Page 33 2025 Spring Home and Garden LINCOLN DAILY NEWS April 2025 This project creates value for your home and is less expensive than building an addition.” The Spruce then offers “10 Tips For Successful Garage Conversions,” which includes insulating the walls and raising the height of the floor to match the rest of the house. Once the floor is elevated, you can “install a floor covering such as laminate flooring, engineered wood, tile, or luxury vinyl plank flooring.” Since the garage door opening will not be needed, you can either build a solid wall or replace the garage door with one that is insulated. To provide additional light and more air, add window space. The Spruce says that in some municipalities, this means a window opening of 5-1/2 square feet based on a percentage of the total garage space. The ceiling height should be a minimum of 7-1/2 feet. When the floor height has been raised, the rafters “may need to be removed or repositioned to add ceiling height.” Make sure the area has adequate heating and cooling. If the current HVAC system cannot be extended to the garage, there are options such as “installing an electric baseboard heater, an infrared heater, fan-driven wall heaters, window unit A/Cs, or a mini-split A/C unit.” If you are converting the garage into a living space that includes a bathroom or kitchen, plumbing will need to be installed as well. Install an electrical layout with “at least one wall-controlled light switch. Per the electrical code, garages already have at least one such switch.” To meet minimum spacing standards, you may need to add or change wall outlets. In addition, “no cord should have to reach farther than 6 feet to reach an outlet.” Some of the work can be done yourself, but with “a full garage conversion, you'll need to hire an electrician to develop a complete electrical layout.” If the space has utility or service areas, add non-load bearing walls to hide them. If it is an attic space you want to convert, there are other considerations. In “5 Tips to Prepare Before an Attic Conversion,” Lisa Benett says, “there are many reasons someone might want to convert their attic.” For instance, those who have large families or work from home may “want the additional space for a bedroom or an office room.” Continued --
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