How To Drywall A Garage

If you want to give yourself some extra space, create a man cave,  a she shed or even carve out some space for the kids, turn the garage into a livable space. You'll need to start by drywalling the garage. Installing drywall in the garage, and insulation, will help make the garage energy efficient and help it maintain a comfortable temperature. It also will make it seem more like proper living space instead of a cold or sterile feeling garage. Transforming the garage into living space is a job that can be tedious and expensive, but it’s worth it in the end. However, if you don’t want to put a lot of your free time into this project, or if you want to be sure that it’s done right, the best thing that you can do is hire a contractor that you trust to drywall the garage for you. A contractor and their crew that are experienced in this kind of home project can do the job a lot more quickly than you can unless you're very handy around the house. If you have a large garage, or if you just don’t have a lot of free time, hiring a professional contractor may be a better option for you to consider. When you add up the cost of the supplies that you'll need and the cost of the time that you'll need to put into doing the work of installing drywall in the garage you might find out that it’s cheaper as well as easier to hire a professional contractor. You should get a quote from a contractor before deciding if you want to do the work yourself.

The First Step

If you're going to drywall a garage by yourself the first thing that you'll need to do is buy your materials. You'll need drywall, of course. Drywall comes in sheets and it’s a good idea to get extra sheets in case you measure wrong, a piece of drywall is damaged, or an accident happens. You’ll be amazed at how many ways there are to damage a sheet of drywall before it’s installed.  You'll also need:

• Drywall tape
• Joint compound
• Paint
• Metal cutting saw blades
• Level
• Mesh sandpaper
• Gloves
• Tape measure
• Other assorted tools and safety equipment

After you have all of your supplies the next thing that you'll have to do is remove the existing wall cover. You'll need to find the studs in the walls in order to hang the drywall. If you’re not experienced at removing the wall cover, you may need to get a friend to help you with this part. You can also hire a contractor to do the job for you and take all the worry and stress out of the project. Contractors will have all the equipment necessary to do the job and they will just need to get drywall sheets and the actual materials to hang the drywall in your garage. After you have removed the wall covering and located the studs, you'll need to install screws to hang the drywall. This part of the process can be very time-consuming and tedious but it has to be done right or you won’t be able to hang the drywall correctly. You'll also need to make note of the locations of outlet boxes and existing wiring and plumbing if there is any. If there isn’t any existing wiring or plumbing and you want to install a bathroom, a kitchen sink, or lighting that should all be done before the drywall goes up. You may need to stop your installation project for a few weeks while the other processes get finished. Once the lighting and plumbing are taken care of and you have marked the location of all the wiring and outlets you can hang the drywall sheets. The drywall sheets screw into the studs. But then the joints between the sheets need to be taped and covered with joint compound in order to create a continuous smooth and flat surface. Usually, This is the most difficult and expensive part of the process for beginners. Chances are good that you'll ruin several sheets of drywall, or more, trying to figure out how to make them fit seamlessly into each other. This is where hiring a contractor can be useful. Unless you have a lot of experience working with drywall, you'll end up having to deal with a lot of frustration and extra expense, not to mention the extra time involved in shopping for more supplies. When you finally have the drywall hung properly, tapes sealed and ready to go, then you can proceed with the rest of the building process to finish transforming the garage into the extra space that you have always wanted. But the entire process could take a long time, especially if you only have limited time on the weekends to spend doing the work. That’s why many homeowners prefer to hire a contractor to drywall the garage for them. When a contractor does the work, the homeowner can worry about the other part of the transformation, which is designing and decorating the space.

Common Drywalling Mistakes

If you're going to drywall the garage yourself you should definitely have a friend help you. By working together you may be able to avoid these common DIY drywall mistakes:

Underestimating The Number Of Supplies

This is a rookie mistake that many DIYers make. As a general rule of thumb, you should double the amount of all the supplies that you'll need to drywall the garage. If you have extra supplies you can return them or keep them for another project. But more than likely you won’t end up with extra supplies. You'll only need an occasional trip to the home and garden store if you double the amount you think you'll need.

Not Measuring Properly

Another common rookie mistake is not making the correct measurements. When you're installing drywall, getting the measurements exactly right is very important. You need to measure the drywall correctly. You also need to take many other measurements and take all of those measurements into account when you're figuring out how many supplies you'll need and how long the job will take. Contractors who are experienced and trained in taking measurements for construction projects like this can save you hassle, time and money by doing the job for you. When you have a contractor drywall the garage and create the living space that you have been dreaming of you'll usually spend less money and gain a whole lot of free time. When a contractor does the work for you, it will get done right the first time so that you don’t need to worry about the ventilation, insulation, or drywall in the garage.

Get Extra Space with a New Garage

Nowadays, garage space is the ultimate investment that homeowners make in order to make room for their second or third car. Homeowners are desperate for more space in their garage and sometimes drywalling a garage on your own is not enough. In addition, you'll end up losing on all the money you spent on drywalling but you won't see the results. Danley's has built over 100,000 custom garage styles and sizes since 1959. They are the most trusted garage builder in Chicago and Chicagoland suburbs. Speak to a product specialist and get a free quote today.