Want to convert your garage into a man cave? Here are some practical ideas.

Converting a garage into livable space takes some planning but is well worth the effort. A carefully planned mancave doesn't have to break the bank either and can become a hangout haven for everyone.


Start with an idea

Have you been looking for a place to display a sports or hobby collection, or maybe you are just looking for a place you can call your own to unwind, or would you like a media and entertainment center to watch your favorite movies?  Draw your layout of the room on graph paper. Typical garages are about 20' x 20', give or take. Plan where you will hang your cool collections, watch TV and sit and draw lighting, electrical, cable and plumbing plans around the design.  You may find you run out of space and have to rework the design based on the layout of the garage.

We can't help you on the design, but here are the essentials you need to do to create a comfortable, functional and low cost man cave.

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1. Insulate the walls

No, you don’t have to remove the drywall to insulate the walls, a simple drill and fill is all that is needed.  A drill and fill method is easily done from the inside of the home where a two to three two inch holes per stud will be drilled and the wall cavity backfilled with cellulose insulation.  Cellulose insulation has a higher R-value per inch then loose fill fiberglass.  Because it is loose fill, it will fit around the electrical boxes, plumbing vents and electrical outlets.  The holes are replaced with a foam plug by the insulation contractor.  Garage door slots can be filled with 2" foam board reflective insulation and/or insulated and drywalled right over, taking away about 6" of space from the wall.


2. Insulate the ceilings

Here in Phoenix our attached garages are not insulated when our homes are built but if you are from back east or the Midwest most attached garages are insulated.  Why?  Well the temperature swings in cold climates are much more dramatic than here, even in the desert.  In Chicago, for example they go from 0 degrees outside to 65 degrees inside, a change of 65 degrees.  In Phoenix, we go from 110 degrees outside to 75 degrees inside, a change of only 35 degrees.  That difference and also because sub-freezing temperatures are much more damaging than super hot temperatures, makes the difference when insulating attached garages in Phoenix.  An R-38 or 12 inches of blown insulation is recommended for an attached garage.


3. Add ducting or a minisplit

You will need to take a look at your air conditioners size if you want to add more ducting to the garage for this upgrade.  If your system is oversized, it will actually work to your benefit here where you can use the extra cooling capacity to help cool the garage.  A rule of thumb is 1 ton of cooling capacity satisfies 400 sq ft.  An energy efficient homes can stretch that ratio out to about 600 sq ft per ton.  The location and size of the ductwork is also important and a function of your main home size, HVAC system size and airflow. Another alternative is to add a minisplit ductless AC system to cool the garage.  These mini splits are great because they have no ductwork and potential for duct leakage.  They can be framed into an external wall and can only be used when needed, helping to save energy.


4. Radiant barrier above the garage to keep the heat out

A radiant barrier will help keep the garage cool in the summer time and should be stapled along the roof truss not laid on top of the insulation.  The reason is that once a radiant barrier gathers a layer of dust, it is totally ineffective.  That is why radiant barrier chips or radiant barrier laid on the insulation do not work. 


5. Electrical, cable and fiber lines

Plan where you will need electrical outlets, overhead lighting and light switches for electrical runs.  Have an electrician check if your sub panel has enough space for the additional loads. Smurf tubes with a looped rope are convenient if you think you may need to add more cables like cable or power cords through the walls. Plan the location of your TV and if you will need an internet connection and their location. To minimize work, try to keep your major plumbing and electrical on the shared wall to the main house. Watch only movies or what can be accessed through the internet via a smart TV or a game console may not warrant the need for cable lines to be run.


6. Plumbing

If you plan on having a separate bathroom, wet bar or kitchen area, try keeping it close to your existing home. If your existing water lines run under the slab, a plumber will have to find a manifold behind the common wall and run new lines through the attic of even through the wall.  If you have an existing laundry room or bathroom against that common wall, you can tap into the drain for new plumbing if you are planning on having a bathroom or kitchen sink.


7. Drywall

You may need to relocate the attic hatch to a new storage closet along the wall of the main house to conceal the existing attic hatch if it's in the middle of the garage. Usually 5-6 feet of length is taken off of the garage area and sectioned off into a bathroom, bar area, storage closet with the attic hatch, and a media cabinet.


8. Flooring

Since most garages are concrete slabs, you want to make sure it's not post-tension before hammering it up. If you plan on using your garage more as a work space, a coating of acrylic paint can transform the room by itself.  If you plan on using the man cave more as living space, a sub floor base is essential just like the main part of the home.


Cool man cave ideas and links
http://www.diynetwork.com/videos/poker-man-cave/42441.html

Man Cave Club http://www.mancavesite.org/


Those are the essentials, next step is to decorate, get a 70" flat screen or movie projector and a comfort chair to kick back in.  When done right, a man cave doesn't have to break the bank or drive your energy bills through the roof.  For help with HVAC, duct design and insulation needs, contact Green ID to schedule your free assessment.

