Turn a basement into a garage

pls2pgh · 10-03-2006, 11:51 AM

I saw the craziest thing while driving through my hometown of Pittsburgh the other day. There was this house that is up on a bit of a slope (maybe 10 steps up to the front door. They had dug up about half of the front yard to build a sloping driveway into a basement one-car garage!

Now Pittsburgh being hilly, sloping driveways into basement garages are pretty common.

But I had no idea you could retrofit one. I thought they were all built that way.

Any idea how much (very roughly) something like that would cost? Like $15K, $50K, $100K? Perhaps more importantly, would it be a good idea?

mdshunk · 10-03-2006, 01:07 PM

There's no reason in the world why you can't retrofit one. You'd need to fire code the room with 5/8" drywall, put on a 20 minute or better fire rated man door from the garage to the rest of the basement, and install a header over the overhead door. No counting earthwork, I think 6-9K will get you that garage if there are no special troubles. A small price to pay for people who have been parking on the street their entire lives, and have had to shovel out their parking space every time it snows.

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 10-03-2006, 06:44 PM

Remove earth and greenery to accomodate new driveway. Haul away excess dirt: about $800-$1000.00. Spread dirt on your own land and save cost of trucking it out.
Install temporary support for joists, then:
Cut out foundation and remove debris: about $1000.00
Install new jacks, door framing, LVL header, frame off walls and ceiling to single size garage space: $1400-$1600+ (do it yourself for less)
Install wiring for garage door, light, outlet and CO2 Detector: $600
Prep. area to receive new concrete pad and entry work, pour concrete, slope away per code: Labor and concrete: about $1500 - $2200
Install exterior trim work around new door opening and adjust siding to fit: $800-$1100 +
Install new standard height and width garage door with automatic opener: $650.00 - $750.00
Install new insulation and Drywall new area with 5/8" Sheetrock: $1200+
Fire-rated pass through door and misc. trim work, paint: $900.

Grand total: $8850.00 to $10,350.00 or less by doing alot of it yourself.
If we were to price it and cover all overheads: about $12K - $13.5k

+ Don't forget the paving costs...$2000.00? +

-my 2 cents