Two tips for those who wish to convert their garage into a living space
If you don't own a car and, therefore, don't need to use your garage as a storage space for a vehicle, it might be worth converting it into an extra room for your home. This will not only provide you with additional living space but could also increase the value of your property. Here are two tips which should help to make the process of converting your garage as simple and straightforward as possible:
Invest in the right equipment for breaking through the concrete
In order for a garage to serve as a habitable space, it will need electrical wiring, so that you can fit lights and radiators, and use electrical devices within the space. If you intend to use this area of your property as an extra bathroom, or if you wish to create a bedroom with an en-suite, you will also have to install plumbing lines.
If like the vast majority of garages, yours has concrete floors and walls, you will need to buy the right equipment to cut through the concrete and perform the above-mentioned installation work.
There are several options to choose from, including, but not limited to, sledgehammers and concrete cutters. Sledgehammers are manual tools which, when swung against a piece of concrete, will cause it to shatter. Whilst inexpensive, they do require a great deal of physical strength to handle. Additionally, it can be difficult to produce precise results, meaning that you may end up breaking more of the concrete than is really necessary and creating a great deal of mess, which you will then need to spend time and money cleaning up.
A concrete cutter is an electrically-powered, handheld piece of equipment which features a circular blade that splits the concrete in half as it rotates. It's ideal if you want to minimise the amount of damage you do to the floors and the walls whilst installing electrical and plumbing lines, as the blade is extremely precise. It's also far faster than manually shattering the concrete with a sledgehammer and as such, may be a good option if you want to complete the renovation work as quickly as possible.
Make sure it blends in
One of the biggest problems with garage conversions is that they often end up looking decidedly different from the rest of the property. This can create a sense of separateness which may result in a rather jarring overall aesthetic.
To combat this, you should make sure that the flooring, wall colours, fixtures and fittings that you select for your garage are similar to those that are found in the rest of your home. For example, if you will be using the garage as a bedroom, and the other bedrooms in your property are covered in plush cream carpeting, it would be wise to use the same fabric in this new living space.
Likewise, if your home has a neutral decorative theme, with lots of taupe, grey and ivory, you should use similarly neutral tones in your conversion.