I'm going to live in the garage and what would be the steps to make it comfortable?

Question

The garage is a garage and will need to be a garage again in a year's time. I am moving in with friends and I wanted to live in the garage because I kind of like being away from the main place and kind of have a place of my own. But what can I do to make it more comfortable to be a bedroom? For pet's we set bug bombs in there but how would I be able to keep them out? and I live in Iowa so it might get cold but there is a old propane heater in the other garage how easy is it to install to put in the other garage..but the main problem would be is keeping the pests out and the comfortablity of living there. There is a loft also and I would like to use that as a space but it gets so hot in the summer.

Answer 1

ceiling fans , portable heaters , and air conditioning unit..........
a bug zapper ............

and a camping toilet would be helpful ...........

best of luck !

Answer 2

Old carpet or a big area rug on the floor after the florr has been swept and mopped clean. Put your bed in there, a TV, mayeb a mini-fridge, hang some cool stuff on the walls: pictures, signs, fabric... get some extra seating liek a couch or a few chairs. Get an electric heater not a gas one. I am worried about the fumes and the enclosed area you will be in. Get a few fans. Some lamps will make the place more homey and provide better ligh tthan the garage usually has. Fo rall your plugs, you will some a few power strips so you have more outlets... Get a small table and some chairs from a junk store or a garage sale or just see what is already laying aroudn the garage adn USE it!

Answer 3

I'd think the only reason there should be pests would be if there's a crack under the garage door and/or walk-in door if there is one. It would seem to be if you could get some kind of weather-strip or some kind of rubber or vinyl matting or strip that could be at the bottom of the doors that might help.

If there's no heat in the garage, and you have Iowa Winter, I'm not sure it would be safe for you to sleep in there because so many types of heating (other than "legitimately installed real heating") can be dangerous either because of fire or carbon monoxide.

What about arranging for the space to be yours but to sleep somewhere else in the house. It isn't perfect, but if you use something like a portable heater in the day and while you're awake nights you could shut it off, go sleep somewhere in the house, and head back to your "real" space in the morning.

Electric blankets are helpful. Some kind of rug(s) on the floor would make it feel a little warmer.

I can't help but think you're going to discover that the garage is fine for all your non-sleeping time when the temperature is over a certain degree; but you may discover that its just not possible to make a garage awfully comfortable without "officially" converting it to a room.

Assuming you decide to use a propane heater (or otherwise to overcome the heat issue in Winter), other ways to make it comfortable are to have a nice big chair, a small table, a coffee maker or electric hot water heater for tea, a television, a radio, some warm lighting, maybe a little refrigerator. Don't just throw a mattress down and sleep on it. Go spring for a nice, bright, cheerful, and warm comforter - not just for keeping warm but because a nice, bright, comforter always makes a room look lnicer.

Maybe make sure there's a way to have some fresh air come into the garage as often as possible because that takes out some of the "dead air" that garages can have. I think the best approach to trying to make a garage as livable as possible is to aim for whatever is bright and cozy and warm.

If you could, say, put down a round throw rug, put on that one of those cheapy table rounds you can buy at discount department stores (they're just cheapy unfinished barely-wood round tops with three legs and you add a table cover to make them look nice), get the table cover, add a lamp and a plant and maybe a resin chair - voila - you have a little place to have something to eat rather than trying to eat on the edge of a mattress. Add a second chair if you plan to have guests in.

Make sure you keep all windows and glass in the garage sparkling clean so the sun can shine in and it won't look like "Fred's Service Station" with the filmy windows. If you can, add some little inexpensive curtains or shades for privacy and to warm up the "room".

Don't forget to make sure you have a decent source of music to listen to, and consider getting a potpourri tart burner to fill the garage/room with a nice smell of your choice.

Answer 4

I am in Iowa too so I know how it gets here. DO NOT use the old propane heater they are dangerous and give off fumes if you need to buy an electric space heater at walmart you can get a really good one for about $20 or so. The higher watt output the more heat they give off. Don't let the price fool you cheap ones work just as good. Now get some cheap area rugs so you aren't only on cement. It make it a little nicer to walk barefoot on anyways. Also I would set it up like an efficienct app. get a futon so it can double as a couch, a SMALL entertainment center so you can watch tv, a dresser for your clothes,a dorm sized refrig. for pop and a few snacks. also get those "under the bed" storage containers to store things. You may even want to consider a futon bunk bed and use the top for storage for clothes and stuff. I hope that helps.

Answer 5

For the pest problem, it's because they can get in so easily. Make sure you scrub the floor with soapy hot water first, and brush the cobwebs and such off the walls, corners and ceiling, then get some calk and a calking gun and fill in every crack, hole or crevice that a bug of any size could possibly squeeze through. Even go outside of the garage and calk around (especially under) the window(s) and around the door(s). You'll also want to make sure that the seal on the bottom of the big garage door is new, and very close to the concrete and that the edges will be plugged up to keep critters from getting in. Bugs are your least concern. There are also rats and mice you have to worry about.

Get a bug zapper to have plugged just outside the outside door(s) to keep them from coming in when doors are opened. You can hang fly strips in hidden places to catch flies and mosquitos, etc. Little ant, roach and spider sticky traps can be hid and replaced quite easily.

Bugs are attracted to sweet and salty smells i.e. deoderants, lotions, shampoos, sweat, etc., so keep these smells quite limited. You'll want to keep this a food free and yummy smell free area to keep bugs at a minimum.

To cozy it up a bit try getting big carpet scraps of warm colors (not white or beige or gray or blue or green). Having brown book shelves along one side, like two or three of them, would make it seem cozier, with books and pictures on them and other warm decorations. Get drapes for the window(s) of a homey type (no cool colors, again).
Try floor lamps (not desk top lamps) to place in the corners of the garage that you'd really like some light (and it warms it up and makes it more friendly). A love seat or sofa would be fun to have in here with a coffee table to rest your feet on and put drinks and stuff on it. A tv would help, too.
Have lots of blankets and pillows at easy reach to snuggle with. Hang big posters and pictures on the walls to detract from the garage wall look. If you can paint the walls try using a warm color for that as well, but as long as it's not gray, white, black, brown, orange or navy you'll be okay).

You know the rest of the stuff you'll want in there. Good luck:)

Answer 6

You should get a nice rug, a small fridge, a couch and a good sized flat screen tv.

Answer 7

Iowa doesn't exist!

Answer 8

you might as well just pitch a tent in their back yard