Garage Expansion Ideas

Home Office

• A garage is an ideal location for a home office. Most garages have a door that allows people to enter without going through the house, which forms a psychological and physical barrier between the personal space of your home and the business space of your home office and can add a layer of professionalism to your business. If your home business requires space for manufacturing, a separate office for meeting with clients or a lobby to handle customer sales is another way to add professionalism to your business. If you have a single-story garage with nothing above it, building a second story on top of the garage allows you to use the floor as your manufacturing space and the upstairs area as your office.

Gym

• A garage can be a prime location to install a home gym. The space is open, allowing you to configure the gym however you want, and the ceiling is high enough to fit equipment and allow you to move around freely without hitting it, which can happen in a room with a lower ceiling, such as a basement. Knocking down one of the exterior walls and expanding the garage leaves you with more floor space for equipment, or you can build a bathroom with a shower, which is ideal if you're a personal trainer working from home, or you allow friends to work out in your home gym, but you don't want them using the bathrooms in your home.

Auto Showroom

• You can take the intended purpose of your garage -- a place to store your car -- and expand on that by turning it into your own private auto showroom, which is especially beneficial if you own a classic car as it provides you with a place to store and showcase it. You can expand your one- or two-car garage into a garage that can house three or more cars. If you add a second story to the garage, you can free up more floor space by installing hydraulic lifts to stack your cars vertically, which can free up one of the bays for auto maintenance. Building cabinets into the walls, especially where you will be performing maintenance, can save space and help keep you organized. Using the expanded garage as a place to show your cars also means that the walls and floors must be finished. If money isn't an issue, and the garage is used strictly for storing and displaying cars, you can install hardwood or even marble flooring, but epoxy-coating the concrete floor can greatly improve its appearance while still remaining easy to clean.

Apartment

• Expanding the garage can provide more living space, such as a spare bedroom or an in-law suite. Converting the garage into an apartment can help you reclaim some of your investment by providing a way for your garage to provide you with an income stream. Constructing a second story allows you to convert the garage into two small apartments or a single luxury apartment with a living space on the first floor and a bedroom on the second floor. Installing a bathroom with a shower is a must if you're building an apartment, and by expanding vertically and placing the bedroom on the second floor, you reserve space to build a small kitchen on the bottom floor.