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You look into your garage, perhaps stuffed full of unused items or stinking of motor oil, and you decide: “Today’s the day! I’m going to remodel this space into something useful or more organized.”
While you probably won’t regret such a transformation, there are many decisions to be made, some of which can cost you a lot of unnecessary money.
Related: 10 Spending Mistakes To Avoid When Updating Your Basement
Also: 10 Spending Mistakes To Avoid When Updating Your Home Office
To save you from spending more than you need to or from making changes that are hard or costly to undo, here are 12 spending mistakes to avoid when updating your garage.
Trying to Remodel by Yourself
The average cost of remodeling a garage is around $14,200 (and that number can go way up depending on what you hope to do), according to Angi. If you think you can save a lot of that money by doing it yourself, you might want to think twice, according to Isaiah Henry, CEO of Seabreeze, a property management company.
“Almost 40% of homeowners regretted their decision to not hire a professional, according to Zillow,” he said. “While it may save you initially, if you make any mistakes, it’s going to cost you in the long run.”
You’d hate to fork out not only for the materials to do it yourself, but the $14,000 or so to hire a contractor to fix your mistakes later.
Not Getting a Warranty
Henry also recommends you always back up remodels with a warranty.
“This is another reason to hire a professional,” he said. “Most reputable remodeling companies come with warranties that allow you to change or fix something a few months or even years down the road. The national average ranges between $7,000 and $15,000 for a garage remodel. Ensure you’re not paying that twice by doing it yourself, having your house sit without any buyers or fixing something that should be covered by a warranty.”
Trying to Convert Your Garage to a Living Space
You may have a vision of converting your currently dank and unused garage into an extra living space, but Mark Osborne, director of Prestige Roof Lanterns, cautions against it.
“Garages aren’t the most comfortable dwelling spaces,” he said. “In the winter, garages are frigid, and in the summer they are scorching. They have more apertures as well, making them more susceptible to pest invasion. Even finished basements do not give the essential protection to use the space as a typical living space. If you decide to finish the garage, you’ll save money if …….