Turning your garage into a studio apartment means extra room to accommodate your guests comfortably at home when they visit you but further, it can represent an additional source of income and higher sale value, which is something you might want to consider. However, doing this correctly, is not necessarily an easy project; so if you’re thinking all you have to do change your doors and roll out a new carpet, read on!
In this post, as your Millerton Garage Doors company, Hudson Valley Overhead Doors & Operators tells you what are the steps you need to follow, in order to successfully turn your garage into a studio apartment.
Now, the first and most important thing you must do is to obtain all the permits. Since you’ll be needing permits to install new electrical wiring and plumbing to your garage, you ought to pay a visit to your town hall or county courthouse to complete the necessary paperwork. Additionally, you should arrange the visit of any inspector so your new studio apartment can be reviewed before inhabiting or renting it.
Next up, is working the floor plan. However, before you jump into creating a floor plan you must first figure out what to do with your garage door. This bit can be tricky but you can always contact a Millerton Garage Doors specialist to help you out in order to make an informed decision. Amongst the options, you could choose to convert your garage door into an exterior wall space, or if you’re in the mood to splurge, you can hire a contractor to convert it into a bay window. However, if you choose to leave the door as it is, then you must insulate it and make sure all the edges are sealed. For this purpose, you can use polyurethane foam or basic caulk.
Once you’ve decided what to do with the garage door, you can define the floor plan and level the floor’s slope, this will ensure you can start off with a clean and clear canvas. In order to minimise costs, when planning how the space will be distributed, try to locate the kitchen and the bathroom as close to the wall shared with the main house as possible. Then, it’s time to connect the new apartment to the pipes and wiring of the main house, which you can do by running the lines through your home’s exterior walls and into the apartment.
Another important thing you must take into account is how will you be controlling the temperature of the new apartment. You can either connect the garage apartment to the temperature controls of the main house, or if you’re looking to make the new garage more cost efficient, buy a space heater and window air conditioning unit for the new apartment.
If your garage accommodates only one car, you might want to keep the space as open as possible. However, if the garage accommodates several cars, then you can divide the space to separate the rooms and use drywall to cover the walls without forgetting to properly insulate the space to reduce cooling and heating expenses. You might als want to consider carpet or linoleum for the floors and latex paint for the walls.
If you’re looking to remodel your garage or change the doors, get in touch with an expert who can provide you with the best advice. To learn more about our Millerton Garage Doors services call Hudson Valley Overhead Doors And Operators at (845) 876-2772.
