Prefab Garage Apartment

Need some extra cash?

With the current credit crunch, households around the world are coming up with quite an unexpected source of additional income: they simply convert their garage into an apartment and lease it out. Garages are no longer repositories for the family car.

Thinking of it, that's not a bad idea, is it. Even if the idea of leasing out your garage does not sound very good to you, there are still ways of taking advantage of the garage extra space and put it to some productive use.

An apartment garage plan is pretty easy to design, and with a bit of know-how, to build.

What is it for?

Obviously the first question to be asked is what will the garage future use be. Traditionally, garages have doubled as storage space for anything from gardening tools to old books. It is also being used as workshop, office or even as an additional room for the boys. With a bit of imagination, there is no limit to the good uses one can put his garage to.

Once you have made up your mind about the intended use, you are in a better position to design the garage layout.

Here are a few design tips:

If you plan to use the place as storage space, a good idea is to place wall shelves to accommodate gardening tools like the lawnmower, brooms, hoses, shoes etc. Try also to group these in categories, based on their respective frequency of use: normally the most used items should be of easy reach.
Place hooks. These will allow you to gain as much space as possible on the the wall and even on the ceiling.
Remember accessibility. If the intended garage apartment is located next to your house, try to create a direct communicating door between them.
Create autonomous units. If you intend leasing out the space, integrate a small kitchen, a bathroom and a maybe couple of additional rooms.
Can you do it yourself?
If the idea sounds interesting, you may choose to hire the service of a prefab contractor to build an apartment garage for you. While their technical expertise is valuable, designing your own garage plan is easy, provided you apply some basic design factors.

In general an apartment garage plan should provide for one or two doors, and depending on the number of rooms, a few windows too.

How about the budget ?

The cost of building home additions depends largely on the region where you live. Once you know exactly what suits you best, you are in better position to work out the financial side of the project.

The building materials

The building materials to use will also influence the overall cost as well as the durability of the construction. I have found that prefabricated kits that come with an instruction manual often cost less.

Finally, remember too to take into account aesthetic considerations. A good apartment garage plan should not only look nice on paper, but it should also be practical and usable once build.

Wanting to have a safe place to put the things that matter most is important. From vehicles to exercise or recreation equipment, having a place to put things instead of leaving them out provides peace of mind. Good prefab wood garage kits can provide builders of different skill levels the space they need. It's still important for even the best builders to do some research before making their final purchase.

Prefab means to many people a building that is prefabricated, made out of prepared materials provided in a ready-to-use kit. They can be made of wood or steel. However, most people don't know that prefab can also refer to a type of modernist building style. Typically consisting of clean lines and geometrical building shapes, modernist garages often mimic the homes they are near to, though they themselves only hold a car.

People who build things themselves are usually very proud of what they can do. They have many different reasons for choosing to build on their own. It could be that they are seeking an exclusive design. They could just be trying to cut costs, too.