Next project: Finishing my garage

[Tim]

After owning a couple of townhomes, it's great to own a single-family unit. I've never been a handy type of person, but having a home to do projects on is quite enjoyable. I'm having to learn how to do some things that others might see as quite basic, but I'm okay with the learning curve and I don't feel any shame in identifying myself as a rookie. So far my mini-projects on the new house have gone well -- I put in some pavers for the place where we keep our garbage and recycle bins. I put in the programmable thermostats. I installed a number-pad garage door opener. Next I want to do something more ambitious: Finish the garage!

Of the three full walls in the garage, two of them are finished and one is unfinished. Also, the area above and around the garage door is unfinished. Here's a diagram:



The garage is 56" lower than the rest of the house. When you walk into the garage from the house, there's a wooden stairway that has 5 steps down to the garage level. As a result, the bottom 40" of the garage is cinder block. Above that is 10 feet of sheetrock. On the side that's unfinished (the outer wall) as well as the strips next to the garage door, above the cinder block you just see wall frame all the way to the ceiling. And of course above the garage door is several feet of framing. So my goal is to finish the remaining sections above the cinder block and above the garage door, then paint all the walls and cinder blocks white. I may also do something with the wooden staircase that comes down into the garage -- paint it? Put some kind of textured something or other on it, whatever.

I've never done sheetrocking before, although I've seen it done. I've seen the process of hanging it, mudding it, sanding it, etc. I don't expect my first attempt at it to be perfect, but it's a garage and not a bedroom so I'm less concerned about perfection here.

Any tips? Anything to watch for? Any specific product recommendations you can make? My father-in-law has all the tools I think I'll need, but I'd welcome any recommendations. How long should I anticipate it should take me to hang a pane of sheetrock? Should I be using outdoor paint? What about the garage floor: can I get away with not treating it or covering it?

Thanks in advance.

[wuapinmon]

Tim, a professional sheetrock crew can hang that entire area before you're done with the first board (not really exaggerating). If I'm you, I'd actually pay a couple of hundred dollars to have it done with the caveat that they will let you watch/teach you. I've learned to do lots of stuff by annoying the hell out of guys who do work on my house.

Sheetrock is hard to do well if you've never had someone who knew show you how. I have and I'm still terrible at it.

However, get a good cordless drill (ask FN Phat or Surfah which brand) with good screwdriver bits (Dewalt makes inexpensive sets that are universal to most cordless things, and can work with chucking drills).

I'd also buy canvas drop cloths. Plastic ones are slippery and move around too much. Canvas can be reused and has texture if it gets wet, so you won't slip.

Other than that, I'm not the guy to ask.

[Surfah]

Tim, a professional sheetrock crew can hang that entire area before you're done with the first board (not really exaggerating). If I'm you, I'd actually pay a couple of hundred dollars to have it done with the caveat that they will let you watch/teach you. I've learned to do lots of stuff by annoying the hell out of guys who do work on my house.

Sheetrock is hard to do well if you've never had someone who knew show you how. I have and I'm still terrible at it.

However, get a good cordless drill (ask FN Phat or Surfah which brand) with good screwdriver bits (Dewalt makes inexpensive sets that are universal to most cordless things, and can work with chucking drills).

I'd also buy canvas drop cloths. Plastic ones are slippery and move around too much. Canvas can be reused and has texture if it gets wet, so you won't slip.

Other than that, I'm not the guy to ask.

Wuap has a point. A few hundred bucks and a few day laborers could do this in about an 20 minutes. Mudding and sanding drywall is about my least favorite thing to do in the world. Was your home new? If the builder is still building there I'd ask any of the drywall crews if they want some side work. I am sure you could get a good deal on it. My brother, who did all of our punch out work, used to approach home owners to finish their garages. He made himself money for his mission that way.

