Garage To Home Office To Liveable Unit

[Nick Flint]

I've got a 600 sq ft, 2 car garage at my house. The end goal is to make it a liveable unit on paper with permits, but that's a few years down the road.

Right now the goal is to turn it into a home office, so what steps would you recommend taking that would eventually let me turn it into a liveable unit?

I think getting the floor done, adding climate control, and adding electrical are the first steps.

The main things I'm wondering are:

- any flooring recommendations? I was just going to epoxy it so it looks better

- it has 1 outlet right now, do I just get someone to come wire more into the walls?

- do I seal up the garage doors/remove them/replace them with cinderblocks?

- what would you recommend for A/C as far as insulation? I think a window unit would be the best option. I'm in Tampa so it would get close to 100 degrees without anything

- anything else you think I'm overlooking?

Thanks in advance! Pics below for reference

[Linda Wright]

Hi @Nick Flint, I think all the above advice is great. If your doing things slowly because of cash flow I would do the following. Make sure each step is permitted so that you don't have to go back and tear anything out.  First check to see if it can be livable space like the other said. Then I would get more electric put in and the A/C. I think doing epoxy on the floor would be a great idea for now. You can add some rubber floor mats or even a rug for a different area (if you have a couch or sitting area perhaps). I'd keep the garage doors for now. In my experience, many people want a garage and may want to convert it back if you haven't done a lot of work to it in case you decide to sell before the complete rehab. Just a couple of thoughts. Good luck.