Would you do it?

[jetranger]

My fiance and I just purchased our first home. We are extremely excited and fortunate to have such a nice house for out first place.

The first house I fell in love with had an 800 sq ft detached shop. It was pretty amazing. There was a loft in the back 1/4 of it, with a plumbed bathroom and sink below it. The sellers were asking about $50k over appraisal value, mostly because of the shop. We were not able to afford that, plus the down payment and closing costs.

So, we ended up with a larger home with no shop, but it does have a 600' attached garage with 9.5' ceilings (and pool for her). The house is 3100 sq ft, and 6 bedrooms. There is one bedroom downstairs, and the other 5 (including master) are upstairs. It's an amazing house, yet I still think about how awesome that shop was!

The downstairs bedroom is on the opposite side of the wall as the left garage bay. I am very tempted to knock down that wall to make it a larger work space. My fiance and I would not miss the room, as I already use it for parts storage for my FJ40. Most of the parts in the room will be going in/on the vehicle within the next month or so though.

The pro's:

Larger work space
Additional storage

The con's:

Decrease in resale value
6" step going into addition
Cost of project

We purchased the house at around 100 ft, so it would decrease the house value by roughly $12,000 as the room is about 120 sq ft. But, I could possibly get a $5,000 addition on the appraisal by the extra 'bay'. So, I figure I'd be out around $7k on value.

Also, we plan on staying in the house in between 5-15 years.

If you have read all of that, thank you! Now the questions:

Would you do it? Is it wise? Would you open the whole wall, or just make a door? Double doors? Oversize single door? Leave it as is and be happy!

I figure if I did it, I'd have to block off the existing door from the room to the house, block the air vents, remove drywall, install insulation, and replace with fire rated drywall.

Thanks again for your input!

 

[jetranger]

Also, it would be easy to floor. I have RaceDeck coming this week for the garage. I could just tear the carpet up and put RaceDeck in the addition also. It would all match at that point.

 

[PugetDude]

A garage isn't worth the same as finished living space. Losing the extra bedroom will cost you big $$ in resale. If you're in a neighborhood of 5-6 bedroom homes, there is a reason for it... (good ward, lots of Suburbans?)

It's nice finished right off the garage, what's wrong with leaving it as shop storage space like you have now? Maybe an office?

I wouldn't tear out the wall in between. But definitely claim the space...

 

[SebringSilverZ]

Congratulations on the new home. If it were me, I'd leave it alone and use it for storage space like you are now. As it's not a forever home, and the fact that it already has a 3 car garage, chances are the next owner will want the space as originally intended rather than extra garage space.

And nice FJ40! I have an early bronco and want to add a FJ45 or HJ45 soon.

 

[Daedalus]

And nice FJ40! .

+1. Totally digging it.

I would not do it. It's already storage space, you would just be paying for convenience. I would look for ways to make the current space suit you and your work better. Maybe add more creative storage within the garage...overhead racks, shelving, etc. And you'll probably find a lot of the stuff in the garage does not get touched very often, and you can move it to the inside room.

 

[zkling]

Bad idea. I'd put down a more dirt friendly floor and use the room for clean storage of seldom use tools, chemicals, parts, home cleaning and tools. Knocking down that would would be a big mistake IMHO. Very nice house and congrats on the purchase.

 

[thewatusi]

If you don't need that space as a bedroom maybe a stripper pole and a *** swing would serve you well.

Incorporating it into the garage is a bad idea.

 

[Steevo]

You have bigger problems. Your vehicle will roll away without rocks under its tires.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I wouldn't do it either.

 

[TexasT]

That wall that divides the garage from the house should have a 1 hour fire rating. If you knock it down then suffer a fire in the garage that burns the rest of the house you could run into problems with your insurance company.

I'd leave it as is, continue to store what you want in there and enjoy you new place. Looks like a REAL nice place.

 

[Car_Guy]

What if you just put a (wide) door directly from the garage to the spare room? It would be easy to undo down the road yet would be a little more accessible. You could still put racedeck down in there to give a more durable floor and also be easy to undo when you sell.

 

[ajchien]

I would do it.

It is not financially wise for resale. However, it sounds like it would get a lot more use as extra garage space than an extra bedroom. (On the other hand, it's also not financially wise to get married or have kids but people do that too. )

I'd probably remove most of the wall, or go with some kind of sliding pocket door separation. Enough space to move large items in and out.

I wonder why you think you will be there 5-15 years? That's an awful wide range. It's not like you're going to outgrow the space. You'd need to have a set of parents Move in, and have 3 kids before you run of bedrooms.

 

[jetranger]

It's nice finished right off the garage, what's wrong with leaving it as shop storage space like you have now? Maybe an office?

We are using one of the other rooms for an office. Another will be gym. Then two guest rooms. I appreciate you input.

Maybe add more creative storage within the garage...overhead racks, shelving, etc. And you'll probably find a lot of the stuff in the garage does not get touched very often, and you can move it to the inside room.

That's in the works. Finalizing an order with NewAge cabinets. 18 cabinets as of now...

Bad idea. I'd put down a more dirt friendly floor and use the room for clean storage of seldom use tools, chemicals, parts, home cleaning and tools. Knocking down that would would be a big mistake IMHO. Very nice house and congrats on the purchase.

Thank you, I appreciate it. We are extremely lucky.

You have bigger problems. Your vehicle will roll away without rocks under its tires.

Good eye! You are right, that is my #1 priority. Getting toward the end of a 2 yr project! I actually brought it down from Boise, where I'm from.

I'd leave it as is, continue to store what you want in there and enjoy you new place. Looks like a REAL nice place.

Yeah, I figure I'd have to re drywall the interior of the addition. Thank you for your comment!

