Ask the Architect

We’re converting our garage

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Q. We need more space, and want to use our garage for a family room. Do we need a permit for that? Also, the garage doors need to stay, because we notice that when it rains, we get water in the garage, because the driveway slopes down to it. We want a storage space for bikes, so this will work, but what do we do about the garage door track, since it will go back farther than the storage area and make our family room ceiling feel like a basement?

A. Giving up your garage to park yourself on a sofa still requires a building permit, and there are several factors you need to know about this, not least the garage door track and that lower ceiling. The water issue must be thoroughly addressed by analyzing the full scope of where every drop of water is coming from that can wind up in your wrong-sloping driveway, and where to send that water. Accepting that you get water in the garage when it rains is, well, unacceptable. The yard, the street, the driveway, the roof and rain gutters all may be contributing to your problem. Don’t accept that water can freely accumulate anywhere in your home, even the front of the garage.

Next, forget about the garage door tracks. You’re better off changing the garage doors to either large barn-type swinging doors or sliding barn doors to make the family room ceiling higher and more uniform. Done right, the new replacement doors can enhance the look of the front of the home and solve multiple problems. You’ll need a foundation wall below ground, under the new family room wall, for full foundation enclosure of your family room, complete with below-ground-level insulation board. If the slab doesn’t have a “thermal break” and insulation around the perimeter, the floor will transfer cold and you won’t know where or why you feel a chill. This also allows for a copper termite shield and treated wood sill plate.

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