Flooring Tips When Converting your Garage into a New Room
A garage conversion is an excellent way to add living space to any home while increasing the capital value of your property. You already have the foundations – walls and roof – in place and the wiring for light is often sufficient. No Council Development Approval is required saving you time, money and discussions with neighbours. If the garage is already attached to the house the entry often is a door leading into the house, making the conversion simpler.
The biggest decision you will need to make is what type of flooring you plan to use in your garage conversion. Most commonly seen garage conversions tend to be for extra living spaces such as a big open family room, adding a bedroom for house resale or a home entertainment hide out where you can enjoy peace and quite while watching your favourite movies without complaints about the volume! The latest trends in garage conversions shows this new room as both a man cave, games room and even a chill out zone where you can enjoy yoga, meditation or pilates.
It is important to remember when thinking about floor design ideas for your home that the average suburban home garage sits on an uninsulated concrete slab which may be lower than the floor level inside your home or potentially slightly higher. This means you have a firm and hearty base to work with and depending on what you envisage for your room, the opportunities to create plush luxury flooring are endless.
Carpet is a popular flooring option for garage conversions because of its soft and cosy feel on the feet and because it helps insulate the room. Using carpet in a garage conversion will also require insulation of the inner walls and roof to seal off dust and water, otherwise the carpet may have a shorter life span. So remember to budget for this additional cost.
As carpet absorbs moisture and dirt more than other flooring options, this is why many customers consider hardwood timber flooring when searching a garage conversion ideas.
Solid timber hardwood floors will add a lush luxury feel to any room but will vary in look depending on the quality of hardwood flooring you purchase. Timber floors do give you a rustic and very sleek look to help visually improve older garages and matches the often dated look of a garage. The drawback of a timber floor is that there is no insulation meaning that it can be cold and often very noisy. If you live in southern Australian states, the winters are cold enough underfoot so be sure to choose your garage flooring carefully.
Luxury vinyl flooring should also be considered as a good flooring option for the garage conversions. It is adaptable and can very easily mimic the look of any material, pattern or colour used on the walls. Combined with good under-laying padding, vinyl flooring can provide the look of hardwood or natural stone, with the feel and insulation qualities given from carpet. Vinyl floors are user friendly, low maintenance and have longevity. A well installed vinyl floor that is properly cared for can give you up to two decades of use, making it a really good value for money.
Finally, another good option to consider is laminate flooring. Laminate gives you the ability to achieve the look of hardwood timber flooring, without the price tag or stress of maintenance. Laminate flooring is adaptable to the look of timber floors and in some higher quality laminates such as Plantino Laminate you can also get the feel of hardwood without the hit to the hip pocket. However, laminate isn’t as resilient in contrast to hardwood or other surfaces and the top wear layer is prone to fading if there is a lot of sunlight.