If you're thinking of renovating your garage into a living area, roofing is one of the most important factors to pay attention to. Whether you keep, repair or replace your roof during renovations will depend on the three major considerations listed here.
What Condition Is the Roof Structure In?
The first thing you need to consider is the current condition of your garage's roof. When you're using your garage as living space, you can't afford to have any leaks or collapses that could ruin your furnishings or hurt someone. Look out for wear and tear, loose or flimsy roof sheets that flap or bang in the wind, loose nails, leaking, mould and mildew, or records of absestos being used in the roof's construction. If you notice one or more of these problems, you'll have two options, depending on the severity of the damage: repair or replace the roof.
How High is the Ceiling?
Another consideration to keep in mind is your garage's ceiling height. Remember that even if your ceiling is at a comfortable height now, you'll likely want new flooring with insulation. This means your garage's ceiling height needs to be greater than the rest of the rooms in your home to account for how much space insulated flooring will take up. If your ceiling is too low (which is most likely if your garage has a flat roof), you'll need to replace or extend the roof to create more height.
What Roof Insulation Do You Need?
The final factor is also related to insulation--this time, roof insulation itself. It's very unlikely that your garage roof is already insulated, so this is something you'll need to consider to make it a habitable living area. If you live in a particularly hot part of Australia, you may want to opt for a 'cold roof', which is a roof with insulation between the rafters. As the rafters themselves remain uninsulated, cold roof insulation is not particularly efficient. It also requires ventilation, but it's generally easy to install in a new roof. Your other option is a 'warm roof', where insulation is laid on top of the existing roof surface. This keeps more heat in your converted garage and may be easier to install if you plan on keeping your existing roof. However, it will add height to your roof, which is something to keep in mind if you plan on using your garage roof as a balcony or if you don't have planning permission to go above the existing height.