What if you just put a (wide) door directly from the garage to the spare room? It would be easy to undo down the road yet would be a little more accessible. You could still put racedeck down in there to give a more durable floor and also be easy to undo when you sell.

I was leaning toward this option the most.... easily reversible, cost effective. Thanks!

I wonder why you think you will be there 5-15 years? That's an awful wide range. It's not like you're going to outgrow the space. You'd need to have a set of parents Move in, and have 3 kids before you run of bedrooms.

My line of work mostly... I love my job, but most guys that do what I do are like nomads, and they aren't happy till they are back in their home towns. That's where I'd like to end up one day, but I'm very content till I get there.

You are right though, we won't outgrow the house, just move onwards


Thanks again for all your replies. It really does help!

I was thinking something like this...

 

[nicksnothereman]

You have bigger problems. Your vehicle will roll away without rocks under its tires.

I was gonna say something but decided against it.

OP-->BUY BIGGER TIRE ROCKS BRO!

 

[AnthonyJ124]

Awesome FJ!

I like the big door + storage solution. I wouldn't tear out the entire wall, just go with a bigger door and put a little ramp in front of it.

How many people with 6 bedroom homes ever actually USE 6 bedrooms? F it. I'd bet with a good listing further down the road you could find the right buyer that would appreciate that space.

Do want you want, just make sure you're meeting code/fire rating.

-the guy who turned the 4th bedroom into a craft room.

 

[motofool33]

i would do it if you plan to stay for a long period of time.

i would expect to have issues down the road with resale, and or plan to return it to normal.

 

[ripperd]

I'd look at the cost of doing it (all to code), and then undoing it before sale. Going through both transitions will get you maximum resale. The question is just exactly how much it will cost.

 

[mmack66]

That is a terrible place for a bedroom. I'd open that wall up and use the space how you want to.

 

[lotsoftools]

Would that work have to be permitted? If so, would they even give you a permit to do it?

 

[Moose97]

I've always looked at my home as just that. My home. Therefore make the space the way it suits you and don't worry about how it effects the resale value. That's my two cents. That might also be why I can't afford to live in a home with6 bedrooms. LOL!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lassen Forge]

First, I have to say I like the idea - it would make an awesome workshop for your garage...

(And, if that common wall backs to a bathroom or kitchen, you can add a shop sink or commode or shower to it as well... )

But... to do it right you're talking a boatload of $$$, and your tradeoff is your home will be worth less. And if done wrong won't just lose value in your home, but make it impossible to sell, or worse, get your home condemned and unliveable.

A lot of the time that back garage wall is load bearing in a house. That will become problematic on a couple levels - getting an engineer to re-engineer your new home, and keep it from literally falling apart. You need to keep your roof to sub-basement fire break. The room will need to be rewired to be in code. You may even need to take the floor out, re-engineer the home's flooring system, and pour concrete to give you level continuity to your shop.

Sure, it can likely be done (depending on your local building department and your local code structure)... throw enough $$ at it and its a cake walk! Knowing you won't likely recoup the added $$$ (you might, but likely not) and that you may only stay there 5 years, I would hold off that 5 years until you found a place that was exactly what you want. If it were me, and I was staying 20+, then I'd be shopping for architects and contractors and turning that useless bedroom into a machine shop (at ground level with the garage) and let my heirs worry about the resale value!

Just make sure - before you take a sledge to the wall - you know exactly what you're getting yourself into.

 

[BMW Rider]

Well I have a bad track record of not doing what makes sense for good resale value, so I would definitely open it up. The simplest way would be the double fire rated door opening into the bedroom space. That would leave the work in the room itself to a minimum and would be easy to close off for resale or by future purchasers. Probably would be a good idea to inquire with the local building dept to ensure codes are adhered to, but so long as the doors are properly rated and self closing, I can't see how it should be a problem.

 

[PugetDude]

First, I have to say I like the idea - it would make an awesome workshop for your garage...

(And, if that common wall backs to a bathroom or kitchen, you can add a shop sink or commode or shower to it as well... )

But... to do it right you're talking a boatload of $$$, and your tradeoff is your home will be worth less. And if done wrong won't just lose value in your home, but make it impossible to sell, or worse, get your home condemned and unliveable.

A lot of the time that back garage wall is load bearing in a house. That will become problematic on a couple levels - getting an engineer to re-engineer your new home, and keep it from literally falling apart. You need to keep your roof to sub-basement fire break. The room will need to be rewired to be in code. You may even need to take the floor out, re-engineer the home's flooring system, and pour concrete to give you level continuity to your shop.

Sure, it can likely be done (depending on your local building department and your local code structure)... throw enough $$ at it and its a cake walk! Knowing you won't likely recoup the added $$$ (you might, but likely not) and that you may only stay there 5 years, I would hold off that 5 years until you found a place that was exactly what you want. If it were me, and I was staying 20+, then I'd be shopping for architects and contractors and turning that useless bedroom into a machine shop (at ground level with the garage) and let my heirs worry about the resale value!

Just make sure - before you take a sledge to the wall - you know exactly what you're getting yourself into.

I had a similar layout at a home I used to own in AZ. It turned out that the garage wall was not only a firewall, but also a shear wall. Do a little poking around, if it' sheathed with OSB or plywood under the sheetrock, you're asking for trouble opening it up or removing it. And you'll need an engineer (with a PE stamp)to verify you aren't compromising the structure when you modify the wall.

Good luck!

 

[jetranger]

Awesome replies in this thread. Thanks everybody.

For now, I'll install the cabinets and see how bad I 'need' the extra space. I know I am lucky to have the 3 car garage. A lot of houses in my area are only two. I am probably just trying to make myself feel better about not getting a detached shop!

Thanks again GJ