How to insulate garage ceiling under finished bonus room
maltbie
18 years ago
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manhattan42
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agormslayer
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
New Construction - Bonus Room Over 3 Car Garage
Comments (12)If total cost is $110, then it would be about $20 to finish otherwise framed space. It is similar to finishing an unfinished basement if this area was planned as a "finishable" space. I am assuming that roofline is there and stairs are already there, and subfloor is already there (and designed for load). The real cost variable is HVAC - if you finish it later, then your HVAC won't be sized right and you may need a unit just for that space which can add a big chunk. Rough costs per sqft electrical $4 Paint $2 Drywall $2 Insulation $2 (mild climate) plumbing $0 - assuming no bathroom HVAC $4 Carpet $2 Trim $2 (includes door) Builder $2 (low to make numbers work...) HVAC is quite variable - it can be less if you are just adding a duct or two and not changing the size of the original unit. The comfort of a bonus room is climate and insulation and HVAC design dependent. Done terribly much of the time. I have a bedroom in a "bonus" area and it is just fine without spray foam. It also only has 1 duct and no return but it isn't 900 sqft either. The walkin closet in that area is absolutely frigid with no duct....See MoreBonus room over the garage?
Comments (13)We designed for a bonus room over our 3-car garage as well. It will be finished only to the sheetrock and plywood flooring stage by our builder. Our house style (neo folk Victorian) needed a 12/12 roof pitch and I knew that putting a matching pitch on the semi-detached garage would result in there being a lot of use-able space in the garage attic. I was originally just thinking of it as convenient storage space but once it was all framed up, DH fell in love with the space and claimed it for a "man cave" for himself. We executed a few change orders at that point: extra electrical outlets and a TV cable, beefed up floor trusses, extra insulation, used fire resistant drywall on the garage ceiling, and vents for portable AC units. (We're in a hot climate so heating, even in the depths of winter is highly unlikely to ever be a problem.) Since our changes were initiated before anything had to be undone, the additional costs were pretty minimal. DH is thinking "pool table, big screen TV, comfy chairs and small fridge full of beer." I'm thinking that ALL HIS various collections and junk - like the baseball pennants and the chili cook-off posters and the "dogs playing poker" tapestry wall hanging somebody gave him before we were married - can now go in the man cave and I don't have to fight with him wanting to show the stuff off in the house. LOL! I think I'm looking forward to him using it almost as much as he is. Access to the bonus room is via an L-shaped staircase in the garage bay that will be used as a workshop area. The stairs still leave room for a small car to be parked in the bay. We will also have access to the bonus room via a deck built over the screened porch that connects the garage to the house. A door in our TV room opens to that deck. We did not run any plumbing lines and that is the one thing I'm now regretting about our design because it would have made the bonus space even more use-able....See MoreMaking a bonus room over the garage into real, liveable space
Comments (12)Thanks for the information, Casey. Kirkhall, You bring up a valid concern, but I'm not going that direction. The house plan we've chosen has everything we need -- probably for the rest of our lives. Our ONLY reason for "prepping" the bonus space is that IF at some point our circumstances change, we want the space to be available. For example, if at some point one of our children moved back in with us, we might want to use that space. Or, if at some point in the future, our children inherit this house and think it would be perfect if only it had one more room, we'd want it to be ready to make into a real room. Mind you, I'm not saying you're wrong about codes -- only that I think the possibility of us using this space is fairly remote, and I'm willing to chance it. Ren8, I agree that this term is used -- perhaps purposefully? -- to confuse buyers. It sounds like, "Hey, here's a free room for you! A BONUS!" And it's easy to say, "Oh, look, we can afford to build an 1800 sf house! And it'll be comfortable for our family, especially with that big upstairs room!" And then once they realize the upstairs room is 500 sf OVER what they thought they could build, they've already bought the plans. Yeah, it's misleading....See MoreGarage heater installation -- will it help keep bonus room warm
Comments (1)How cold is 'super cold'? Why would you heat the garage instead of the room itself? If on a separate thermostat, why not set the temp at 45 or 50 degrees? Do the cracks follow the breaks edges of the ceiling board or are they more random? Was the room original to the house or a later add-on? If the latter, was it permitted and inspected? Is there insulation above the garage ceiling?...See Moremaltbie
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