hi all
new here
i'm looking to convert a single brick garage into a liveable room
6x3m, corrugated roof, concrete floor. only structural work needed is to cut a hole in one wall for a window (non-load bearing wall afaik)
question is, has anyone done this before?
(i've just spent the last 2 hours trawling through the search under 'garage')
i know i'll probably need to ring up and speak to the council and apply for permits and approvals
but has anyone done somethign similiar?
any advice? suggestions? tips? would be greatly welcome
also, if anyone in melbourne has done it, could i have come have a quick looksie??
thanks all
some picts
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/timmy_Tam22/P4040002.jpghttp://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/timmy_Tam22/P4040005.jpghttp://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/timmy_Tam22/P4040003.jpghttp://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g101/timmy_Tam22/P4040004.jpg
I dont think it would be all that hard.
Im currently living at my parents place while building and we converted the garage into the room we are staying in. Works really well for us as my kids have a room they can play in and we dont all get under each others skin.
We have our beds, tv, toys, fridge in here.
There house was a showhome previously and so the garage was already tiled and has a sliding door into the back.
We just put up plasterboard or whatever its called over the roller doors and put some insulation in.
We will be doing the same thing in our new place and turning it into a big playroom for them.
Sorry havent really been much help!! Just wanted to say that it obviously can be done and turn out quite well.
V
Easy peasy! Put in ceiling and insulation, paint the brick walls, pop in window and door - could take all afternoon, though.
Seriously, lots of us have converted tin sheds into homes to live in while building - see Anna1's thread on this and mine for example. This should be a doddle by comparison.
The biggest potential pitfalls I can see are council permission if you want to do everything by the book and ensuring you have a dry floor. In past decades it wasn't always automatic to put waterproofing under concrete floors of garages and carports. However, if you leave a sheet of plastic on the floor for a couple of days and it doesn't get damp under it, you might be be OK. Can't really say that won't change in winter, though.
I think it's a good project and might yield a cute room with lots of character.
Cheers
zeke
PS searching under "sheds" might get more results.
okies, bit of an update
i had a builder come in and suss it out
at first, he was abit hesitant due to hte fact one side of the garage slopes down to 2.3m (habitable is 2.4m)
but everything else (window, walls, insulation, ceiling) was definetly doable.
but after talking to his surveyor, he reckons i could get away with declaring it a 'storage room' instead of a habital room, thus saving me a fair bit of headache and costs
all in all, looking around 4-7 thousand to get it all done - insulated, walled, window, ceiling, bifold doors, etc.
so i'm thinking i might see how much i can tackle by myself before getting help. things like insulation and framing (all non-structural) shouldn't be too difficult to manage.
my only concern is the window.
who would i call do cut a hole and prop up a lintel? a bricklayer? a carport specialist? what should i be looking for in the yellow pages?
thanks
Beware the council can check on the usage at any time and the ceiling height is illegal.
Also the concrete floor will need to have a waterproof membrane under to comply even if you lift the ceiling. Is the side cavity brick,? to be habitable will need to be watertight