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I've seen several houses on the market with garages that have been converted into living space. I was wondering if there are any restrictions to doing this in LV or NLV. I imagine if you are in a master planned community or have a HOA with CCR's there might be problems with it, but in general, if it's just a normal house in a normal neighborhood, other than permits, would there be anything to stop you from doing it?
im interested in this too.. i have a 3 car garage, 1 side tandem.. several of the neighbors have changed the tandem section into living space... i know you cant do a normal garage but how about the tandem area.. add a few walls, etc
If you are in a HOA, you will not be able to convert your garage. Your best bet would be to get an older home or one outside of a HOA somewhere where you can do what you want. My next home will be nowhere near a HOA. I hate them.
You would have to read your CC&Rs but I have seen conversions in relatively fancy tracts...ie the two car garage converted to a play school...the one car and drive way used for parking. $500K house in a gated community. The conversion was also clearly illegal - lacked property ventilation for the water heater and furnaces. Professional done though.
You can get a way with a lot if you don't change the externals of the building. You leave the garage door and build a new wall behind it.
It is an old Las Vegas custom. In some of the older neighborhoods maybe a third of the units are converted.
From an RE perspective don't do it. It will cost you. But if it provides valuable function and you are going to be there a while...go for it.
I think it almost has to be an illegal conversion. You just won't be able to get plans approved for a legal one. .
Just represented clients on a lease of a great one out near Tropicana and 93. Had an additional two bedroom suite added where the garage should have been. That was clearly a professional redo though likely with permits. Has three parking spaces where the front yard should be.
2005 townhouse. I converted my garage into a large bedroom with walk-in closet. Came out beautiful. I took down all the bars and garage door opener. Garage can’t open. It's a dummy door. I can re-install in the future when I sell. Next I put up an insulated wall about 3 ft away from garage door with door entry. (So now there is a hallway between garage door and new insulated wall with door entry). There is the electrical panel right on the outside garage wall. An electrician installed a 20amp breaker outlet for the $800 Sears Fredrick AC/heater unit which is in the hallway. Only a 3 ft run for outlet. The 14,000BTU unit is reinforced with studs and wood shelf to hold up in place. Inside room I cut out box hole in sheetrock for AC unit to slide in place. The AC/heater unit almost touches the garage door. Cut out 12'x12' box hole and screwed a vent on outside of garage. Now the AC wall unit has air flow. Hard to notice. On the other side go garage I installed another wall and put 2 French doors. There is a nice walk-in closet.
PROBLEM. The hallway was getting very hot from the sun blasting up against door in the summer. Plus AC unit felt hot. Went to LOWE'S and bought garage door insulation kit that is pre-cut foam and pops right in place. Garage door is fully insulated and bounces heat off from outside. On other side on garage door corner I cut out another whole 12'x12' and installed another vent and painted it same color as outside garage. So now I have 2 vents on the outside garage top corners. Paint same color as garage nobody noticed after 3 years. Installed an attic fan on other side of garage corner to blow out heat in hallway. Fastened it to garage door tightly with screws not self tapers. Fan blows out hot air inside hallway on one side. Sucks in air from other side hitting up against AC unit for fresh outdoor air. Nice air flow in hallway. Simple..
One thing to note: Cut out vent or vents above doors leading into main part of house. There is pressure build-up from AC unit blowing into room. It's too tightly insulated. AC unit runs much better and very smooth.
This garage conversion was not a major expensive job. Didn't dig into concrete. Didn’t install a bathroom or kitchen. I added 2 walls and AC unit. And guess what? This is illegal. And take a wild guess what is legal. This.. How can a garage be legal and safe with the following: 2 cars full of gasoline, lawn mower full of gasoline, plastic gas tank to fill mower full of gasoline, flammable toxic cans of paint and paint thinner, papers, papers, papers and more papers. And a gas water heater only feet away from the toxic air. So this is legal??? Yes that is legal. My garage and most other people’s garages smell like gasoline if you have a lawn mower. And my 2 walls and AC unit are not legal inside the garage. Something is very wrong here.
2005 townhouse with HOA. just lay low under the radar. I converted my garage into a large bedroom with walk-in closet. Came out beautiful. I took down all the bars and garage door opener. Garage can’t open. It's a dummy door. I can re-install in the future when I sell. Next I put up an insulated wall about 3 ft away from garage door with door entry. (So now there is a hallway between garage door and new insulated wall with door entry). There is the electrical panel right on the outside garage wall. An electrician installed a 20amp breaker outlet for the $800 Sears Fredrick AC/heater unit which is in the hallway. Only a 3 ft run for outlet. The 14,000BTU unit is reinforced with studs and wood shelf to hold up in place. Inside room I cut out box hole in sheetrock for AC unit to slide in place. The AC/heater unit almost touches the garage door. Cut out 12'x12' box hole and screwed a vent on outside of garage. Now the AC wall unit has air flow. Hard to notice. On the other side go garage I installed another wall and put 2 French doors. There is a nice walk-in closet.
