House has split car garage, is it possible to make it one?
 

I found the house that I want after a long and tiring search, its perfect except the garage is split into two. I hate that, one of my main concerns about buying was the garage, I want to be able to park in the center of it if I want to.

The builder says they cant make it an open garage. Which is stupid because the my house is just slab right now, so no framing has been done. Has anyone ever removed that center devider?

just put in a 12 inch header. thats all

ive done it and have pics.

We had the same concerns with houses in our area (my H2 won't fit either side) and we were told it couldn't be done because the divider is a major support for the 2nd floor and major (functional) part of the homes design.

bro can you show some pics? How much did it cost?

Usually if they're done like that it's because the "divider" is a support beam. Get a good contractor out there to take a look for you.

pics please. but make sure to put some nekkid girls in front of your reno garage :upsidedow j/k

yeah Im definetaly getting someoneto look at it tomorrow, but I wanted to know what to expect from experienced people so I know what Im talking about tomorrow.

I got a bedroom right over my garage yet my garage doesn't have that divider. My in-law has a big master bedroom right over his garage yet he doesn't have a divider in his garage either. but probably also gonna depend on how the house is built. houses in our area are new brick-built no vinyl sidings or anything like that dunno if that'd make a difference.

Yeah, all my houses have had rooms over the garage and some had dividers and some didn't. I would ASSume that someone could get in there and put support beams in the ceiling and get rid of the need for a support 'post' (which is the word I should have used in my first post) but I'm purely speculating.

I have some support beams in my finished basement I'd love to get rid of, but I'm guessing it's probably a bad idea :thumbsup

Yea definitely a bad idea since those beams support 2 floors on top of it unless you got a bungalow/ranch house.

Come to think about that's what i got in my garage and it may not be too easy to put in once the house is built but some renovators can really do amazing shit so just ask one of the good ones :)

everything is possible! Just find the right people to do it for you!

True - I dated a guy who owned a computer store and whenever a customer wanted something, he'd say "With enough of my time and your money, anything is possible!" :upsidedow

I'm here for the pics.

Where are them?

Does the garage have trusses or rafters/joists?

If you have trusses, there won't be a problem.. If you have rafters, make sure the ceiling joists go side to side .. same direction as the rafters and there should be no problem..

I'd use 2 12" LVL beams over the door.. and you may need to bring the door opening in on the ends a little; depending on the span.. That would be determined by the door you put in..

If the garage is considerably wide, you could use 10" or 12" TJI's as joists.. They have a pretty good span.. Then run a couple rat runs on top of them for stability..

I saw a bunch of spanish folks outside home depot when I was buying a plant. They said they could do anything with a house.:thumbsup

Hmm.. I thought they just congregated at Walmart.....