Garage Conversions near you

Whenever living space and a garage share a wall or ceiling, the building code treats that boundary as a barrier against fumes. In the National Building Code, as reproduced in British Columbia's code, Article 9.10.9.16 requires an air barrier system between an attached garage and the rest of the building that is an effective barrier to gas and exhaust fumes. Article 9.10.13.15 requires any door between them to be tight-fitting, weather-stripped and self-closing, and doesn't allow that doorway in a room intended for sleeping. A partial conversion therefore has to build a new, fully sealed separation, and a new bedroom can't open onto the remaining bay.

Health Canada's carbon monoxide advice applies directly: don't idle vehicles in the garage even with the overhead door open, keep the door between the house and garage closed, and have at least one carbon monoxide alarm with battery backup, with hallways outside sleeping areas the most important place for it. Your province's code and the municipal inspector confirm what applies to your project.

The garage floor is usually the biggest design decision. A slab poured for cars is sloped for drainage, rarely insulated and often a step or more below the house floor, so most conversions either build a new insulated floor on top of the slab, leveling it and bringing it up toward the house floor, or accept a step down and insulate over the slab with a thinner assembly. Either way, Natural Resources Canada's advice for insulating over concrete applies: put a moisture barrier on the floor or seal it, so moisture can't accumulate between the insulation and the slab.

Zoning is often the first obstacle. Ontario's citizen's guide to land use planning notes that zoning bylaws control parking requirements along with setbacks, heights and densities, so a bylaw may require your lot to keep one or more parking spaces, and turning the garage into a room can leave you short. In Ontario, a design that doesn't meet the bylaw may be eligible for a minor variance from the committee of adjustment; elsewhere, ask your municipality's planning department what applies.

A building permit is normally required. Toronto's permit guidance, for example, requires one for structural or material alterations, for new windows or doors where there were none before, and for enlarging or relocating existing ones, all of which a typical conversion includes. A separate unit adds its own requirements: Ontario's guidance on second units says a building permit is needed and a unit can't be added if you can't comply with your municipality's bylaws.

A converted garage adds living space, but in a snowy climate many buyers value a garage too, so how a conversion affects resale depends on the neighbourhood, the lot and whether street or driveway parking remains. A permitted, well-built conversion with a floor level with the house and windows that suit the elevation reads as part of the home; a room with a step down, an obvious filled-in door opening and no permit on file raises questions from buyers, appraisers and insurers.