Converting part of detached garage to an office, a few questions

Part of our master plan in finishing our house includes moving my basement office out into my detached garage. I have a workshop space in the back that measures roughly 11’ wide x 12’ deep x 10’ high. It is walled in on three sides already, it just need a fourth wall and some sort of ceiling (garage has open rafters). Right now it is just where I store my parts and chemicals, but I have a larger open space opposite that can do that same job, so no big deal.

I'm wondering about the ceiling being too high if I just run sheetrock against the existing rafters. Would it make it hard to heat/cool with so much vertical space? I already have a light so maybe a ceiling fan would help with circulation. Heating would be done with an electric heater, cooling with a window A/C unit. The garage has a 50 amp service, so I'm not worried about power. I"m going to try and insulate it REALLY well since there will be no central HVAC to depend on.

If anything I can ring the top of the walls with shelves and use it for storage.

This is also my chance to do anything custom I wanted. I'm thinking about in-wall speakers for tunes while I work. I already have a mini-fridge, so I'm good there.

Flooring will just be whatever floating laminate I find on sale that week. I can lay that myself.

Am I missing anything other than the beer tap?

I think you are on the right track with the ceiling fan to circulate as long as you have enough BTU's in play.

I have a ~1k sq ft shop with 12' ceilings with central heat/air. The handler is mounted suspended from the ceiling with angled offshoots aiming down at an angle from one run down the center of my shop. It works pretty well and my bills arent bad (that said, I keep it at 50 in the winter when I am not out there and 85 in the summer I think my worst month was $45 with running the welder too, its on a separate meter)

Consider mounting the air conditioner as high up the wall as possible so that you get more temperature difference and overall air movement.

The A/C unit will be about 6' off the floor at least. Can't decide if I want to use the existing window, or cut a hole in the wall for the unit.

I'm trying to decide if my current garage operating procedure will still work. If I'm not working in the garage, the main breaker in the house that feeds the garage panel is off. I only power up the garage when I'm in there because I'm paranoid about my garage burning down. Can't really keep a cold drink fridge out there if I cut it off every night.

In reply to slefain:

Do you shut power off your laundry room when you don't have a load in the machines? Do you shut power off to the kitchen when dinner is over and turn it back on when it is breakfast time? I am confused about why you think your garage may burn down, and why it would be any better for it to catch on fire with you in it.

Are you thinking a window AC unit or one of those mini-split systems? A mini split will cost more, but give you maybe more mounting options.

T.J. wrote: In reply to slefain: Do you shut power off your laundry room when you don't have a load in the machines? Do you shut power off to the kitchen when dinner is over and turn it back on when it is breakfast time? I am confused about why you think your garage may burn down, and why it would be any better for it to catch on fire with you in it. Are you thinking a window AC unit or one of those mini-split systems? A mini split will cost more, but give you maybe more mounting options.

I kill the power to the garage as peace of mind. Too many guys with roasted garages due to electrical fires or leaving something on (or charging). In the past I had a problem with squirrels and rats in the garage, so I don't know for sure that any of the wiring hasn't been sampled for taste. If it catches fire while I'm in it, I'm only a few feet away from a door at any place in the garage.

Window A/C unit is the current choice. A mini-split would be nice, but I'm spending that part of the budget on living space inside the house.

I'd just leave the office with a 10' ceiling. Making it lower would just be a lot of extra work and I don't think it will really save you anything. Now, if the existing ceiling was higher, say 14 or 15 feet, you could put a small loft on top of the office that could be used for storage.

Took a look around the potential office space again last night. I noticed that there is already a dedicated 120v 20 amp outlet for a window A/C unit. There is already a light fixture in the middle of the "office" that I can reinforce to hang a ceiling fan. I'll hit the Habit For Humanity ReStore and see what I can get for cheap.

I could use a bit more info.

The 10' ceiling. Is there additional space above is the roof the ceiling? How hot does it get during the summer? An exposed roof can act like a big radiator when it's been baking in the sun for awhile.

Likewise, lowering the ceiling will make whatever heater you get more effective and faster.

I agree you are over-paranoid about the electrics.

Ian F wrote: I could use a bit more info. The 10' ceiling. Is there additional space above is the roof the ceiling? How hot does it get during the summer? An exposed roof can act like a big radiator when it's been baking in the sun for awhile. Likewise, lowering the ceiling will make whatever heater you get more effective and faster. I agree you are over-paranoid about the electrics.

There is about 3' of space above the roof ceiling. I planned on putting insulation on top of the office. I actually have a big, wide roll of double foil sided insulation I was thinking of using.

