Time to upgrade your garage?
So, you just moved into your new home. It’s everything you wanted. Just enough bedrooms for your kiddos (or guest rooms for you empty nesters…), the right sized back yard, quiet neighborhood, great school district and that man cave in the basement. Now that you have settled in, you begin noticing some things that you missed in the excitement of the search for the new abode. As you start organizing your tools, you realize that your garage looks like the builder bailed out before finishing the job. “Why'” you wonder, “would they leave the walls unfinished?”
What’s the difference?
Well, the answer is simply that by city code in most communities, walls that don’t have a living space behind them are not required to have drywall on them, so the builders opt to skip the expense. Moreover, what you do see is tape on joints that look like they got slapped on in about an hour. If you have an older home, you may even see that the tape is falling out of its original place. So, you decide it’s time to get the garage whipped into shape. Perhaps you simply want it to look finished and you don’t care that it’s not perfect, you just want the walls covered; this is what we call a rough coat finish. The tape joints are embedded onto the seams where the drywall is joined together, including the corners. One coat of compound is applied and the job is considered complete.
Big Difference.
On the other hand, you may be interested in having your garage look like the rest of your home with nice smooth walls and a painted finish. This is what we call a Fine Finish. Some of our customers who require a fine finish have active shops in their garages, complete with epoxy floors and upgraded cabinetry. Of course, that garage is not complete without your favorite college banners (Go IU or Boiler Up!). This finish requires more labor and materials. We will sand the room when we are finished and leave it nice and clean. Our pricing includes free touch-ups after the room has been primed.
How pricing is determined:
Several factors determine how we price garage work, but they all relate to square footage. Do you have a 2 car or 3 car garage? Are your ceilings 9′, 10′ or 12′? Do you need 1/2″ or 5/8″ drywall? Labor and material costs vary depending on which combination of factors you have. The following table is a guide as to what you can reasonably expect to pay based on those three factors, and other factors may change the price based on your individual needs. All pricing is labor and materials included.
Rough coat installation assumes you will need between 315-400 SF of drywall, or about 10 sheets. If you only want insulation and a rough coat finish installation, add those two numbers together. If your garage already has drywall in rough coat condition and you want a fine finish, look at the factors that apply to you. If you want a textured ceiling, apply the price based on the size of your garage. If you want installation, fine finish and texture, add all of the numbers together. Then, schedule an appointment so we can verify your specific needs and we will put a number in writing for you.
| Garage size | Drywall thickness | Ceiling height | Drywall Install w/Rough Coat Finish | Insulation Install Option | Fine Finish Option | Texture Ceiling Option | Total (all options) |
| 2-car | 1/2″ | 9′ | $800 | $400 | $1,340 | $250 | $2,790 |
| 1/2″ | 10′ | $1,000 | $425 | $1,430 | $250 | $3,105 | |
| 1/2″ | 12′ | $1,200 | $500 | $1,615 | $250 | $3,565 | |
| 2-car | 5/8″ | 9′ | $880 | $400 | $1,340 | $250 | $2,870 |
| 5/8″ | 10′ | $1,100 | $425 | $1,430 | $250 | $3,205 | |
| 5/8″ | 12′ | $1,320 | $500 | $1,615 | $250 | $3,685 | |
| 3-car | 1/2″ | 9′ | $800 | $400 | $1,835 | $350 | $3,385 |
| 1/2″ | 10′ | $1,000 | $425 | $1,950 | $350 | $3,725 | |
| 1/2″ | 12′ | $1,200 | $500 | $2,185 | $350 | $4,235 | |
| 3-car | 5/8″ | 9′ | $880 | $400 | $1,835 | $350 | $3,465 |
| 5/8″ | 10′ | $1,100 | $425 | $1,950 | $350 | $3,825 | |
| 5/8″ | 12′ | $1,320 | $500 | $2,185 | $350 | $4,355 |
Cornerstone has you covered. Contact us today.