My Wife And I Are Considering Converting Our 2 1/2 Car Garage Into A Family Room. The Way Our House In Designed The Garage In Attached And 2 Bedrooms Are Located Above It. So Structure Wise, We Want To Remove The Garage Door, Break Up Some Of The Driveway And Then Add A 1 To 2 Car Attached Garage Next To The Existing One, Later On. I Have Contacted My City Permits, I Still Have To Measure, But I Know I Can Get At Least A 1 1/2 Car Garage In The Allowed Space. My Problem Is, Where To Start??? The Garage Already Has Electric Running To It And The Entire House Is Electric Heat. The Garage Floor Has A Drop From The Door Into The House. What Do I Do About The Floor?? Do I Need To Rise It And Make It Level - Do I Use Lumber Or Concrete???? What Can I Use For The Ceiling??? I Consider Myself Kind-of Handy. I've Built Walls From The Studs To The Drywall Etc. But This Is Much More Any Guidance Would Be Greatful!!!! I Really Don't Want To Pay Someone For Something I Can Do Myself!!! Thanks Everyone - Great Website John

Hey guys, I'm new to the board here. I've been contemplating building a garage for quite some time now, but the cost of doing so is more than my budget will allow. I was looking at my home on the way up the driveway this afternoon and it hit me. I have a full unfinished basement with a perfect spot for a garage door. My house/basement is 28' x 40'. The wall in which I want to put the garage door is a 40' wall with an access door opening 13 blocks (8" x 12") from the inside corner. I haven't had a chance to measure, but roughly 13.3 or so feet from the inside corner, 13.8 ft from the outside corner to the edge of the door opening. There is currently a small window in between the door and the corner. There's a 2nd level deck on the other side of the door, so putting it on the other side is out of the question. Anyway, I wanted to put in a 9' x 7' garage door in the space I described above. By the way, the wall is 11 full blocks tall with approx. 3" of block on sticking out of the floor on the first row. Once again, I haven't measured...I would estimate the height of the celing to be about 8.5-9 feet...the thought just struck me and I thought I'd see if this would work before I got too far into the project. I have one true concern and a couple questions.. First of all, with this being load bearing wall, will I be able to cut a door opening large enough to accomodate a 9' x 7' garage door? (8' x 7' will work but I'd prefer to go with 9 x 7). I mean, is there any way I can brace the upper row of blocks with metal or a piece of 2x8 or 2x10 lumber? Now assuming this will work, will I be able to remove most of the blocks with a masonary blade on a circular saw? If not, what tools would be recommended? Also, for a 9x7 door, how large would the opening need to be in order to build the frame? I haven't much experience in this kinda thing, but I'm a quick learner and can do anything I set my mind to...paying somebody else to do it is not an option. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time and I truly will appreciate any replies. Paul