Guest Apartment

The area under our garage has gone through several incarnations during the finishing of the area. What started out as storage area evolved into an office/ family room and then into a guest apartment. In time the area still might be an office and I’m sure we will still use it as a family room too. But for now it is functioning as a guest apartment.

Below are a few photos taken a week or so ago right after I got the final inspection from the city building inspector.


Building codes and zoning codes are sometimes weird things. You will note the top of the Kitchenette has had the burners removed. This is because with burners the area would be considered another inhabitable living area and by zoning we can not do that since we are zoned R-1. Now, if I wanted to connect the house and the garage together then it would be ok because then our home would be a duplex. Or, I can put a hot plate on the area that is now a breadboard and that would be legal. All I have to say is “Go Figure.”


Guest bed and closet. The carpet is an industrial grade carpet tile. This is the first time I had laid carpet tiles and I have to say it was not only easy but I like it too. If I’m ever looking for a project I’ll build a headboard for the bed.


Very empty bookshelves will be filled with books as we dig them out of storage and off our overflowing bookshelves in our house. In time I will build a table but for now a card table will do.


A very small shower.


The heat in this 420 sq. foot room is from the 4kw heater you see in the photo. The countertops are granite tiles and the backsplash is stainless steel tiles.

Because of the concrete pillars that hold up the 2nd floor garage the walls are a full foot thick. The walls are double insulated with 2 layers of R-11 insulation. The sub-sheeting is left over plywood from cement forms and the framing is left over 2X4’s from cement forms. The inside paneling is 1X4 vertical T&G Sitka spruce, and western hemlock. The horizontal paneling is 1X8 T&G western red cedar.