doing things like: 

• Opening the partition wall between your house and the garage. 
• Installing an electrical service upgrade. 
• Adding heating and cooling. 
• Adding new windows and doors. 

How to Remodel a Garage and Make It Livable 

To transform your garage into a comfortable space your family and friends can spend time in, you’ll need to complete a few steps to make it livable: 

• Add drywall: Finish or install new drywall to create an aesthetically pleasing space.
• Install insulation: Add insulation to help keep the space comfortable year-round. Depending on your needs, you can use spray foam insulation, rockwool or conventional fiberglass roll insulation.
• Add walls: Install non-load-bearing walls to hide any unsightly items like a furnace or water heater. 
• Increase floor height: Consider raising the floor height to make it even with the rest of your home. 
• Change the flooring: Install a floor covering like tile or laminate flooring to make your floors more attractive.
• Upgrade the door: Insulate or replace your garage door to help it fit in with the new space.

What Types of Rooms Can You Convert a Garage Into? 

Once you’ve created a safe, habitable space out of your garage, you can transform it into any type of room. Here are a few room ideas to consider:

• Bedroom or bathroom.
• Family room. 
• Living room. 
• Playroom.
• Office.
• In-law suite or studio apartment. 
• Mancave. 
• Art studio or craft room. 
• Workspace.

Looking for a New Garage Door to Complete Your Conversion Project?

Here at Oregon City Garage Door, we’ve been providing a full line of stylish and durable garage doors to Portland-area residents for over 25 years. No matter what your needs or favorite styles are, we have collections of wood, aluminum and steel doors that will complement your new garage renovation project. 

Along with having garage doors to suit any style of home, we also offer installation, maintenance and repair services. With our one-year warranty on all new garage door installations, you can trust we’ll do what it takes to ensure you are satisfied and protected. 

For more information on any of our products or services, call us at 503-632-3070 or fill out our contact form.