# how to turn a 2 car garage into a master bedroom suite



## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

First you need to see if it is allowed in your area.


Often a short cinder block wall is made to get you water tight--then a stud wall on top of that.

You wil need to heat the area--level the floor or raise it---add egress windows--those are a few items.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Post a picture of the house.
Beleve it or not changing a garage into a room may lower the value of the home not increase it.

Some of the reasons, most home owners want a garage. Look around the neighorhood, how many other homes have garages?

Not going to fool anyone no matter how nice it comes out, it's still going to look like a closed up garage in most cases.

It will increase the value in most cases if there's some other way you can figure out how to add on to the main house instead.


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## Convict3 (Aug 15, 2012)

Resell is not a option at this time the city built a shipping container port 1500 ft across the channel from our houses and the value has taken a huge hit. Very few poeple here park in the garage. Most are just filled with inwanted junk. Like mine. Funtion is more important then form at this point. The port has offered.me a sizable hush money settlement for the imconvienance of their operation. Hints the new electricaL, plumbing, ac, sprayfoam and sheetrock. 

What is the best what to keep the water from gettong into my new man cave.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

The ansewer to that has already been suggested. Add a row of concrete block where the doors were and build the new wall up from there.
Best we can suggest without a picture.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

What area do you live in? It can be a big factor on how you do it.....

Do you plan to pull permits?


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## Convict3 (Aug 15, 2012)

South texas ill try to get a picture up tomorrow


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## Convict3 (Aug 15, 2012)

Most houses here dont have any cinderblocks. The walls are bolted to the slab.

Yes I have to pull permits. Hvac,plumbing,electrical. Meter loop and service, and general remodel


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## hand drive (Apr 21, 2012)

Convict3 said:


> Most houses here dont have any cinderblocks. The walls are bolted to the slab.
> 
> Yes I have to pull permits. Hvac,plumbing,electrical. Meter loop and service, and general remodel



you could run a row of cinderblocks to get it dried in at the concrete and frame the wall on top of that, then just run your siding down over the cinderblock to conceal it. you will not get a good seal at the concrete otherwise...

I remember when I lived in Texas they did not allow windows to be put into garage remodels, so you literally will have a man cave :thumbsup:...


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## notmrjohn (Aug 20, 2012)

"when I lived in Texas they did not allow windows to be put into garage remodel" When and where was that, hand drive? Except for one misspent year in New Mexico, I've lived, hammered nails, and cut holes in walls in several places in Texas my entire 60+ years and never heard of such a thing. Done right you can put a window where ever you want. If its a bedroom, most places require a window that opens or exterior door as an emergency exit.
"The walls are bolted to the slab. "Convict, just treat the drive way in the opening as a slab. Unless water is coming into your garage now, if that's the case you need to adress that B4 doing anything else. Cinderblocks, concrete, mortar, anything is basically going to be a levee, and levees leak. I don't mean during the hurricane, just during your normal Gulf Coast down pour. 
Used to, folks put bolts thread end up in the foundation whilst pouring, when set they spread a layer of mortar on the foundation and screwed the sill down with a big washer and nut. Nowadays they often drill holes thru sill into foundation, squrt a thick line of caulking made for the purpose, or long strip of pad made for that, drop in an anchor and screw it down. I've seen some jack leg carpenters nail it down with an air gun.
Remove all the trim and casing, clean the footings on each side of the opening. Clean the driveway real good in the openig. Cut a pressure treated, epoxy resined composite, or other man made material 2X6 to fit the opening. Using lots of high tech goopy and mebbee the pad under it and at the ends, screw the plank to the drive, outside edge flush to where your studs will be. If the drive has a lot of dip towards the center you may have to use two 1X's which can make the drilling tricky, use lottsa goopy between them. Use a spade bit big enough to take your washer and deep enuff for the washer and bolt head to start your hole, then drill to take bolt and ancher. You can put some epoxy down in the anchor hole. You can build your wall now and slide it into place. Leave it bit short height and length, it'll go right in. Might need some thick spacers under wall if sill really dips. Shim and fasten it in. If you do it that way you'll have to add nailers at floor level on inside for drywall. Or you can build up a knee wall on top of the sill and put your wall on that. 
On the outside install a...uh..er..fake rim joist across the otside, bottom of opening Pressure treated or what ever 1X wide enogh reach bottom of siding. Mebbee as high as you think your floods gonna be.might have to scribe the bottom to fit drive. Lots more goopy on outside edge of sill, bottom and end of "rim joist" any verticle surface behind it . Pressing it down to drive, fasten to sill and verticles. If bottom is straight enough, length of inside corner flashing with a nice wide vertical and lots more goopy under and behind and between it and board. When you install siding put a goopied piece of Z flashing over the "rim joist." ( depending on which way your joists run and what they sit on this may be a real rim joist. Paint it to match foundation. 
While it may not withstand the coming massive tidal rise due to Global Warming and saved whales displacing more water, you now have a sill sealed as well as, if not better than the ones already on your house. Unless water actually stands against your new wall for an apprecial length of time you shouldn't have any problem. And if H2O does stand there you have a situation that should be fixed any way. 
That is what I did to my garage 12 years ago and I DID have water running into it. I installed a surface drain in drive out from wall and have had no problems since. Except for that one floor joist out in the center that I didn't get shimmed and tite to the garage floor. Boing boing squeek squeek.


