How to Cut Costs on a Garage Conversion

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Sometimes a family can outgrow a house. The original plan was for only one child, but now there are two, or the mother-in-law had to move in. A garage conversion may be necessary for a myriad of reasons, but usually it is because of the need for more living space. These garage conversions are costly, but there are ways to cut costs on a garage conversion.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Step1

Perform as much of the labor yourself. Obviously, there may be aspects of the conversion that will require a professional, but the more work you can do yourself, the more costs you can cut. Even if you contract out the work, you can ask the contractor to delegate as much of the labor to you to cut costs on the garage conversion.

Step2

Buy the building materials on sale prior to the conversion and store them until you are ready to begin the project. Remember to keep an eye open to any sales on the materials you will need for the garage conversion.

Step3

Resist the temptation to place additional windows and other amenities in the garage conversion. There is a tendency to overspend to make the room look less like a garage--but that is exactly what it is. Just understand that you can't change that fact unless you totally restructure the house.

Step4

Get multiple quotes on any work that you have to contract out to professionals. Too many times people will just take the first quote that they get without doing any comparison shopping.