Overall though sheetrocking is easy. It does take a bit of skill though to get good at mudding, skimming, and sanding. But being a garage it's not essential to be great at it. You may also want to add an outlet on that wall if you don't have one. Most don't. FN Phat and me finished my parents garage a few years back. We added a GFCI protected outlet on that wall close to the garage door opening. It makes things like vacuuming your car in the driveway or using any electrical yard appliance much easier. Something to consider. Most only have an outlet on the back wall which means an extra 20' of extension cord. We also added a counter and some cabinets and put a refrigerator in.

They have paint for garage floors. It will seal the floor and can make it oil resistant.

[old_gregg]

sheetrock is just below insulation and roofing on the list of shitty diy things around your home. it's heavy, messy, dusty, and very hard to do well (as wuap said). i would sit this one out, sir tim.

[venkman]

I'll add to the chorus here. I fairly handy and do alot of my own home improvement projects, but drywalling sucks. Don't do it.

[Tim]

Update: I've got a crew of guys coming over next week (date/time TBD) to start the job. I went to one of the houses under construction in my neighborhood, asked for the jefe, and he came over a bit later to check out the garage. Quoted me $300 for the labor (5 guys coming over once to hang the stuff and do the taping/mudding, then two days later to do the sanding/cleanup) and supplies, minus the drywall, which I'll pay for and have delivered from Lowe's/Home Depot. He told me to get 4x12 sheets -- I found this online... good choice for a garage? http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Ma...atalogId=10053

What kind of beer should I buy them? What do Latinos in the US like to drink? Corona? Too obvious? Dos Equis? Negra Modelo?

[Surfah]

Update: I've got a crew of guys coming over next week (date/time TBD) to start the job. I went to one of the houses under construction in my neighborhood, asked for the jefe, and he came over a bit later to check out the garage. Quoted me $300 for the labor (5 guys coming over once to hang the stuff and do the taping/mudding, then two days later to do the sanding/cleanup) and supplies, minus the drywall, which I'll pay for and have delivered from Lowe's/Home Depot. He told me to get 4x12 sheets -- I found this online... good choice for a garage? http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Ma...atalogId=10053

What kind of beer should I buy them? What do Latinos in the US like to drink? Corona? Too obvious? Dos Equis? Negra Modelo?

Good deal. That rock should be fine. Any cold beer will do.

You can probably get the painters to paint the garage too. They can come spray it in no time at all.

[Tim]

Good deal. That rock should be fine. Any cold beer will do.

You can probably get the painters to paint the garage too. They can come spray it in no time at all.

Great. Thanks!

[NorthwestUteFan]

Question: how often do people double-up the drywall on garages? My house in New England had it because it was code. It had something to do with firewall, I assume. My house here in Washington does not have it.

I agree with all above. Drywall is a "simple" process to understand but is extremely difficult to do well. Spending $300 for the labor will save you weeks of mess, strained back muscles, and hassles.

I have been cursed with bathtub problems in all of my houses, leading to ruined ceilings. I have patched each of these 3 ceilings myself, and it is exceptionally difficult to make it look good. Looking back it would have been better to replace an entire sheet than a 24"x24" patch each time...

[Surfah]

Question: how often do people double-up the drywall on garages? My house in New England had it because it was code. It had something to do with firewall, I assume. My house here in Washington does not have it.

I agree with all above. Drywall is a "simple" process to understand but is extremely difficult to do well. Spending $300 for the labor will save you weeks of mess, strained back muscles, and hassles.

I have been cursed with bathtub problems in all of my houses, leading to ruined ceilings. I have patched each of these 3 ceilings myself, and it is exceptionally difficult to make it look good. Looking back it would have been better to replace an entire sheet than a 24"x24" patch each time...

Being the exterior wall that doesn't touch the interior of the home it's fine. This is why they often go unfinished. Walls that share living space have to be fire rated. This includes the door that enters your home from the garage.

[FN Phat]

Being the exterior wall that doesn't touch the interior of the home it's fine. This is why they often go unfinished. Walls that share living space have to be fire rated. This includes the door that enters your home from the garage.

This. Including the ceiling for any bonus rooms over the garage. Local codes vary but typically 5/8" board will suffice.