PROBLEM. The hallway was getting very hot from the sun blasting up against door in the summer. Plus AC unit felt hot. Went to LOWE'S and bought garage door insulation kit that is pre-cut foam and pops right in place. Garage door is fully insulated and bounces heat off from outside. On other side on garage door corner I cut out another whole 12'x12' and installed another vent and painted it same color as outside garage. So now I have 2 vents on the outside garage top corners. Paint same color as garage nobody noticed after 3 years. Installed an attic fan on other side of garage corner to blow out heat in hallway. Fastened it to garage door tightly with screws not self tapers. Fan blows out hot air inside hallway on one side. Sucks in air from other side hitting up against AC unit for fresh outdoor air. Nice air flow in hallway. Simple..
One thing to note: Cut out vent or vents above doors leading into main part of house. There is pressure build-up from AC unit blowing into room. It's too tightly insulated. AC unit runs much better and very smooth.
This garage conversion was not a major expensive job. Didn't dig into concrete. Didn’t install a bathroom or kitchen. I added 2 walls and AC unit. And guess what? This is illegal. And take a wild guess what is legal. This.. How can a garage be legal and safe with the following: 2 cars full of gasoline, lawn mower full of gasoline, plastic gas tank to fill mower full of gasoline, flammable toxic cans of paint and paint thinner, papers, papers, papers and more papers. And a gas water heater only feet away from the toxic air. So this is legal??? Yes that is legal. My garage and most other people’s garages smell like gasoline if you have a lawn mower. And my 2 walls and AC unit are not legal inside the garage. Something is very wrong here.
2005 townhouse. I converted my garage into a large bedroom with walk-in closet. Came out beautiful. I took down all the bars and garage door opener. Garage can’t open. It's a dummy door. I can re-install in the future when I sell. Next I put up an insulated wall about 3 ft away from garage door with door entry. (So now there is a hallway between garage door and new insulated wall with door entry). There is the electrical panel right on the outside garage wall. An electrician installed a 20amp breaker outlet for the $800 Sears Fredrick AC/heater unit which is in the hallway. Only a 3 ft run for outlet. The 14,000BTU unit is reinforced with studs and wood shelf to hold up in place. Inside room I cut out box hole in sheetrock for AC unit to slide in place. The AC/heater unit almost touches the garage door. Cut out 12'x12' box hole and screwed a vent on outside of garage. Now the AC wall unit has air flow. Hard to notice. On the other side go garage I installed another wall and put 2 French doors. There is a nice walk-in closet.
PROBLEM. The hallway was getting very hot from the sun blasting up against door in the summer. Plus AC unit felt hot. Went to LOWE'S and bought garage door insulation kit that is pre-cut foam and pops right in place. Garage door is fully insulated and bounces heat off from outside. On other side on garage door corner I cut out another whole 12'x12' and installed another vent and painted it same color as outside garage. So now I have 2 vents on the outside garage top corners. Paint same color as garage nobody noticed after 3 years. Installed an attic fan on other side of garage corner to blow out heat in hallway. Fastened it to garage door tightly with screws not self tapers. Fan blows out hot air inside hallway on one side. Sucks in air from other side hitting up against AC unit for fresh outdoor air. Nice air flow in hallway. Simple..
One thing to note: Cut out vent or vents above doors leading into main part of house. There is pressure build-up from AC unit blowing into room. It's too tightly insulated. AC unit runs much better and very smooth.
This garage conversion was not a major expensive job. Didn't dig into concrete. Didn’t install a bathroom or kitchen. I added 2 walls and AC unit. And guess what? This is illegal. And take a wild guess what is legal. This.. How can a garage be legal and safe with the following: 2 cars full of gasoline, lawn mower full of gasoline, plastic gas tank to fill mower full of gasoline, flammable toxic cans of paint and paint thinner, papers, papers, papers and more papers. And a gas water heater only feet away from the toxic air. So this is legal??? Yes that is legal. My garage and most other people’s garages smell like gasoline if you have a lawn mower. And my 2 walls and AC unit are not legal inside the garage. Something is very wrong here.
there are certain building codes that must be adhered to for living space versus garage space.
for instance, to have a legal bedroom, you must have at least two points of egress- which is why a window must be present in order to call a room a bedroom. there are also issues with insulating a room versus a garage, as well as presence of a firewall. a firewall may not be present in older homes, but must be present in newer ones- that way, all that gas you speak of will not immediately have the entire house on fire before you have time to escape...
so, just because you find something habitable for yourself, doesn't mean that its up to the appropriate codes, ie legal.
Anybody who stores gasoline powered lawn & garden equipment in their garage is an idiot. Add to that list, any fuel stored under pressure such as spare propane tanks for your barbecue, hand held torches, or, flammable liquids such as gas cans, paint thinners and so on.
Inexpensive outdoor sheds placed in the backyard "away from the house" should be where you store things like that.
Last edited by Tanque Verde; 09-11-2009 at 10:11 AM..
