Boot car from the garage and reclaim valuable living space By Ann Cameron Siegal Friday, February 11, 2011; 1:04 PM When was the last time your car saw the inside of your garage, anyway? If it's packed with old paint cans, tools and toys, a thorough purge could free up enough space for your wheels. Or you could take the next step - and permanently kick the car to the curb, reclaiming that square footage for living space. Converting the garage can cost a fraction of building an addition to your home because the basics - walls, foundation, floor and roof - are already there. But you need to give careful thought to how the conversion will affect the appearance of your home - and its resale value - before you proceed. There is no consensus among real estate professionals and homeowners on that score. "It's the kiss of death [on sales] in Fairfax County not to have a garage," said Mary Wharton, a real estate agent with Long & Foster. Out-of-towners, especially those from the Northeast, really want a garage. Then again, sometimes it's the non-car potential of the garage that attracts home buyers. A detached, partially converted brick garage "was the deciding factor for us," said Heidi Christensen. She and her husband, Gene Kendall Jr., purchased a 1926 house in Alexandria in November. Hilary Lavine, an agent with Weichert Realtors, said, "When I've taken clients to homes where garage space was converted to living space, comments are usually regarding the possibility of adding a garage, or converting the new living space back to garage use. But, when the converted space results in a spectacular kitchen, or a bright and airy multipurpose room, I've seen clients react quite positively to an otherwise nondistinctive property. Sue Bowers, with Suburban Appraisers and Consultants in Oakton, said, "It works out as a wash, value-wise." But, she said, "marketing time would be shorter having a garage." Jim Garner of the Lumpdog home-renovation company in Alexandria said: "Consider what shape the structure is in." Added value can be found through garage conversions, said Stephen Melman, director of economics and housing policy at the National Association of Home Builders. That's especially true, he said, "in choice, older urban neighborhoods where living space is at a premium and public transportation an option." But Chris Call, chief executive of AREAS Appraisers in Springfield, notes the high value attached to parking in some neighborhoods. "In D.C. and Old Town Alexandria, parking is at such a premium that it would not make much sense to convert a garage to a living area," Call said. "My recommendation would be to do so only if they planned on staying in the property for a long time," he said. Even then, it would make sense to do it in such a way that conversion back to a garage could be easily accomplished. Jill Landsman, vice president of communications for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, said, "There's an impact depending on which neighborhood [the house] is in. There's a lot of personal preference involved. Emerson Cale, president of the Greenbriar Civic Association in Chantilly, did a quick survey of about half of the 1,900 single-family homes in his community and found 70 garage conversions. "Greenbriar homes don't have basements, so converting garages to family rooms is popular there," said Wharton, the real estate agent. Minding the details Garage conversions don't have to be all-or-nothing propositions. If you have more than one parking bay, walling off one section for other uses still leaves space for a car or two. But, as with any home remodeling, it's critical that you comply with local building codes. Not only is it a safety requirement, but when it's time to sell, home buyers will demand proof that the work is up to code. More permanent conversions can cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending upon work required and whether you're contracting the work out or doing it yourself. Brian Foley, chief structural engineer for Fairfax County's Plan Review and Permits Division, said that if homeowners wanted to convert only part of the garage to living space, they would still have to adhere to code provisions affecting garages. "The wall between the garage and living space has to be fire rated," he said. Rules are especially strict for spaces used as bedrooms, requiring specific size and placement of doors or windows. Building a room above the garage can carry unexpected costs. You'll need to make sure the foundation, walls and ceiling of the garage can support the added weight. "The current structural framing of pre-engineered trusses is not designed as a floor joist system; it's only designed to carry the roof load," said Greg Marks, operations manager of MW Construction Services in Alexandria. Real-life examples Fred Parker, founder of Hard Times Cafe, added six feet to the front of the garage attached to his 1936 Spanish colonial in Alexandria before building up 11/2 stories, creating a master suite with a loft bathroom. "We didn't want it to look like a box on top of a box," he said, so great care was taken to ensure that the terra-cotta-colored stucco finish blended seamlessly with the rest of the house. Gerald Vermillion, a painting and remodeling contractor, kept resale in mind when creating a combination living area/bedroom for his mother six years ago. Vermillion left the original garage door in place on his 1970 contemporary rambler in the Bonnie Brae section of Fairfax and then built a parallel non-load-bearing wall six feet inside. For now, that 6-by-14-foot space across the garage's front serves as an easily accessible storage area, while his mother enjoys a 14-by-20-foot private retreat behind it, next to the family room. Should future buyers wish to restore the garage, Vermillion only has to remove one wall and the raised, insulated flooring. "It's wise in this economy to use what you have and make it work," Vermillion said. Unless there is real proof of losing value, do what you want to do. Compared to building new, this is easy. In Alexandria, Lumpdog's Garner recently partially renovated an 18-foot deep, detached 1920s garage that hadn't housed a car for decades. He enhanced its solid bones by adding French doors and upgrading windows. While strengthening the ceiling, he included attic storage with pull-down stairs. The new owners, Dave and Amanda Spungin, completed the renovation, creating a guest bedroom by adding insulation, finishing off the walls and installing a through-the-wall heat pump and air-conditioning unit. "The hard part was leveling the floor," said Dave Spungin. The converted 10-by-18-foot detached garage that attracted Christensen and Kendall to their house had been used by the previous owners as a workout area. Christensen, an artist, just did some spruce-up painting to establish her studio. Backing to wooded property, the space provides a tranquil setting for her creativity, punctuated by the occasional crowing of a neighbor's rooster. Because she works by natural light, Christensen is delaying further improvements. "I want to go through a couple of seasons before making major changes," she said. A portable electric heater and a fan will see her through temperature fluctuations until she decides what is really necessary for comfort. Whither the driveway? A telltale driveway dead-ending at the wall of the house is sometimes the only clue that the reclaimed space once served as a garage. Unless you are keeping the garage doors intact, consider how the driveway will look in relation to the redesigned space. You might choose to soften the transition by landscaping a few feet in front of the remodeled exterior. On the Spungins' property, one-third of the driveway became a brick patio between the remodeled garage and a new privacy fence. The remaining driveway easily accommodates two cars. Garage conversions are often fluid, changing functions as a family changes. With three children younger than 6, the Spungins find that the idea of reconfiguring their detached guest room to include a quiet home office is becoming more appealing. "That's the next project" Dave Spungin said. When Julie and Stuart Gathman purchased their rambler in Chantilly's Greenbriar neighborhood more than two decades ago, the garage had already been converted to a family room. It has seen multiple transformations since then. "With four kids, it was great to have the extra space to live in," said Julie Gathman, "but difficult to not have the storage space garages offer." Now they use the former garage space to accommodate two college students living at home - and the family's cars remain parked outside. "By a slim margin, it's been better to have the living space," she said.