If there is one projection at the farm that was eminent on our list of “ must - accomplished ” this summertime , it was turn the idle quad in our garage into a larger , full - functioning small studio apartment apartment .
And finally , after a bustle of DIY activity over the last month , we can check it off the tilt !
When we first built back in 2016 , we carved out minuscule space from the garage to create a guest quiescence space .
It certainly was n’t a large space . In fact it measured just about 20′ x 10′ widely . Nor did it sport a full kitchen or bedchamber .
But it certainly serve well it ’s design well . It was nice to have a disjoined area with a lavatory and sleeping area near the house .
The honest part was by keeping it small , it left us with a fairly big expanse of garage space to use .
The only trouble was , after living here for 3 years , we realize we did n’t need that space at all !
And to rush , we realized it would be far nicer to have had a bit bombastic space for an flat . One that could include a full kitchen , bedroom , and a washing machine and dryer .
After all , with a big category and a lot of visitors , you never do it when it might fare in ready to hand . And , if nothing else , it could make for a great situation or rental space someday if ever involve .
Creating A Studio Apartment From A Garage
The goals for our labor were simple .
First and foremost , we wanted to produce the space using material that matched the farm .
And we certainly did n’t want to modify the garage exterior at all . It was important to keep it looking like a unsubdivided telephone extension of the theatre . ‘
And finally , as always , do it all on DIY favorable budget !
So with that in head , we decide to use our cheap building cloth “ friends ” of shiplap , alloy and roach to accomplish at all .
All in all , it bring us about 4 weeks to dispatch the project . The completed studio apartment end up being about 650 hearty feet .
Here is a tone at the labor from start to finish . We included a short telecasting walk through as well at the end .
Keeping The Space We Need
All we really use our service department for now is to hive away our mower , kayaks , bikes and a turn of few small items .
So with that in mind , we started by beg off the blank space we require to keep for storage .
We want to keep the existing garage door in place , so we score off a small-scale 10′ x 12′ sphere directly behind the door . And , we made sure to give just enough elbow room for the door opener to still appease in position and employment !
Walling Off The Storage Area
Using the tape as a guidebook , we establish scantling walls using repossess 2 x 4 ’s . We fix the wall to the rafters above with shtup , and to the concrete story below with screws and adhesive .
After that we , we insulated the walls to keep it ardent and cozy on the apartment side .
At this compass point , there was no sour back – the infinite had been claimed !
Installing Shiplap, Metal & Rope Trim
It seems like everywhere you go on our farm , you will run into 3 materials : shiplap , metallic element , and rope trimming . It is used prominently in our nursing home , barn , midget cabin – and now our footling studio apartment garage flat .
And with ripe reason ! And not only do they search great , they stand up to the test of time without near zero maintenance .
Shiplap really is one of the easiest and most cost effective materials to use when building . Not only is it fairly inexpensive , it is also extremely wanton to install.(See : How To Install Shiplap With Ease )
We get our shiplap boards from a nearby sawmill for around 60 cents per board animal foot . It is certainly a much less expensive route than essay to buy it through a enceinte lumber store or retail merchant .
The best part of all , unlike dry wall , there is no finishing require . And with keeping the unpainted “ Grant Wood ” look idea , once we peg up the shiplap , the walls are complete !
We still had a few young metal shroud forget from creating our house cap . So we used those as a wainscoting in the bedroom . It is a neat industrial look , and like shiplap , wanton and inexpensive to establish .
It was also a huge rescue on the budget because we had them on script ! ( See : Installing Metal Walls & Ceilings )
To fill in the face and trim it all out , we used3/4″ heavyset twisted manilla rophy . It is a wonderful magic trick for trimming we learned from the Amish craftsmen that helped build our sign of the zodiac .
You simply staple it in space or else of rationalize a ton of wood at difficult angles for clipping . We dress the full apartment in about an hour – with no cutting !
Creating A Full Kitchen and Bedroom For The Studio Apartment
We actuate the bathroom slide barn threshold to the side to let the erstwhile elbow room be the independent kitchen / living area . Then used the space we realize in the garage for creating a modest 10 x 14 sleeping room , gross with a 3 x 6′ washing machine and dryer hookup as well .
The old support space had a small sink in position in a “ kitchenette ” expanse . We gutted that area , and then used unpainted blood line wood cabinets to create a full kitchen .
To dress them up , we applied a few coats of semi - gloss paint . We were in reality surprised at how “ custom ” they ended up looking simply after house painting .
For gadget , Mary find the coolest little21″ mini 4 burner stove / ovenand a intermediate sized icebox that fit the space perfectly .
And eventually , for the backsplash , we simply cut down more of the galvanized metal to complete the “ industrial ” ktichen look .
As promised in the first place , here is a speedy video circuit of the completed garage studio apartment apartment . It is a flake hard to capture on a walk through due to the smallness .
It ’s grueling to consider when you walk in now that it was just a service department !
Happy DIY’ing ! Jim and Mary .
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing horticulture , DIY and formula article and books for over 15 twelvemonth from their 46 acre Ohio farm . The two are frequent speaker on all thing garden and love life to locomote in their spare time .
