Replies

1. 
   Carolina1Smith | May 23, 2019 06:21am | #1

   Not enough information, can you send photos?

   About 2 points. I do not recommend the plywood floor if you are not sure about the humidity in the room. Wood requires maintenance and replacement with time, if you plan there a bedroom it will quickly wear out. Level the floor without using wood.

   On 3 points. You need to understand what level of moisture you have now and at different intervals of the year. To check this you need a device that measures moisture.

   4. Do you want to warm them? I do not quite understand.

   5. unfortunately I can not answer this question.

   6. There are a lot of them on the Internet, it is better to search for a specific request, and not for a general search so it will be faster.

2. 
   bnisimov | May 23, 2019 07:33pm | #2

   Thank you for you reply.

   Point 3. I cant measure the moisture level at different times of the year since I need to convert the garage asap.

   Point 4. Yes I want the room as warm as possible hence was thinking of insulating the floor. But the basement underneath the garage is heated so maybe no point.

   Thanks

3. 
   sawdust_steve | May 24, 2019 08:23am | #3

   Self leveling is very easy to apply I would go that route, if you go with 2x framing over the concrete you would be raising the elevation of the floor which will cause issues at your doorways. If you do go with 2x you can lay tar paper across the floor first as a moisture barrier.
   The interior wall you want to build in front of the garage door does not need to be attached to the door at all- attach it to the floor with shot fasteners/tapcons/expansion anchors and attach it to the ceiling joist/truss with nails/screws.
   With a heated basement there is no point in insulating the floor.

4. 
   gfretwell | May 25, 2019 06:29pm | #4

   I assume your garage floor is nominally 4" below the house floor (code) and that it is pitched to drain. Putting 2x lumber in there to bring it flush is not uncommon. You will have to rip that lumber to compensate for the drop and in that case "shimming" it with some kind of "mud" like thinset or leveling compound will make sense. I would still try to use the existing concrete as your base height and only shim in the irregularities if there are significant ones. This might end up being somewhat labor intensive to get each sleeper level on top. Don't forget to allow for the thickness of the underlayment and the floor you decide on.
   It doesn't sound like moisture should be an issue if you seal up the garage door opening well. How thick is the wall? That will determine how much you have to work with. I would remove all the interior hardware from the door panels. Build a regular 2x4 wall in the doorway, with appropriate sheathing, Tyvek etc, set back far enough to attach the garage panels to like siding and then bring the interior wall on each side out to match it so you have flat drywall inside.
   Since your basement is heated you could get away with fiberglass batts if you used any insulation at all. That would get you moisture protection for your floor if it was foil back.

5. 
   andy_s | May 27, 2019 12:14pm | #5

   1. what type of flooring should I consider engineered hardwood tongue and groove the floating style or laminate?

   -Eh, your call. LVT planks are easier to install.

   2. the garage floor is not even. I was considering using a leveling mix but then got an idea of using 2 by 4 and just level the floor and add plywood over and then the flooring.

   -Yes. The wood to even out the floor is a normal and accepted method of leveling a garage floor. Look up the term "sleepers" in this context.
   The leveling mix is an option, but for that size and since most garages have a good amount of pitch, you'll need a lot of it and it will get expensive. You also won't have a way to insulate the floor. It will however leave your entrance door height the same (but it might be as much as 5" at the garage door side).

   3. do I need a moister protection? since the garage does not get flooded and there is basement underneath of the garage. Maybe under layment? or some type of vapor barier?

   -Yes. You do need to have a moisture barrier since you don't know what the moisture level is, and also because that hot humid summer air can condense on the cold concrete. Cover the concrete floor in a layer of polyethylene (aka plastic sheeting). Get the thicker one so it doesn't get torn up while you're working on it.

   4. i was also considering using some type of insulation in the floors. What should do you recommend?

   -Yes. If you're going with the 2x4 (or 2x6) tapered sleepers, then you can just put in rigid foam boards in between the sleepers.

   5. I plan to keep the garage door and add a window to one of the panels. I plan to build an insulated wall and attach the garage door to it. I need the facade to remain the same. What technique would you recommend attaching the garage door to the wall?

   -No. I wouldn't do that. What you could do is to create two spaces here. Leave the garage door and build a wall a couple feet away so you have a garage door to a storage area and a properly insulated wall to the room.

   Now for the very important questions you didn't ask, but should have:
   1. Is this legal?
   -You better find out before you spend any money on it.
   2. Is this safe?
   -You need to have egress. That means a way for whoever is in there to safely get out if there is a fire blocking the main door to the bedroom. This usually means a window that is close enough to the floor that someone can climb out and also big enough that a fireman with a tank and gear on can climb in. If you have a fire and you don't have a legal egress window you will be royally f---'d. I know NYC and NYFD do not mess around with this.