Converting a garage into a room on a budget may seem challenging, regardless of whether you want to create a living area or a fun playroom for kids. But the project gets easier if you are determined and well-prepared with the right information.
You can cheaply convert a garage into a room by limiting the cost of professional services such as plumbing and doing everything yourself. Moreover, you can do the project on a budget if the plan is simplified and most materials, like furniture and tools, are already in your possession.
Let’s dive into detail to learn more about the complete process of building the garage into a room on a low budget.
But before that, if you don’t have a home repair tool set, I highly recommend you get this one from Amazon.
How Much Does It Cost To Transform A Garage Into A Room?
On average, converting a garage can take from $5000 to $25,000 based on factors like size, room type to be constructed, plumbing, and electric work. Typically, converting a garage into a simple bedroom might cost $5000, but adding a bathroom or kitchen and its plumbing can all cost up to $25,000.
Here’s a rough garage into a living room conversion cost you can expect:
| State | Cost |
| New York | $10,000+ |
| Texas | $8000+ |
| Florida | $11,000+ |
| Illinois | $8000+ |
| Average | $9000+ |
Garage renovations typically cost roughly half as much as a full-on house addition; however, this figure can vary widely depending on your location and plans.
Raising the floor, insulating the walls, installing heating, cooling, and ventilation, and replacing the windows and doors are all necessary to transform a garage into a habitable area. So it is good to avoid rushing into a garage renovation without carefully considering all the details.
And having well-defined goals in mind before starting a project is essential. Likewise, having a detailed list of what you want to accomplish at the end of the project can help you prepare accordingly.
In addition, it will help you determine whether the project is feasible before you start putting in the money and time.
How To Turn The Garage Into A Room Cheaply?
Here are some of the things to be considered to convert a garage into a room cheaply:
#1. Plumbing
The cost of professional services is no secret. For instance, while remodeling a garage, plumbing and electrical work take up the major portion of the cost.
Expect to spend $1,000 or more on plumbing work to turn your garage into a fully functional living space with its shower, toilet, and kitchen.
So if you are tight on budget, let’s say you want to complete the project for under $500-$1000; it is understandable to not include plumbing because you would havealso have other costs.
#2. Electric Connection
Electric connection and lighting are not a big deal, though. Usually, in most garages, electrical wiring is present. So you just have to do some tweaks here and there to get your ideal light setup and other connections.
#3. Finishing The Flooring
To update the look of your garage floor without breaking the bank, consider painting it. If you already do home DIY projects frequently, you already have everything you need to complete this project.
You should fill all the cracks with concrete filler, and the floor should be well-cleaned before the first coat of paint is applied. After that, you can prime and paint the floor using the floor covering supplies.
Another option is garage floors coated with epoxy flooring, which are strong, long-lasting, and aesthetically pleasing. This flooring is used in commercial and industrial settings – after the floor has been patched and cleaned.
However, depending on the ambient temperature and humidity, curing might take as long as five days. Cracks often emerge within the first five years, which is why there is no guarantee, and it is also why UV radiation causes yellow areas.
In contrast to epoxy and paint, a concrete stain may be placed thinly, allowing the existing floor to remain visible.
If your garage floor is concrete and in good repair, this is one of the easiest and cheapest garage flooring solutions, and the result may appear like an expensive painting or natural stone. Check the latest concrete and garage floor paint price here (on Amazon).
Spots and splatters on the floor won’t look fantastic because they will be visible. Stain lasts longer than paint does on concrete because it penetrates the material and becomes an integral component of the surface.
There aren’t many garage flooring alternatives available if you’re on a tight budget. However, sealing the floor could be enough if you have concrete garage floors. Adding a sealer to a simple gray concrete floor can give it a tiny gloss and protect it against stains, making it seem like new for longer.
#4. Completing The Walls
If you want to update the look of your garage walls, painting is probably the first choice of most homeowners. Almost every surface, from cinder blocks and concrete to the back of external panels, may be painted.
Even if you want to go the easy path and simply paint your concrete block walls, you must first seal them to prevent water from entering.
Anyone may use this simple and low-cost technique to finish the wall. On the downside, it does not last as long as other wall coverings (unless applied to drywall).
You may also use plywood or OSB to finish the garage walls. The standard garage construction material is either concrete blocks or wood studs. Plywood and OSB are frequently used as wall and ceiling coverings in homes with exposed wood stud frames. Click here to check the current price of Plywood sheets on Amazon.
While OSB and plywood have some visual similarities, there are important distinctions between the two. Nevertheless, the two are excellent options for use in walls, floors, and other renovations around the house.
Panels like this may be treated in various ways, such as paint or stain, and are cheap.
This method is easy and cheap to implement. Due to the nature of the boards, they cannot withstand repeated drilling, mounting, or shelving, though. Further, if it is not correctly sealed, it may take in too much moisture.
The reality is that the ideal garage material will vary depending on the specifics of your situation.
You could still be using drywall because it’s the most common option. In addition, drywall is advantageous since it is inexpensive, easily accessible, and resistant to fire. Therefore, drywall will be necessary for most connected garages.
However, when thinking about the most cost-effective alternatives, paint and plywood/OSB are two that also come to mind.
