Home Additions: Upgrade Your Carport To A Garage
It is becoming increasingly popular to renovate homes and explore with home additions. Adding upgrades to your home is one way to incorporate change and improvement. Some people choose to add home additions via room extensions, interior remodeling, and changing entire rooms. Upgrading a carport into a garage is another home addition that has the potential to completely transform a space.
Carport vs. Garage
The difference between a carport and a garage is both aesthetic and functional. Although both serve the purpose of sheltering and protecting a vehicle, there are other factors that make the two different.
A carport is typically a roof that is supported by posts. It has at least two of the four sides open. The construction of a garage is the foundational difference. Garages are enclosed and have walls and doors. They can either be attached to a home, or separate.
Carports are considered easier to construct and more cost effective than a garage. Despite this, cars are typically considered to be safer inside a garage as they can be locked away and protected from various natural elements and potential burglars. If a garage is large enough, it can also serve as an additional storage area and boosts the value of the home.
Converting Your Carport Into A Garage
The process of transforming your carport into a garage is both time consuming and particular. There are professional companies, like Miller Construction & Design, that offer these residential construction services in an efficient and professional way.
The basic steps can be summarized as follows:
- Measuring the space and planning
- Creating structural and foundational support as preparation
- Building the walls
- Adding the door
- Installing insulation
- The final touches for aesthetic enhancement
Planning the renovation is a very important step and needs to be done before anything else. The space needs to be measured and plans need to be drawn up. The plan will include the overall layout, any opening (window or door) the placement lines between the garage and surrounding buildings (if not attached) including the home or the neighbor’s home. Garages need more support than carports, and the necessary precautions are needed for this conversion.
Creating the structural support typically involves digging foundations, ensuring the ground is stable, and that there is good drainage system.
Next, the walls are built. The wall frames need to be carefully measured. The walls should be fastened securely and covered with particleboard (or fiber board) and an air membrane barrier. This needs to be done before any walls or doors are added.
Insulating your garage is an investment and strongly recommended step in the transformation of carport to garage. It ensures that there is no unnecessary heat lost and that the garage is weatherproof. The manner of insulation will depend on the materials used for construction and interior finish.
Aesthetic enhancements will be the final touches to make you proud of your garage as part of your home. Various paints, different roofing styles and other decorative molds and features can be added to your garage to match it as much with your home as possible. Many people choose to add in shelving, work tables or other storage facilities if the space allows to increase the diverse functionality of the garage.
The Importance Of Hiring A Professional
All over the country there are building restrictions and legislations. This is one very important reason to hire a professional to convert your carport into a garage as they will be familiar with these restrictions.
In addition, hiring a professional that perform all the steps with expert precision will save you money in the long run, and ensure that you have a quality garage.
