How to Remodel a Garage
The order the work happens in, and what to settle before anything is ordered. A slab, three walls and a huge opening where a room should start.
BeforeAfter
- 1
Work out what the room has to do
Converting a garage is mostly about the door opening and the floor. The opening becomes a wall with a window, and the slab has to come up to the level and warmth of the rest of the house. Everything after that is a normal room in an unusually well-proportioned box.
- 2
Decide what is actually changing
On this project the work touches garage door opening, floor level and insulation, wall lining and insulation, windows in the former opening — and often ceiling finish and heating. Settling that list first is what stops a remodel growing sideways once it has started.
- 3
Hold the dimensions
Whatever the finishes, these do not move. A single garage is typically 12×20ft — enough for a bedroom, office or gym, not for two of them. The slab usually sits 4in below house level; either ramp it or build the floor up and accept the ceiling loss. Fill the door opening with glazing wide enough to read as a window wall, not a patched hole.
- 4
Plan the light before the finishes
Garages have one dimension of daylight at best, so the new glazing does the heavy lifting and the artificial layer has to cover the back half properly. Wall-wash the rear wall — it is the surface furthest from the light and the one that decides whether the room feels deep or dim.
- 5
Check it against the room you have
Photograph the space and render it before anything is ordered. A Standard run costs 4 credits and a new account starts with 4, so the whole thing can be seen before a single decision is paid for.
Questions
- What should I decide first in a garage remodel?
- Converting a garage is mostly about the door opening and the floor. The opening becomes a wall with a window, and the slab has to come up to the level and warmth of the rest of the house.
- What goes wrong most often?
- The old door opening filled with a single small window, so the room reads as a converted garage. The slab left cold, which no amount of flooring fixes.
- Will it work in a small garage?
- A single garage is exactly one good room. Splitting 12×20ft into a bedroom and an ensuite gives you two spaces that are both too small; leaving it as one gives you a room people actually use.
- Can I see it on my own garage before starting?
- Yes — photograph the space and run it through the Studio. It is generated imagery, so compare the render against your photo rather than treating it as a plan.