Garages can often be an afterthought for many homeowners. However, remodeling or upgrading your garage can be an effective way to increase the resale value of your home and provide additional, usable space. At LaBonte Construction, we recommend adding these upgrades to your garage as part of a home remodeling project.
Upgrade Garage Door
While garage doors are there to serve a function, they also contribute to your home’s curb appeal. The majority of garage doors are steel or aluminum, but there are other higher quality options.
Commonly, our clients pick wood garage doors as an upgrade. Wood doors are completely customizable and can be finished to match the design of your home.
A study by Remodeling Magazine shows that replacing or upgrading your garage door generates the best return-on-investment when it comes to recouping cost at resale. Upgrading your garage door not only adds curb appeal, but can be a smart investment for the future.
Upgraded Garage Door Opener
Along with upgrading your garage door, you may wish to upgrade your garage door opener. Waiting for a garage door to open used to be a slow and loud process, but new technologies have made opening a garage door quicker and quieter. Additionally, we recommend having a garage door opener with a battery backup included, in case of a power outage or battery failure.
As technology advances, so has the method for opening a garage door. Traditionally, garage door remotes were a small box kept in your car, and opening the door could only be done from close range. Now, there are different apps available that can connect your garage door to your phone. This enables you to open and close the door from any location.
Epoxy Coating for Garage Floors
Typically, garage floors are concrete. Concrete naturally cracks over time, making it unsightly. Epoxy coating a garage floor is a great way to combat the cracks and create a more appealing garage floor. An epoxy coating is a compound consisting of two elements: an epoxy resin and a polyamide hardener. When mixed, these two elements create a chemical reaction that creates a hard surface coating.
Epoxy coating can be a tedious process to do yourself. We suggest having your garage floor epoxy coated as part of a larger garage remodel. When installed correctly, an epoxy coated garage floor can last a lifetime.
Insulate And Drywall
An unfinished garage can be a drafty area of your home, because the walls are directly connected to the outdoors with no protection. Additionally, many see an unfinished garage as an eyesore.
An insulated and drywalled garage can help maximize your home’s energy efficiency. Typically, we do not insulate or drywall detached garages, but we can do so if you desire. We do however, insulate and drywall almost every attached garage we remodel to ensure the space is comfortable and feels like an extension of your home.
Add More Outlets
While some of the upgrades on this list can be done by a motivated DIYer, this upgrade is best left to an electrician familiar with the remodeling process. Adding more outlets to your garage can increase function and reliability. Code requires that a newly constructed garage have at least one 120-volt 20-amp outlet that serves only the garage. However, we suggest having at least two outlets installed per wall to maximize your garage’s functionality.
For those who have an electric car, we recommend a 240 volt NEMA 14-50 outlet in order to handle the electrical demands of charging your car at home. A 240-volt NEMA 14-50 outlet is commonly used for electric stoves and other recreational vehicles, so the power they provide is much greater than a standard 1800-watt garage outlet.
Add Wainscoting
Wainscoting is a molding that dates back to the 1300’s and is used to guard your wall from scuffs and scratches.
In traditional English-style homes, wainscoting is generally made of wood. It typically goes about halfway, to three-quarters of the way up the face of the wall. In a garage, wainscoting can be made of metal or wood and goes about a quarter, to halfway up the wall’s face.
If you want to add character and protection to your garage walls, ask us about having wainscoting installed in your next remodeling project.
Add a Sound System
You may not realize it, but garages can have great acoustics. Many people use their garage as a workspace, and adding a high-quality sound system to the interior of your garage can make that workspace more enjoyable. Additionally, you can add a sound system to the exterior of your garage. This lets you play music in your driveway or yard.
Add a Back Garage Door
If your home has the space, you may want to add another full-sized garage door to the back of your garage. Another garage door gives you the ability to park lawn equipment in the garage without having to move your cars. Additionally, having a garage door to the yard allows you to use your garage as an entertaining space.
If you like to use your garage as a workspace, but want to keep your privacy, a back garage door allows you to keep a garage door open without losing any privacy.
Add a Storage System
Typically, garages do not come with a built-in storage system. Most of us need to go buy separate racks or cabinets to add storage space. However, having storage units built-in to your garage during a remodeling project can make your garage look cleaner and add functionality. Additionally, extra storage space in your garage allows you to use less storage space within your home. This helps reduce clutter and maximize space in your home.
Add LED Lighting
A dark garage can be eerie and unappealing. Many us have walked into a dark garage and fumbled around trying to find the light switch. By adding motion sensitive LED lights to your garage, you add functionality and convenience. To have your garage properly lit, we recommend have two 40-watt 48-inch shop lights installed above each bay. With motion sensors and sufficient lighting, your garage will no longer be the dark, unappealing space it once was.
Add a Man Door
Most garages we do in a home remodeling project are attached. This generally means that the only access to the garage is from inside the home or via the garage door. A man door adds another mode of entry into your garage.
Additionally, having another entrance or exit in your garage prolongs the life of your garage door, as it will likely see less use. Man doors can also increase safety during a fire or power outage by providing another route in and out of the home.
Add Heating and A/C
In many of our garage remodels, we include heating. For those that do not have heating in their garage, it may be wise to add some. Wisconsin winters, as we know, can get quite cold. Having heating included in your garage ensures that snow melts off of your car, you never have to wait for your car to warm up, or need to put on extra layers when entering your garage.
While some garages have heating, very few have air conditioning. Just as Wisconsin winters can get very cold, summers can get quite hot and humid. Heat and humidity can be dangerous for cars. The ideal temperature for storing a car in a garage is around 70 degrees. The ideal humidity level is around 50 percent. Adding air conditioning to your garage you can help maintain the heat and humidity, ensuring a comfortable space for you and your car.
Finish Space Above Garage
Whether you have an attached or detached garage, many have additional, unused space above. This provides an opportunity to recapture this space by adding living quarters or extra storage.
It is more cost effective to remodel space within the building envelope than it is to build a new addition. Many of our clients who choose to remodel their garage opt to add a dormer. Adding a dormer increases the head height, making more of the space usable. Commonly, we convert the space into a master suite, an art studio, a guest house, a game room or a movie theater.
At LaBonte Construction we have decades of remodeling experience to help you convert your garage into a comfortable and quality space for your family to enjoy for years to come.
Get the Most Out of Your Garage
Upgrading or remodeling your garage can be a great way to add function, resale value and curb appeal to your home. Please contact us at LaBonte Construction to discuss any of these garage upgrades as part of a home remodeling project.