Convert garage into livable space

[Anonymous]

How much would it cost to convert a large 2 car garage into livable space? House is a split foyer with the garage in the bottom. It is large (28x23’) and we would be interesting in converting it into livable space.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Following, same question.

[Anonymous]

125k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:125k

Really? That is insane!

[Anonymous]

I mean, it all depends on how old the house is, and how much needs to be done to make it liveable.

Power code now requires a lot more outlets per wall foot, so you will have to do wiring, insulation, drywall (even if its already drywalled, you're going to have to take that all down to do the wiring and insulation.)

Also, whats the actual goal for the livable space? also will you want to be able to convert it back to a garage if you need to sell?

You'll probably want to put in a minisplit for heat and a/c, and the whole front of the garage will need new wall, windows, doors. Garage floors are usually sloped, so for a real conversion you'd need to build up a level floor. 150-200$ per square foot is not unreasonable to actually get to a finished quality of living space.

Otoh, if you just want to make it a more liveable garage, you could just quote getting a minisplit and insulation, and replace the garage door(s) with a more attractive insulated one with more glazing, like: https://www.clopaydoor.com/canyon-ridge-5-layer

You're probably still looking at $50k of work to have a garage with comfortable a/c and heating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:125k

Really? That is insane!

Two things that people who haven't done construction often don't understand:

1. The shell of a house isn't the most expensive part. The real cost is in the mechanical systems and the interior finishes. The shell might be 30% of the cost.

2. When a house is framed, the framing is done based on the intended use of the space. A garage will have been framed differently than a room that was intended as living space. Often this means that when space is converted from one use to another some of the framing has to be redone, which is more expensive than it would have been to do it from the outset.

Let's say this garage is 25x24, 600 square feet. $125K is $200/sf. In the DC market that's pretty cheap for finished interior space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:125k

Really? That is insane!

Two things that people who haven't done construction often don't understand:

1. The shell of a house isn't the most expensive part. The real cost is in the mechanical systems and the interior finishes. The shell might be 30% of the cost.

2. When a house is framed, the framing is done based on the intended use of the space. A garage will have been framed differently than a room that was intended as living space. Often this means that when space is converted from one use to another some of the framing has to be redone, which is more expensive than it would have been to do it from the outset.

Let's say this garage is 25x24, 600 square feet. $125K is $200/sf. In the DC market that's pretty cheap for finished interior space.

Exactly. And OP said it was a large garage. So maybe 700 -750 sq ft

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, it all depends on how old the house is, and how much needs to be done to make it liveable.

Power code now requires a lot more outlets per wall foot, so you will have to do wiring, insulation, drywall (even if its already drywalled, you're going to have to take that all down to do the wiring and insulation.)

Also, whats the actual goal for the livable space? also will you want to be able to convert it back to a garage if you need to sell?

You'll probably want to put in a minisplit for heat and a/c, and the whole front of the garage will need new wall, windows, doors. Garage floors are usually sloped, so for a real conversion you'd need to build up a level floor. 150-200$ per square foot is not unreasonable to actually get to a finished quality of living space.

Otoh, if you just want to make it a more liveable garage, you could just quote getting a minisplit and insulation, and replace the garage door(s) with a more attractive insulated one with more glazing, like: https://www.clopaydoor.com/canyon-ridge-5-layer

You're probably still looking at $50k of work to have a garage with comfortable a/c and heating.

All of this. And are you looking at the garage room to have its own bathroom? Add plumbing to that cost and digging down for sewer tie-ins

[Anonymous]

you gotta remember, the whole "startup in a garage" thing was from *northern california* in the 70s-90s, when most houses didn't have air conditioning because it almost never got up to the 90s. converting a rough uninsulated structure into a workspace in a temperate climate is very different than trying to create a temperate living space in a locale that swings between 30-90F in less than a week and has to be comfortable in 10 degree weather as well as 100+degree weather.