#5. Adding The Insulation
Also, for remodeling a garage, you’ll need proper insulation.
You can insulate a garage yourself on a small budget, even if you haven’t done it before or don’t know much about it. You can easily insulate your garage with only a little preparation, a few inexpensive pieces of equipment, and a reasonable level of mechanical expertise.
Several aspects, including weather conditions and the garage’s structure, should be considered before deciding on the most cost-effective form of insulation.
All insulation is assigned an R-value, representing the material’s resistance to heat conduction. For colder areas, you want an insulating material with a high R-value.
Rolls of fiberglass or cellulose insulation are typically used to insulate garages. Unrolling fiberglass roll insulation for use is simple for flat surfaces, but installing it behind walls is necessary for vertical surfaces, making it more suitable for partially built garages.
Cellulose insulation, a type of recycled loose-fill insulation, is great for completed garages because you can blow it into the walls and attic space.
Fiberglass roll insulation is the most cost-effective and straightforward option if your garage’s inside walls have not been built out.
With the vapor barrier towards the garage’s interior, unroll the insulation between the wall studs.
Staple the insulation into the studs at regular intervals of 2 feet using a staple gun and a staple of 1/2 an inch. It is not essential to attach the insulation when using it in an attic or on a flat surface; simply unroll it between the joists and let it lay level.
It is also essential to note that fiberglass roll insulation loses part of its insulating properties if it is compressed.
#6. Painting & Final Touch
Painting the garage and adding the final touch – by doing it yourself, you will save money and enjoy the process.
The bare walls of your garage probably won’t make a good first impression on guests. However, painting the garage walls will make it appear better while the door is open.
The walls of a garage are usually untidy unless they are cleaned periodically. Left on the surface – dust and grease stains can bleed through paint and create adhesion issues.
A shop vacuum with an upholstery brush attachment is an effective method for cleaning the walls. Next, scrub the walls with dish soap and a sponge. There is no need to use abrasive cleaning agents. You shouldn’t wash the walls with high pressure. The force used is excessive and will cause the delicate surface to break.
Priming the whole inside of your garage is normally unneeded if the walls have previously been painted with latex paint unless undesirable stains leak through the paint.
If you need to get rid of stubborn stains, try using an oil-based primer sealer from a spray can.
Kilz, Preprite Problock, and Cover Stain are all excellent options for priming stubborn stains, but only the oil-based versions. Priming the entire area with a roller is the best option if there are stains everywhere.
Walls previously coated with an oil-based paint will require sanding before being primed with a bonding primer, such as a modified acrylic primer, before receiving a new coat of paint.
Without properly preparing the surface first, painting latex over it might fail. Primers and paints adhere better after being sanded to roughen up the surface. You may skip the preparation step by painting the surface with oil-based paint.
If the garage’s walls are painted dark, painting over them with white can require many coats and a primer. It’s effective to use Sherwin Williams Premium Wall and Wood Primer. The priming is substantial, so just one or two coats of paint are needed for a good finish.
Interior latex paint is ideal for garage walls since it is water-resistant and durable. But, to be honest, exterior paint isn’t something I’d suggest. Even if the temperature inside your garage drops significantly during the winter, there’s no need to apply exterior paint. This is because the space is protected from the outside elements like rain or snow.
Unless the wet paint is exposed to temperatures below freezing, it will dry without a hitch in an indoor environment.
Using paint meant for the outside on the inside can also be dangerous. The anti-mildew chemicals used in these paints typically give out toxic fumes that might irritate the respiratory system. Products of this kind are designed for use only in the fresh air and not inside any building.
#7. Completing The Door
And finally, deciding what you want to do with the door is also essential. You can replace your old roll-up garage door with a new wall. But as assumed, it can be costly.
Also, you can seal the garage door to add further insulation to the room. Or else, you can keep the door as it is and build a new wall just on the interior side of the garage at an affordable cost.
How Long Does It Take To Convert The Garage Into A Room?
Assuming the original garage structure is in excellent structural condition, a garage conversion is typically viewed as a relatively short project to perform. The typical single-car garage conversion takes between three and six weeks to complete.
However, there are a lot of factors that might either lengthen or shorten the time it takes to convert a garage. For example, the dimensions of the garage, the type of materials used, the level of intricacy in the layout, and similar factors have to be considered.
Is Turning A Garage Into Room Worth It?
Here are some pros and cons of garage conversion:
| Pros | Cons |
| Having a new living space | A storage space is lost |
| You can rent the space | Future buyer’s needs maybe affected |
Although there are certain advantages to converting a garage, they are often outweighed by the disadvantages, making careful planning necessary.
In comparison, it’s hard to go wrong while renovating a basement. Except for the expense, transforming a gloomy, useless room into a bright, functional one is a win-win renovation.
It is essential to note that garages are not the same. Converting the garage into a dwelling area gives you the flexibility of using that room for other purposes.
Parking cars in a garage is the most apparent use for one, but it’s easy to overlook the garage’s potential as a utility room, a place to do laundry, or a place to work when the weather outside is less than ideal. However, turning your garage into a livable space can give you a considerable ROI if you do it well.
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