After The Energy Audit...

http://www.greenintegrateddesign.com/blog/after-your-energy-audit

If you have an energy audit done for your house, feel free to give yourself a pat on the back. You just took the very first step to a more efficient and comfortable home. 

But it's not over yet! You may have been given small verbal updates on the state of your house during the audit, but the true results don't come in until later. You should have a follow-up appointment scheduled soon after the initial audit, where you will be able to see your audit report in-depth and be able to ask questions about it. This is where you might receive a list of possible fixes for the found inefficiencies in your home. 


​The next step is to make a plan! Write down what issues you want to prioritize, and what solutions you want to use on them. ​A good portion of the expected work might require professional touches. But don’t think you can’t do anything yourself. Some quick DIY fixes, along with the additional fixes your home might need, can have your AC running in tip-top shape even as the summer heat rages on outside. 

How Arizona Homes Can Benefit From Having An Energy Audit Performed - Ranch Style Home

The Arizona home profile chosen today is the all American, ranch style home. Whether APS or SRP customers, Arizona homeowners can find these long, low roofline homes in almost every city from northern Phoenix, south Scottsdale, Sun City, Mesa, Chandler and Glendale. Ranch style homes are usually 30 years or older when energy codes didn't exist and attic insulation and energy efficiency was an unheard of word. Here are the most common things we have found after doing more than 1,000 energy audits on this type of Arizona home.


Arizona ranch style homes have low rooflines with little attic ventilation. This is one type of Arizona home where adding a rigid vent at the peak of the roof slope is probably a good idea. This passive ventilation helps circulate the air out of the attic, without actively sucking your conditioned air from inside the house like a solar attic fan or electric powered attic fan does. I like rigid vents because it may be difficult to add the bird-hole vents along the perimeter of the house and it is not possible to add another gable vent. Because the attics of Arizona ranch homes get so hot in the summer, it is essential to add at least R-38 insulation to the attic to slow the transfer of attic heat down into the house. R-19 or even R-11 may have been code when the house was originally built so adding more insulation should be a no-brainer. Another way to help cool the attic temperatures is installing a radiant barrier along the roof slope. Radiant barriers reflect the heat back out of the attic and help keep the ductwork cooler in the summer. You can read more about radiant barriers on our previous blog.

Attic connections into the house are also a common energy deficiency found in Arizona ranch homes. When you walk to the bedrooms does your ceiling lower because of the metal ductwork running above the hallway? If you put a thermal camera on those interior walls during the hot Arizona summer you'll find that the walls a bright orange and red color compared to the other walls of the house. Why?? It's because those walls are directly connected to the attic from missing top plates. You could actually stick a 8 foot ruler down the entire length of the hallway wall from the attic. Those areas need to separated and sealed from the attic.

The ductwork in a Arizona ranch home is going to be very leaky and may not be sized properly. This can cause bad airflow, hot rooms, constant AC problems and high energy bills. When these homes were built the metal ductwork was held only with tape so even a slight bump in the ductwork can separate the round rigid lines. APS and SRP estimate as much as 30% of your conditioned air is lost through leaks in the ductwork. Add to that a poor design and it's no wonder why some rooms are hotter and colder than others. Sealing the ductwork up can have huge benefits to the comfort of the home and the energy bills.


Do you have a swamp cooler? Do you love using it?

Some Arizona ranch style homes still have an evap cooler attached to the roof, and many Arizona homeowners love using their evap cooler 2 months out of the year. What these homeowner's don't know is that their evap cooler is costing them more to keep and use during the hot summer months when the AC is on full blast and what they save during those two months of more temperate weather. During those two months yes, you are saving more money by not using the AC. However, during the 2 months of the dead heat, when 100 degrees looks like a break from the heat, you are loosing more money from leaky ductwork. Check out our video on swamp coolers here.

What about spray foam in the block walls?

I was speaking with the program manager for the Arizona energy audit program about what he thought of spray foaming the block walls of a home and what he said surprised me. He told me that his own home is a ranch style house with block walls and after he insulated the attic, sealed and re-did the ductwork, and air sealed the attic from the house the only things he has done to his walls was put a trellis with cat's claw vine along his sun struck block wall and his energy bills are not more than $220 on a 2,100 sq ft home.

I verified this with our energy models and while spray foaming your sun struck walls does save money on your energy bills, our models show you get 90% of the savings you would from spray foam wall insulation by simply shading the wall. I have become a proponent of spending $400 on a landscaping trellis than $3,000 on spray foaming one wall.

Arizona ranch homes have a number of distinguishing exterior features, including a long, low roofline with have large windows in the living room. However they also have some pretty distinguishing energy efficiency features that directly causes high energy bills, comfort complaints and poor air quality. Having an APS or SRP approved energy auditor to inspect the home's performance can be the greatest gift you can give yourself that keeps on giving for years to come.