Friend just bought a house and is renting out his detached garage to me and another person for mega cheap.
We're aware of the temperature issues that most garages come with, so I'm curious if anyone's ever lived in one for a period of time and has some solid ideas as to fixing it up.
It's actually really nice, though we're having an electrician come in to check up on the wiring and amperage etc. We overloaded a wall socket already just trying out a space heater we planned to use sparingly.
It's about 570 sq ft.
Any general tips?
>>944532
Stop saying fucking 'amperage'
>>944532
how much does your friend want to spend fixing it up?
you could install a whirly bird for the summer heat. other than this I doubt he's going to want to dump a few thousand into insulating it.
>>944532
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u9QXEWUtuU
add some of these with the whirly bird so you get some air flow in the summer. Vents in the door are going to be much cheaper than trying to add a window.
Winter, yeah, you need insulation and it's going to be pricey. You're going to have probably only one line of 20 amps to the garage, so I wouldn't count on being able to run a fair sized heater along with anything else. Get an indoor certified propane/kerosene heater. the indoor ones shut off if they don't get enough air to burn properly, so no CO, although a CO monitor wouldn't be a bad plan.
Make sure you account for the door when you plan stuff.
Figure out the toilet situation.
I'm fairly sure renting out a garage is illegal unless they pulled tons of permits. I assume that didn't happen since you're having electrical issues.
If I was you I would think twice about living there as it most likely doesn't have proper exits for fire and would cost more to "fix up" then to just rent an actual room for a few months.
>>944532
First and most important is to insulate this garage door panels. I did it to my garage pic related and the difference is night and day. Especially in the summer the garage would get hotter than the outside because the metal door heated up and baked it like an oven. Think of it like getting into a car that's been in the sun. The car is always way hotter inside than outside. This also helps keep the garage warm in the winter when I have my heater open. Also keeps the inside noise from getting outside too much.
I got this kit from Home Depot for about $100 total, had to buy two. This insulation is really thick, about an inch and a half and you need that so don't go skimpy buying a thin 4x8 sheet and think you're gonna cut it up and make it work. It won't. I spend a shitload of time in my garage working on stuff so I know what I'm talking about. Here's the link -
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-Pieces-Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-pcs/203630159
>>944586
Second you need an AC and a heater. I'm cheap and use these two and they work fine. But for living I'd buy a second heater, they're only $35 at Walmart. Just the one makes it just a hair under room temperature so way nicer than freezing when I'm working. But two would actually get it nice and warm. Also the AC is a cheap one I picked up a while back and it makes it just a hair above room temp in the summer because the output is so small. But very bearable and nice to work in. Worked fine for a small room in the house when the AC went out, but in your case for a garage I'd get a bigger one with a bit more output.
I had to rig the AC up by lifting the garage door and dropping it on top of the window unit. Then I bought some 4'x8' insulation sheets and cut them to fill the rest of the gap under the door. You also have to cut small pieces and stick them in the door where it separates a bit as it lifts. You'll notice the garage door is split into 4 long seperate sections on hinges that bend as it goes up. You'll get a gap between one of the sections as the door will be partly bent there. Also add long strips of insulation on each side next to the rails where there's a gap. Finally you'll need to insulate the top gap that will result from the door pulling away from the wall. Finally put an oscillating fan in front of the AC so it moves the air around. Not the most pretty setup, but it works. In your case I might worry about someone pulling away the insulation from the bottom gap between the door and floor where the window unit is resting and slipping inside to steal stuff. Not sure but that's all I could come up with.
>>944532
Where are you going to poop?
>>945431
ya deal reaker if no shitter no shower or bath is ok cus you can flush down toilet but you are fucked with no shitter on the other hand you could get a chemical shitter but you are playing with fire with that
>>944532
If you plan on living there for longer than 6 months, it would be reasonable to take out the garage door and replace it with a wooden one. Insulate with mineral wool and get an oven for heat and warm water/ cooking, and you got yourself a decent place to stay.
>>944532
Keep the door shut
You aren't going to save any money making a garage live able compared to renting a small suite.
Unless the garage is already insulated, is already heated, has decent power service (40A minimum) and has water/sewage service hooked up then you are looking at $10,000 (on the low side) just so you can have a place to shit while not freezing to death.
At least that is the case where I live.
This is stupid.
570 sq ft for two people is small. Especially with no bathroom for personal hygiene.
The owner will kick your asses out when he realizes that running a space heater in an uninsulated garage 24/7 is expensive. Not even mentioning how pissed he will be when you're constantly coming into his house to take a shit.
>>944533
Why?
Insulate the shit out of it
People make the craziest assumptions when you mention anything like this.
Bathrooms are available with a short walk to the house in most of the cases where there's a detached garage.
Assuming 10k to get it livable is hilarious and shows the ignorance of many people on this board. A quote in most areas for that size, even for open celled spray foam would run about 3k with services included.
Renting a garage doesn't mean that someone doesn't want you in their house necessarily. This thread reminds me of a city-data thread where a woman was essentially attacked for asking a couple of simple questions about garage living.
>i'm on the 4chan so i have to assume everything will be awful and ur poor and i'm not lolol
>>947440
Because the current-carrying capability of a conductor is "ampacity" (a portmanteau of "ampere capacity").
But only autists, bureaucrats, and shit-stirrers give a fuck.
>>944533
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/amperage
>>947446
Guess you didn't read the couch thread where someone working in the furniture business for 15 years thinks it would cost$150000 to build an ugly couch/boat.
>>947488
Autism Speaks.
