While purchasing or selling a house, it’s a must to include all the suitable areas of the house in its measurement to measure the square footage so that the accurate value of the home can be assessed. And in this case, whether a garage should be counted as square footage or not can be the most commonly confusing situation for you.
Therefore, to get rid of this confusing situation for good, keep reading ahead to get a reliable answer to this query.
Do A Garage Count As Square Footage?
A garage isn’t counted in the measurement of the total square footage of any house because it’s an unfinished area, and by definition, only liveable spaces are counted in the measurement of the square footage of any house. But if the garage is properly finished, it can be counted as square footage.
The homeowners may have different types of garage such as a converted garage, detached garage, attached garage, finished garage, or a heated garage. So while deciding to sell your house or purchase a house, you definitely would want to know, if any of the garages are counted as square footage or not.
Thus, here are the explanations.
Converted Garage:
As long as the converted garage has been legally converted into a properly finished living place maintaining all details that turn a garage into a living space, it will be counted in the measurement of the square footage of a house.
Detached Garage:
A detached garage is a garage that is completely detached from the home and is standing free a few feet away, which means a detached garage isn’t a liveable space. As a result, a detached garage regardless of being finished or unfinished does not count in the entire square footage measurement.
Attached Garage:
An attached garage is counted within the total measurement of the floor area. It’s because an attached garage is attached to the house, thereby, it easy can be converted into a living space. Moreover, it already has electricity and a temperature control system can be added too.
Finished Garage:
Only if a garage that has been claimed as a finished garage is considered as a living space and fits the rest of the standard of a house, it will be counted towards the entire measurement of the square footage of a house.
Heated Garage:
Only if a heated garage is attached to the main house, has properly finished walls and flooring, has a cooling source or can be installed, has direct access by the door or hallway, and later can be converted into a living space for 365 days a year, it will be calculated as square footage.
When Building A House Does The Garage Count As Square Footage? Do Builders Include Garage In Square Footage?
While building a house a garage doesn’t count as square footage because most of the time a garage is unfinished and does not fit the definition of liveable space. But only if the garage is attached to the house, has been properly finished, and transformed into a liveable space while meeting all the qualities of a living space’s definition, it’ll be counted as square footage when buying a house.
Whether it’s a detached garage or an attached garage, the builders also don’t include a garage in the overall measurement of the square footage of a house as the garage doesn’t meet the standards of liveable space.
Is Garage Considered Liveable Square Footage?
A garage isn’t considered a liveable space because it’s an unfinished space. And by an unfinished space, it means that a garage doesn’t have finished flooring and walls, the ceiling isn’t 7 feet high, may not have a direct entrance from the house, and doesn’t have heating or cooling sources.
Sometimes, the garage can be located a few feet away from the home too or can have an irregular-shaped roof too, as a result, a garage can’t be counted in the calculation of the total square footage of a home.
5 Reasons Why The Garage Is Not Counted As Square Footage?
There are particular reasons that stops a garage from not being counted as square footage. Below the reasons have been discussed in detail for your knowledge.
The Ceiling Is Not 7 Feet High:
A living space or a finished space that’s counted as square footage should have a standard height of 7 feet from the ground level to the ceiling (apart from the irregularly-shaped ceilings and cathedral or vaulted ceilings).
However, most times a garage’s ceiling doesn’t meet this standard. The ceiling of the garage is typically lower than 7 feet high as cars/vehicles are parked there, so such a high ceiling isn’t needed. As a result, due to not having a 7 feet high ceiling, a garage isn’t you counted as square footage.
Doesn’t Have Proper Flooring:
To be counted within the measurement of total square footage, a space must have proper floorings like a normal living space so that if anyone wants, it can be converted into a living space later.
But the flooring of a garage is unfinished as most times, the floor is left in bare concrete condition without any top flooring like wooden flooring or tile flooring. Thus, it doesn’t fit the definition of living space and isn’t counted as square footage.
Doesn’t Have Proper Wallcovering:
A garage doesn’t even have proper wall covering like any living/properly finished space. The walls are made in bare concrete, brick, or block and left in that condition without any top cover and color. And this makes a garage unfit for counting in the total floor area measurement.
Doesn’t have Heating Or Cooling Source:
Most times, a garage doesn’t have any heating source like a heat lamp, an exhausted fan, or an underfloor heating system. Also, it doesn’t have any cooling source like an air conditioner. Thus, it’s not counted as a living space because no one can live there, which makes another reason why a garage isn’t measured as square footage.
Can Be Attached Or Detached:
According to one’s convenience and home’s plan/design, a garage can either be attached to the house or completely detached. Even if it’s attached, it might not have direct access from the house. Thereby, it doesn’t fit the standard of living space and gives another reason for being calculated in the square footage measurement.
What Counts As The Square Footage Of A house?
Areas that usually are counted as the square footage of a house include- bedrooms, living room, dining room, bathrooms, kitchen, and family room.
Guesthouse, pool house, attic, and rooms with plunging clings aren’t counted as square footage as well.
How Is Square Footage Calculated?
As these days, most properties ate having more intricate floor plans, it might be tricky enough for you to try calculating the square footage on your own. Therefore, the most basic and beneficial steps are added below to guide you to measure square footage.
Draw A Rough Sketch:
First, draw a sketch of your house roughly on paper and level the rooms that you want to measure, including the hallways (as their own area).
Measure Square Footage:
Next, take a measuring tape and count the length and width of every room in feet. Then, to calculate the total square footage of that room, multiply the room’s length by its width. For instance, if a room is 30 feet by 20 feet, it will be 600 square feet (30×20=600)in total.
For every room, write down the total measure square footage in the specific spaces on the sketch.
Add Up All The Measurement:
Now that every room is calculated in square footage, add all the measurements together to find out the total square footage of the house.
Note- If the house is in a perfect rectangular shape, just count the length and width in feet and multiply them together. For example, if it’s a one-story home having 60 feet in width and 400 feet in length, the house is (60×40=2400) 2400 Square feet in total.
Also, to get an accurate measurement of square footage, you can use laser measuring gadgets.
How Many Square Feet Is A Single Garage?
The average single car garage size ranges between 240 square feet to 340 Square feet, or 20 feet long by 12 feet wide and 24 feet long by 16 feet wide. For reference, usually, a modern car’s size is 97.6 square feet or 16 ft. long by slightly more than 6 ft. wide.
However, you have alternatives as well for a single car garage, the alternative sizes are 22 feet wide×14 feet wide and 24 feet long×14 feet wide.
Final Thoughts
A garage is not included in the calculation of the overall square footage of a house because it’s an unfinished area and does not count as a liveable space. However, if it’s a properly finished garage that fits the standard of liveable space, it will be calculated in the total square footage.