Yes I understand it’s stupid to store lawnmowers, gas powered devices and other nick knacks in a garage. I am just trying to speak in general. And I promise I am right. 7 out of 10 people who don’t have an ugly shed in the back yard, store flammable items in their garage. Gas tanks for lawnmowers, lawn mower, paint thinner, weed killer, ect.. People here in Phoenix, Arizona don’t have basements. All homes are built on slabs. And there are 3 million of us here with slab homes. There are no attics either just crawl space with attic fans. An attic can reach 180 degrees here. You would pass out in 5 minutes trying to fit storage. Backyard sheds are not insulated and also can reach up to 180 degrees. So you wanna leave gasoline powered things in there vs. a garage??? Guessing you never been to Phoenix June-Sept when it’s 110 outside and bone dry. Think outside your little bubble pea brain.
I’m not trying to force a point on anyone. I was just saying no matter how dumb or stupid, it is legal to have gas powered devices in a garage where a gas water heater with pilot light is only feet away. An inspector can't fine or harrass you. Now that is dangerous but millions of idiots do it. Yes everyone does it unless you’re a single ultra clean guy or girl who lives in a city with a BMW in the garage & walks around with a Windex bottle.. Young, no kids or any storage. Wait 15 years and you will have loads of storage. Maybe you want to pay $180 a month for items collected over the years. People please think outside your pea brain. Please think realistically and not a robot who thinks I am so green. Or an anal robotic Mr. Proper legal person over analyzed freak with no life. Walks through life thinking by code. Inspectors remind me of those guys in "THE MATTRIX. " No bedroom garage conversion Mr. Anderson !!! Please get a life and mind yer own business. I just want a man-cave garage conversion into a bedroom to watch my flat screen TV, play X-BOX, and listen to my I-POD. Or maybe do my favorite hobby painting.
If a major job garage conversion was going into affect that could be harmful. Like digging into concrete with retention bars or bad electrical work. Yes bad news and unlawful. All I did was put up a wall with insulation and plugged in an AC unit. If you don’t like it, tough luck !!! get a life and mind your own bizz losers
Yes I understand it’s stupid to store lawnmowers, gas powered devices and other nick knacks in a garage. I am just trying to speak in general. And I promise I am right. 7 out of 10 people who don’t have an ugly shed in the back yard, store flammable items in their garage. Gas tanks for lawnmowers, lawn mower, paint thinner, weed killer, ect.. People here in Phoenix, Arizona don’t have basements. All homes are built on slabs. And there are 3 million of us here with slab homes. There are no attics either just crawl space with attic fans. An attic can reach 180 degrees here. You would pass out in 5 minutes trying to fit storage. Backyard sheds are not insulated and also can reach up to 180 degrees. So you wanna leave gasoline powered things in there vs. a garage??? Guessing you never been to Phoenix June-Sept when it’s 110 outside and bone dry. Think outside your little bubble pea brain.
I’m not trying to force a point on anyone. I was just saying no matter how dumb or stupid, it is legal to have gas powered devices in a garage where a gas water heater with pilot light is only feet away. An inspector can't fine or harrass you. Now that is dangerous but millions of idiots do it. Yes everyone does it unless you’re a single ultra clean guy or girl who lives in a city with a BMW in the garage & walks around with a Windex bottle.. Young, no kids or any storage. Wait 15 years and you will have loads of storage. Maybe you want to pay $180 a month for items collected over the years. People please think outside your pea brain. Please think realistically and not a robot who thinks I am so green. Or an anal robotic Mr. Proper legal person over analyzed freak with no life. Walks through life thinking by code. Inspectors remind me of those guys in "THE MATTRIX. " No bedroom garage conversion Mr. Anderson !!! Please get a life and mind yer own business. I just want a man-cave garage conversion into a bedroom to watch my flat screen TV, play X-BOX, and listen to my I-POD. Or maybe do my favorite hobby painting.
If a major job garage conversion was going into affect that could be harmful. Like digging into concrete with retention bars or bad electrical work. Yes bad news and unlawful. All I did was put up a wall with insulation and plugged in an AC unit. If you don’t like it, tough luck !!! get a life and mind your own bizz losers
In general the wall between the garage and the living area is fire rated sheetrock with a door that is similarly fire resistant. The design is that a fire in the garage will take a long time to penetrate into the house. Thus those in the house have time to escape.
Garages are also vented against gasoline fumes. In general the source of ignition is mounted a couple of feet up from the floor well higher than the vents. The general design is that a gasoline spill will vent without reaching the flame source. It mostly works.
Finally the garage is generally vented so that a blocked exhaust on the gas water heater or a car running will not gas the people in the house.
I would think a conversion to be safe really needs to move the gas heater to an outside vented compartment with proper fire resistant sheet rock walls.
And then you need the second exit. Not impossible if you think about it in advance.
I would think it rather straightforward to do a conversion that is reasonably safe. I would think you could likely get a permit for it without much trouble. However be aware...the HOA may come after you and they may be able to make it stick. So read your CC&Rs...particularly if you are going to try and permit it.
I tell people to get an inspection on unpermitted or suspected unpermitted additions. They are actually pretty common. I also tell them it is generally not rational to try and get an unpermitted additions legalized. Cost you more than the addition mostly. So buy it, live with it and sell it unpermitted. The gods do not smile on those who try to permit the unpermitted.
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