I just went and poked around a little more. The entire back of my garage is pegboard, top to bottom. I thought it was just attached to the bare wall studs. Nope, someone sheetrocked the entire shop area (insulating behind it), then attached furring strips to that, and then put the pegboard on it. I kind of like the pegboard as I have crap hung EVERYWHERE in my current office. Since the wall is already insulated and sealed, it makes sense to just leave it alone. My R/C cars will look cool hanging on the walls.

I am probably paranoid about killing the shop power, but it lets me sleep better at night and it doesn't hurt anyone.

Not sure where you are located but if it gets cold in the winter and the floor is concrete you may have a problem with condensation on the floor when the heat is on. If it were me and it does get cold I'd raise the floor up with 2X4's 16"OC and put some insulation in the space between and then cover with 3/4 plywood. If you use screws you can always remove the floor if your plans change in the future.

Suggesting converting a detached garage into an office or living space?

Banhammer. To the patio with you.

captdownshift wrote: Suggesting converting a detached garage into an office or living space? Banhammer. To the patio with you.

I know, I know, but this is the portion where I can't easily park a vehicle. I've shoved a Ford Ranger back there once, but I don't plan on doing that again. I'll probably end up stacking car parts in my office anyway.

And I still haven't touched the 10'x10' concrete pad behind the garage where I want to eventually build a shed and stuff all the lawn maintenance gear.

jimbbski wrote: Not sure where you are located but if it gets cold in the winter and the floor is concrete you may have a problem with condensation on the floor when the heat is on. If it were me and it does get cold I'd raise the floor up with 2X4's 16"OC and put some insulation in the space between and then cover with 3/4 plywood. If you use screws you can always remove the floor if your plans change in the future.

I had initially planned on using a combination foam underlayment/vapor barrier and throwing some click-down floating laminate on it. I like your idea, but it may be overkill since I'm in Atlanta. Although, maybe just putting the 3/4 ply underneath may be a good way to insulate a little more.

In reply to slefain: If you go with just plywood add a layer of foam board first. Even 1 inch thick will make a big difference.

Careful with that.

Atlanta is in the heavy termite zone. Most readily available foam products (like Dow board) are not rated for ground contact, and termites love it. A hairline crack in the slab or at the mortar joint into the block sidewalks could lead to a building turned to powder, and you'd never see the damage until it was too late.

Use only material rated for full ground contact, with appropriate pesticides in the product.

SVreX wrote: Careful with that. Atlanta is in the heavy termite zone. Most readily available foam products (like Dow board) are not rated for ground contact, and termites love it. A hairline crack in the slab or at the mortar joint into the block sidewalks could lead to a building turned to powder, and you'd never see the damage until it was too late. Use only material rated for full ground contact, with appropriate pesticides in the product.

Pfft, what do you know Paul...oh, wait...

Yup, scratch that idea then. Simplest route may be vinyl plank over decent underlayment. I've already done that before, so I know the process. Plus it won't be much of a step up from the garage to the office in case I ever need wheel stuff in and out.

Anything will be a step up from my current office floor, which is that hideous vinyl peel-n-stick square tile over plain concrete.

When doing some finished space in our basement we used Platon which is a plastic roll material. It goes directly on the concrete then you put the subfloor on top of that. It gives an air gap for moisture to air out. On top of the Platon was tongue and groove subfloor (Advantech) and then Quiet Walk (padding) and then laminate floor. It's worked great. I don't know if that's appropriate for Georgia, but it should at least keep the floor comfy and dry.

SVreX, what do you think? Still need a ground contact rated subfloor with that setup?

In reply to slefain:

I didn't say scratch the idea. I said be careful.

Be careful to use the appropriate insulation for ground contact. Insulating is a very good idea. Just use the right stuff.

In reply to dculberson:

Not familiar with Platon, but it looks like a good idea.

Since its plastic, I'd say anything you laid on top of it would be a ground contact rated sub floor.

SVreX wrote: In reply to slefain: I didn't say scratch the idea. I said be careful. Be careful to use the appropriate insulation for ground contact. Insulating is a very good idea. Just use the right stuff.

Got it. I think I'm going to go with something thinner since I don't want to trip every time I walk back & forth between the concrete garage floor and the office.

Talking to a buddy of mine who did a similar project by himself, I'm leaning towards building the divider wall in place rather than building it on the floor and raising it. I can't be sure that I'll have help when I need it, and I'm fairly sure a 10'x12' wall will be heavy.

A 10'x12' wall can be raised by one person. The trick is to make sure the base doesn't slide when you are 1/2 way up.

That assumes, of course, that you are not 4'-11" tall and weigh 72 lbs.