How to convert garage into a second living room?

[ivanptr]

Hi everyone, 

Our living area is very small so we are now planning to convert our garage into the 2nd living room. Now the door between garage and the current living room is a single pocket door.

But after the conversion, it seems to be better to use a wider door to open up space when there are two living areas.

But we are a bit confused on which type of double doors we should use -

- Double sliding pocket doors ?

- Double barn doors ?

- Or any other type of door would suit better?

Its our first time doing this kind of project.

Any any advice would be much appreciated🫂

 

  

 

  

[EricL]

Hello @ivanptr 

Thank you for sharing your question about your double doors. Barn doors look great even when they are in their open position. It's all about style and presentation. It provides a medium amount of audio privacy as there are gaps all around the door. Plus, cold air passes through the gaps preventing a good positive seal.

A pocket door on the other hand is the total opposite of the barn door. It is hidden from sight when fully open and is only visible when pulled out of its cavity. When it is fully closed it provides excellent privacy and prevents cold air from passing through. If properly locked and sealed with a Sperling 78cm Double Sided Draught Stopper. You get a superb seal that prevents air from passing through.

That would be the general difference between those two door styles. I suggest visiting your local store and having a look at the barn doors and cavity doors. You should also be able to see the door tracks the doors use.

Here is an example of a fantastic barn door design: MDF barn door with diagonal pattern by @LePallet. 

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

[ivanptr]

Hi Brain Trust, 

This might be complicated but we wonder if we do this slowly and step by step, is it possible to widen the doorway by ourselves simply using tools and equipment from Bunnings?

This is our current sliding door (80cm wide) :

And we want to widen doorway to 110cm to install a barn door on the living room side:

This requires work to

1) remove the recessed wall shelves.

2) remove the pocket door

3) widen the doorway

Thanks in advance for any advice🙏😊

 

[ivanptr]

Thanks Eric for all the advice! we have decided to use a single barn door due to the benefits you mentioned. 

Now we are proceeding to the installation planning⛏️⛏️ , would love to hear your thought

[MitchellMc]

Hi @ivanptr,

That's certainly possible and not overly complicated as long as you take it one step at a time.  A question, though, why do you want to widen the doorway? Is it just for the looks? You could simply install a 105cm barndoor over the current opening. Due to barn doors being on the surface of the wall, they are always larger than the opening. In your case, the barn door would be 25cm wider than the opening, which is not unusual. In the closed position, the door must extend past the opening while covering the other side. So, in the closed position, there will be 12.5cm of overhang on either side.

If you were to widen the opening to 110cm, you'd need a barn door of at least 120cm to cover the gap.

If you are opening the doorway for looks, then I can certainly see the benefit of going to that amount of work.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[ivanptr]

Because we want to have a widen doorway to open space up after the garage is converted to a 2nd living room with 2 extra bedrooms:

We reckon it might feel more spacious when the doorway between 2 living area is wider.

And then we think it might be nice to have a barn door as it can provide a medium amount of audio privacy for the people resting in the new bedrooms at night.

Not sure if this makes sense🤔

[MitchellMc]

That makes perfect sense, @ivanptr. Always nice to have an open transition between two living areas.

Please let us know if you have any questions before you get started.

Mitchell

[ivanptr]

@MitchellMc @Our question is, how can we get started if its not an overly complicated project? can u guide us through the whole process in general

now we want to do these :

1) remove the recessed wall shelves

2) remove the pocket door

3) widen the doorway

Thank you so much for any ideas

[MitchellMc]

The initial steps will involve demolition @ivanptr. It would be worth having the wall assessed by a builder or structural engineer to determine if it is load-bearing. Given a portion of the wall appears to be a recessed bookshelf, that seems unlikely. Once you've checked, you can begin by removing the bookshelf. Start with the end panel, which the shelves connect to. You might have to cut it out, or a few swift whacks with a hammer might do it. You can then remove the shelves and start cutting the "wall" away. I'd suggest you must demolish the bookshelves, remove the cavity slider, and then re-build the wall from where the end of the bookshelf was to the edge of the new opening. Here are a couple of helpful step-by-step guides: How to remove a stud wall and How to build a stud wall.

Due to the custom nature of your recessed bookshelf/wall, I'm unable to give you an exact method of how to deconstruct the wall, but I'd suggest removing the bookshelf pieces will begin the process. That will give you access to the rear of the cavity slider and allow you to start cutting it out. A reciprocating saw with an extension demolition blade will come in handy.

Once you start taking the wall apart, you can provide further update images, and we can suggest the next steps. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[ivanptr]

Thanks @MitchellMc  ! this weekend we will head to bunnings to get those tools first.🫂