The garage may not be the first place you look when you want to add value to your home. The garage seems like the sort of space the construction crew abandoned.
The truth is that a well-finished garage will definitely impress potential home buyers. In fact, a well-finished garage is a perfect arsenal to wow home buyers.
Well, the answer depends on what you want to achieve but you should not expect much from a resale standpoint.
What is a Finished Garage?
A good approach to answering this question would be to differentiate between a finished and an unfinished garage.
An unfinished garage is basic and your everyday average garage where stuff is stored all over has unfinished walls and ceilings and has a little degree of comfort.
A finished garage is just like any other room in the house, well put together, clean, and has plenty of open space.
By finishing a garage, one creates new usable space that can be used for various purposes such as home improvement projects, and as a space to work on cars for homeowners who love it.
Does finishing the garage affect the value of your home?
First and foremost, a home without a working garage decreases in market value and will be harder to sell to prospective buyers.
This also applies to converted garages, which may be made into large bonus rooms. The position of the room in the house is awkward and therefore if the owner decides to sell, he or she may have to convert it back to a garage.
Finishing a garage will probably not add market value to your home, and it won’t hurt your home’s value either.
What is the cost of finishing a garage?
Apart from painted and textured dry walls, finished garages have other elements such as built-in storage and a resurfaced flooring.
Finishing your garage will cost you approximately $9,970. It all depends on the extras you would like to add to the project.
Ten grand is a huge sum of cash to use on a room that is used basically to park cars.
Thus, the key point is that it is not worth it to finish up your garage right before you sell.
In fact, all a home seller needs to do is invest time cleaning up and organizing the garage. The money can be used in other home improvement projects that have a much higher ROI.
However, at other times, a finished garage is a must-have. Say you are selling a $1.5M dollar luxury home or for that matter, you do live in a neighborhood where all your neighbors have finished garages. It becomes practical then to have a finished garage.
Finishing VS Converting a Garage
Should one finish or convert their garage into living space? Well, it all depends on what you need.
Sometimes, space gets tight and due to the crowded situation, a homeowner may look to find space from nothing. Garage conversions are common in locations where neighbors are close and real estate is expensive. Additionally, the internet has made it possible for homeowners to decrease the cost of the mortgage by renting out unused spaces such as the garage.
Garage conversions seem to be the perfect do-it-yourself home remodeling project. With nothing to hinder you like heavy load lifting, a garage conversion project is a likely project.
However, a garage conversion project has various pros and cons that you ought to consider before starting the project.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Garage Conversion
Garage conversion requires more contemplation as compared to remodeling a basement as pros are significantly balanced out by cons. You can seldom go wrong with remodeling a basement. After all, what could possibly go wrong with restructuring a dark room into one that is usable and light-filled?
As for a garage, it is a different case. By converting a garage, you trade space that can be used for different purposes into space that can only be used for one purpose – living space.
In the worst situations, you end up devaluing your house altogether.
Garage conversion may preserve yard space, but it also means a decreased yard space for other activities. You may think that since most people use this space for storage, it is an excellent idea to convert this space. However, most buyers will not agree with this. This is because most buyers rate homes with protected garage spaces premium. Thus the home value deteriorates with a garage conversion.
Moreso, a garage conversion may be more involving than it seems to be. Most people think that since everything is in place, it’s a simple process. On the contrary, garage conversions are extensive and costly projects that almost add value.
Therefore, we do conclude that finishing versus converting a garage is entirely up to you, it all depends on your individual needs.
Tips to make your finished garage an extension of your home
Extending your home with a finished garage will help you maximize all your home’s available square footage.
Home renovation projects are preferred by homeowners who would like more space without the derailment of an extension.
Thus they can utilize the space that is already available, with a few renovation projects. Much more often, most people prefer the attic or the basement as it is already a part of the primary living space. However, a garage holds more if not just the same amount of potential in home renovation projects.
Here are some tips on making a garage an extension of your home:
Walls
Usually, an unfinished garage has walls that may not be ideal for a living space. One may use drywall as it is the most preferred finished wall option. You can add paint, faux brick, or even wallpaper to customize it to your liking.
Plywood is also generally preferred as it is cost-effective.
Floors
There are plenty of methods to have low-maintenance concrete floors without losing that perfect finish.
You can paint your concrete floor or alternatively, you can use epoxy. There exist latex-based paints that are ideal for concrete floors. Moreso, they come in a wide variety of colors and can produce different designs.
Epoxy coatings are excellent for your garage as they are customizable and durable. Additionally, unlike paint, it bonds and sticks to your current concrete making it a more durable flooring solution. Moreso, you can add on top of it different color acrylic flecks or a resistant mixture for a long-lasting flooring solution.
You can also use vinyl tiles, hardwood, or carpeting.
Doors
There are many ways to approach that distinctive large door very garage has during renovation.
You can keep the large garage door, especially if you want that outdoor ambiance to your new living space. This is a great option if you want an entertainment space.
You can also repaint the garage door or replace it with glass panels with curtains on the inside.
More so, since most garages have an extra door that you use to access the garage, you can renovate this door with any design you see fit to make your living space more awesome and accessible.
Livability
There are specific features that may be found in the main living space as opposed to an unfinished garage. During the renovation, one may consider adding these amenities to the new living space.
For electricity, for example, one may need to install additional electricity ports for convenience.
Temperature control and insulation are also important when finishing your garage. Proper insulation panels should be included in your renovation plan.
One may also need to do plumbing renovations such as a bathroom for livability in the newly created space.