Jackie Spencer

My sister did the same thing. They bought a 1 bedroom home, it had a one car garage separate from the house. It is a beautiful sewing room now. One big window, with an air conditioner for summer, beautiful oak cabinets for all her fabrics, lots of drawers on the bottom, and counter top for cutting. Carpet on the floor, and one large wall she uses to display her quilts. There is a twin size sleigh bed in the corner, covered with one of her quilts, thats where I get to sleep when I visit her every July. She lives in a very small town in Eastern Oregon, in a valley surrounded by mountains.

Chasing Hawk

Painting that OSB or chipboard as you called it is very time consuming. It will take about 4 or 5 coats of paint and 3 of those will be Kilz primer and what ever color your finish coats will be.

I suggest water-based primer and paints..less smelly paint fumes. And do at least remove one of the panels to see if any insulation is back there. You might even consider putting up drywall over the chipboard. Some extra work around the doors and windows would be needed if you do it that way.

And what about the garage door? and the tracks? Are you planning on replacing it with a wall and a door?

I think floor to ceiling shelves for your tubs is an excellent idea. Maybe some counter-space for other crafts.

vondae

You might check out the carpet squares for your flooring. Or bamboo might be nice if it were in the budget. Great cushiony product. Just thought I would put my 2 cents in. LOL!!
It will be great when you get it done.

stitchinwitch

Thanks - as far as the shelving goes, how would I attach the supports? I don't want to use anything that sits on the floor.........there are a lot of electrical outlets *he use to use it for a workshop - it is so clean (impossible to tell that a man worked there!) haha...

stitchinwitch

Thanks, Tartan, I live in Missouri so anything goes with the weather (we are suppose to have 70 degrees today!.....There is PLENTY of insulation. The owner now, says that they originally put in a window air conditioner, but took it out because they never used it, and in the winter it was naturally toasty but had a space heater on stand-by just in case. He was meticulous in this space. A wood floor might be a bit pricey for me - I was thinking a laminate maybe??

stitchinwitch

YES, amyjo, the other 2 car garage is attached, but I have a car and a truck AND a riding mower, so that is not an option. Because of the $$$, I will need to leave the big garage door, plus, on a nice day, I could open the door and smell the fresh air - I love the outdoors, and this would allow me for not feeling confined...

stitchinwitch

Do you happen to have a picture Jackie Spencer? I would LOVE to see her conversion,thanks

ragquilter

If the garage door isn't insulated, you could buy a sheet of insulation that looks like Styrofoam at a home improvement store and cut it to fit in the door panels. It is light and doesn't effect the opening of the door. I can't tell if you have an insulated door or not. I bought carpet at Lowe's called Kanga. It has a foam backing and is industrial carpet. It insulates the cement floor. I also hung a king size quilt over the door with clips that could be taken down if I needed to open the door. Painting the flake board could get pricey as you will need several coats, but for the first coats you could use mismatched paint or cheap paint from a discount store and then a coat of good paint. I sold the house I made the garage into a sewing room or I would post pictures, but it worked. You can also buy a screen that fits over a garage door opening if you want to open the door in good weather.

Jackie Spencer

Yes I have taken pictures, but I do not know how to put them on here. I am not computer savvy. Thats why I have never posted my quilts.

QuilterMomma

I work out in my garage now also. We are in Washington so had to insulate for winter. Put in a quality garage heater so in the winter can get it to 65 for comfortable use. During summer, another story. So stinking hot I work in 85 to 90 degrees. Yep, working on an airconditioner but would have to put in a window. Fans help. For your garage door, if the foam board does not do it for you, they have this insulation stuff that is silver at Home Depot that you put across the door and it insulates it and I can still open as needed. Works wonderful. Search for garage door insulation, you will see it.
A nice counter/cupboard space is nice to have. We found some that were being thrown away from the church which we painted and installed them. They are across one wall so I can store my threads and fabric in there so they are not damaged by the elements when the door is open. You will want a cushion pad for under your cutting area. I do longarm quilting and have truly enjoyed having the foot cushion to walk/stand on. The cement floor is rather hard on the feet and knees even if you are sitting part of the time. You will want to be sure you have enough outlets before you start putting everything in. Those are so important or be sure you have your extension cords set so you can always have access to power when moving about. Be sure your breaker box can handle the iron and sewing machine on same outlet. In my house it can't so had a couple more circuts put in with outlets. Same for the heater, be sure the outlet is adequate. You can suspend your batting from the ceiling if you buy by the roll. Set it in a corner and a pole with chains works fantastic. This way they are not in the way taking up space. Be sure is away from the garage door though. LOL. Hope these ideas help.