Garage Conversion Ideas

fm2176 · February 21, 2013

In South Louisiana sits a lonely house devoid of human companionship. It is, to me, a dream home that will be fully realized when I retire in nine years, but until that time it is just another rental property in need of a tenant.

Anyway, the house is not the point of this thread, the attached double garage is. When I lived in the house, the garage became my man cave, complete with tv, beer fridge, and workbenches, but not much else. Many a night I sat out there imagining what may eventually become of the garage one day, when I am retired and making somewhere between $30k and $200k a year (hey, I'm open minded and still haven't finalized my post-Army plans).

Idea #1: Turn it into a rec room complete with wet bar. Build a literal water closet (tiny bathroom), add a pool table and a few arcade machines, buy a daiquiri machine (it is Louisiana, after all), and ensure that there is no need for guests to enter the house itself (I like my privacy).

Idea #2: Turn it into a furnished apartment; the adjacent single garage could be converted as well for more space. I have elderly in-laws and five kids. Who's to say that I'll never be begged for a place to keep one or more of them?

Idea #3: Keep it as a garage. Wall-in part of the 18-foot doorway (which is too wide for it to stand up to much in the way of wind) and put an entry door and a much more practical 10-foot garage door. This may make it effectively a single garage but the pros outweigh the cons in my book.

Idea #4: Handyman shop. Put in whatever woodworking and machining tools I want and either learn to use them or just look at them now and then.

Any other ideas? I have grandiose plans for a shop in the backyard to do whatever mechanical work or projects I take up, as well as to house whatever toys I eventually get, so the garage itself is an empty canvas, so to speak.

00Silverado4x4 · February 21, 2013

How about the idea of possibly merging idea #1 and #4? I like both those ideas myself, and would love to have them both, if I actually could find my garage. It's currently full of who knows what else....

fm2176 · February 23, 2013

How about the idea of possibly merging idea #1 and #4? I like both those ideas myself, and would love to have them both, if I actually could find my garage. It's currently full of who knows what else....

This idea might have some promise. Of course, if I build the bar it will look like a woodworking shop for a short while anyway. Depending on other storage solutions, I could always convert the single garage as well. Nothing quite like mixing daiquiris and bandsaws!

I know what you're saying about "finding" your garage. While I lived at the house, mine alternated every few months from being able to pull my truck into it, to being piled with boxes, cleaning supplies, and other stuff.