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## Convict3 (Aug 15, 2012)

Not mr john, 
That is basicly what I wantto do. Drill for drop in lead.ancors, lay a bed of exterior caulking and set the bottom plate down and bolt tight. Then frame the wall like normal staying inline with the exsisting stud wall. On the outside add 1/2 plywood, then tyvex housr wrap then hardy plank. Caulk and seal all joints. Paint with a exterior latex paint. Then spray foam the inside and drywall.

There id no standing water at mygarage door.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Siding and sheathing should be by code no closer then 6" of grade.
James Hardee needs to be at least 4" per there install instrutions from any soild surface.
Still no pictures?


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

You are under the 2003 IBC code for your location. They will require 2" space from the exterior slab to the siding- stucco, wood, Hardie, so you will need metal flashing there. Use a poly-foam sill sealer for an air/thermal/capillary break between the p.t. wood and concrete.

Gary


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## notmrjohn (Aug 20, 2012)

convict, looks like you know what you're doing. Follow joe and GBR's grade and flashing advice, make sure the concrete is clean, especially of grease and oil, and use a quality caulking that will bond to concrete. Ya know, at my age I find that a 25 year guarantee is a way better deal than a lifetime one.
GBR, I didn't have any of the real poly-foam but I did have some 5/8 dense poly-foam sleeping pads, terrible for camping but great for things like this when sliced into strips. I also put some under my new A/C air handler, the A/C man was gonna use that cheap self stick foam weather stripping. This stuff compresses enough to get a seal over irregularities but not so much as to loose all springiness. A strip of that with thick bead of goopy on each side and it keeps the goopy from being completly squeezed out when you screw the sill down.


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## CoconutPete (Jan 22, 2010)

Convict3 said:


> Very few poeple here park in the garage. Most are just filled with inwanted junk.


That describes 92% of the U.S. :thumbup:


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## rossfingal (Mar 20, 2011)

CoconutPete said:


> That describes 92% of the U.S. :thumbup:


You noticed that, too!!??


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## Convict3 (Aug 15, 2012)

I took some pics today but they are to big to upload. I remove a little trim and it looks like the exterior brick is sitting on a curb.


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## notmrjohn (Aug 20, 2012)

I was gonna build a shed to put all that junk in, but all my tools were out in the garage under a big pile of junk.
Convict, I think masons have an official name for that curb, but I can't remember what. You mean at the bottom of garage door opening at each side, right? Make sure its clean and really goopy in there at ends of your sill and behind the "rim joist". On side of mine was real sloppy as if the suddenly ran out of concrete and couldn't fill the form on out, I had to pack it out square with patch mix.
Resize photos on line http://www.picresize.com/


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