When building an additional dwelling unit, many homeowners try to find the most affordable way to go about it. For most, the idea of converting the garage they don’t use very often seems to be the most affordable option. But how much does it cost to do a garage conversion?
Garage Conversion Factors
In most cases, a garage conversion is more affordable than new construction. However, there are expectations to this statement you should be aware of.
For starters, if your garage’s foundation is bad, that alone could result in the need to tear everything down in order to fix it, resulting in a very costly project. If your walls are rotting away, or you have termites, that too can result in a very costly fix. Therefore, the shape your garage is in has a huge impact on whether or not it will be more or less costly than new construction.
Secondly, if your garage needs plumbing but it is on the other side of your paved driveway than your sewer system, this too can be quite costly. You will need to tear up the driveway to lay the new plumbing, and then reinstall the driveway, costing you a lot.
Typical Garage Conversion Costs
If your garage structure is in good condition and it will be easy to run plumbing to it, then doing a conversion should save you money. This is because you don’t have to pay for the materials and labor needed to build a whole new structure. Plus, most garages already have electricity and water hooked up to them, meaning you won’t have to pay to have those installed.
A typical, 2-car garage conversion will cost you between $90,000 – 119,000. A new construction 499 SQ ft will cost you around $161,700 – $201,125. Therefore, a garage conversion will be a lot less costly than undergoing new construction. That is of course, as long as the unit is in good shape and you are willing to give up your garage space. Where you fall in the given range is dependent upon your design tastes and who you hire to do the construction.