While it’s likely not many people walk into a house they’d like to purchase and think, “This garage would make an excellent playroom, office, or mancave,” over time, you may start looking at your space differently.

Have you outgrown a home you love that’s in your ideal neighborhood? Maybe you’re tired of your garage being a catch-all for stuff and want to turn it into a space you’ll actually use? Whatever the reason, if you’re thinking about converting your garage into a room or other living space, here are some things to keep in mind.

It Starts with a Plan

So, you’re thinking about adding valuable living space to your home by converting your garage-before you start drawing up garage conversion floor plans, make sure you know what you want this space to become. Consider what rooms are near the garage. You may not want to convert the garage into a bedroom if it’s right beside the family room, or vice versa. Once you decide what you’d like your garage to become, contact a professional general contractor to get things started.

The Basics

Your garage is a blank canvas. Depending on the type of room you want to convert it into, it may need to be soundproofed, insulated, and amenities such as electricity, water, gas, and HVAC may need to be rerouted to cover it. For these issues, you might find it more beneficial to hire the help of a professional to assist you. You may be able to find one by searching terms such as HVAC in Thornton CO or you may use a term more relevant to your location if that was preferable. the HVAC is not the only piece of equipment that could require professional help. For the electrical issues that might occur from the rewiring, careful planning, and mostly the guidance of professionals might be necessary. For example, you may need an electrician (perhaps, check websites like masterelectrical.com/, to find an electrician) to check if the power supply can be extended to the garage, or to know if an additional connection is required, for the same. Keeping in mind, these points as you consider your budget, would, therefore, do you good. If not already even with the rest of the house, you may want to raise the floor in the garage to match the main floor of the house.

Things to Keep in Mind

When designing your living space, you’ll want to make sure to account for any need you have. Here are some features to consider for your new living space:

• Office: You’ll want ample cabinets and shelves to store documents, products, and anything else you’d like to keep out of sight, especially if your office will be used to meet with clients.

• Laundry room: Now is the time to create the laundry room of your dreams! Make sure it is complete with a surface for ironing, cabinets to conceal dirty laundry, hooks for hanging clothes to dry, and baskets for storing smaller items for easy accessibility.

• Bedroom: Since you’ll need a closet space, why not use tall cabinets to act as a wardrobe? Mount shelves on the walls for decoration or added storage space, and use drawers for added clothing storage.

• Living room/Rec room: Shelving is key when creating a living room or rec room space, complete with storage for DVDs, games, and anything else you want to be kept close at hand. Cabinets are excellent to hide blankets, toys, and anything else you’d rather not have out in the open. Another way in which you can utilize this space is turning it into a man cave for you and the boys! Understandably, a guy needs time away for himself and what better way to do it than enjoy a couple of chilled beers with his pals! A gaming set-up or a television set, paired with an air conditioner (keep handy the number of a air conditioning repair Lynchburg company or someone similar in your vicinity, if you do not want your time to be disrupted by a non-working HVAC appliance) – nothing could possibly be better.

What Are You Waiting For?

You have a plan, you know what you want-what are you waiting for?

Choosing to convert your garage into usable living space is an excellent idea that helps increase square footage, but does converting your garage add value to your home? Absolutely. A project like this will take time and money, but in the end, it will be worth it.