I think if your house fits a family over 3 people, in general a 2 car garage would be best. Also, garages are great for storage as well. On the other hand, if you think it is a valuable addition right now, it may be a good option.

I do a decent amount of woodworking and what not in that garage...perhaps I'll just splurge on extending the garage out a car's length. Probably about $15k if I had to guess. So I guess the question is, is a walk in closet worth $15k in a market where average home price is maybe $250k.

If you are making a 2 car garage into a 1 car just for the sake of a closet, then I would say no don't do it. Especially if the other homes in your area have a 2 car garage. If you truly are going to expand the garage, it will be worth it to you only. If it will make you happy then do that. Just keep a 2 car garage if that is the norm in your area.

Losing the garage space will cost you more in build out costs and devaluation costs than does the addition of a walk in closet. The addition of a garage and walk in closet will costs much more than the gain of a walk in closet.

IMO, the best solution would be to move, if you really need more space.

My neighborhood is a mix of sheds up to a few places with small shops. Average is probably closer to mid-large 1 car garage. We do plan to move, but build our own place and that is 5 years out. I'd like to keep this place for family/rental property.

I'm pretty committed to the walk in closet: I demo'd our current master closet when we put carpet in (2' deep 8' so perfect for the head end of the bed) and my wife "needs" a good vanity that currently has a spot in our living room. The new closet will be roughly 50 square feet.

Would it be fair to say that when I add it and don't add on to the garage, I wouldn't be losing much money at an eventual re-sale or rent-out (only losing woodworking space) and that if I add it and do add on to the garage, I'll likely be out somewhere between $5k-15k at an eventual resale? Thanks for the comments!

If the garage part being renovated can barely fit a car (most vehicles these days are huge) what value would the garage be in the first place other than storage?

It all depends on the area, doesn't it? Where I live (older urban area), almost nobody has a garage. If you have a parking pad you're considered lucky, and they raise the value of a house by $50,000 to $100,000. Suits me fine because I hate garages.

ellusionz, that is kind of my mindset now that I've lived here and dealt with it, but in reality it's up in the air how competent a future potential buyer is though. We're in southeastern WA so most probably wouldn't consider a garage a must (I would but only for woodworking and the like) and after looking around some more I think a one car isn't a bad selling point and the remaining square footage will be about average. Thanks for the comments!

$100,000 increase in a home's value because it has a concrete parking pad? I have to question this... please elaborate.

IMO, the best solution would be to move, if you really need more space.

Moving costs (including transaction costs on the home sale) will be much more than $15K.

No way. Never reduce from 2 parking bays.

Depends where you are. I'd say in about 95% of locales, you want a two car garage. I'm building out in the rural boonies where most of my neighbors park outside (or park in a detached garage) and walk in. I have a one car garage. But I doubt you live where I live... go with a two car garage!

Agree with above posters - look more toward what is the norm in your specific location . Where I live, a very urban residential area, not only do some of us not have garages but we dont have a driveway or offstreet parking of any kind. Yeah, that means our properties are valued less, but that can be a good thing - means I can afford to live in a neighborhood I couldnt otherwise afford - and then when its time to sell, Ill pass the savings on to the next person - and I expect there should be a lot of interest because of its affordability.

Anyway - someone local could give you a better sense of it. Around here, offstreet parking is highly desireable but a garage is not a must. In fact I can think of one nearby residence where the humongous garage has been a liability (placed in their front yard bc there was no other location for it).

Look around your neighborhood and town to see what people do with their garage space. Is it a neighborhood where almost everyone puts their car in the garage, or almost everyone uses it for storage only? Is it common that homes have storage structures added? Would a large closet be desirable for a renter (since you say that is the future destiny of the property)? Think local.

Everybody has to talk in generalities because your question can't really be answered on a national discussion forum. ASK A LOCAL RE AGENT.

<<$100,000 increase in a home's value because it has a concrete parking pad? I have to question this... please elaborate.>>

That's correct. I live in an older area of Toronto, where many houses have neither garages nor parking pads. This means many home-owners have to park on the street. My neighbourhood is close to Lake Ontario and people from other parts of the city come here for walks, picnics, etc., so parking spaces can be very difficult to come by. That's why a parking pad carries such a premium.

If you aren't planning to sell soon, maybe it would be worth it to you to add the closet now and take it back out if necessary when are are ready to sell?

I have seen several garage remodels and not a single one looked "right". You have to step down to get to the new living space, the new living space usually does not flow with the rest of the spaces, the driveway leads right up to what obviously was once a garage, the landscaping abruptly changes in style and age in front of the new space, if there was even any additional landscaping put in, the heating and cooling system usually does not match the rest of the home and so on.

Can it be done correctly and nicely? Probably. But I have yet to see it.

You might consider posting your floor plan on the Remodeling or Building forums. It's possible some folks will have some clever ideas about where and how to carve out a closet that you may not have thought of.

Good idea.

Is there a near by bedroom not being used? It wouldn't be hard to make a doorway into an adjacent bedroom, for DW to use as her giant new closet, and then re-drywall over it to turn it back into a bedroom before selling. I use a small office/bedroom - not adjacent to the master - as my walk in closet. (I use the ClosetMaid system from big orange - just one horizontal hang track is screwed into the wall, so easy enough to patch/paint when it turns back into an office.) Works better for us than if it were connected because I wake up much earlier than DH and the noise/light would wake him. Anyway, just a thought.