Converting our single garage into a home office is our biggest DIY to date. With a helping hand from our lovely friends, we transformed this gloomy garage space into a welcoming home office and mini gym to boot.
This garage conversion project taught us countless new DIY skills; like how to build stud walls, install insulation, move lighting, put up a ceiling and master the art of dry lining. We even levelled the floor, laid our own LVT flooring and built a chevron patterned sliding barn door as a neat space-saving way to gain access into the gym area at the rear.
It’s been a massive project that required lots of time, heaps of effort and plenty of brain capacity learning many new skills along the way. But the money we saved by doing this ourselves was worth the endless clouds of dust and unsightly blisters to now have this beautiful home office to work from.
In this article...
Before photo of our DIY garage conversion
Before we get to the nitty-gritty, here’s a quick glimpse at how things looked the day we moved into our home. As expected, the detached garage was a veil of grey breeze block walls, complete with one dimly lit pendant dangling from the middle rafter. It was going to take a lot of work to transform this from a dingy garage into an inspiring home office space!
Working out the layout for our new home office
There are a few different designs you can go for when converting your garage into an office, so you’ll need to figure out what works best for how you intend to use the space. For example, we knew that we didn’t want to build a false wall right up next to the garage door (which some people do) for a couple reasons. Those being:
- This would make the garage up-and-over door redundant.
- We wanted to shrink the office size slightly, so that we could partition the room to fit a very small gym at the back.
- One day we might have the option to remove the garage door, and install a door and window (however we live on a new-build estate and I believe these sort of changes aren’t always allowed)
As we ultimately wanted to create two separate zones, this meant we needed to split the room into two sections. A larger area for the main office space and a smaller section at the back for the gym. Nothing crazy, just a space that was big enough for the garage door to open and to be able to fit the treadmill so I could continue doing CouchTo5K.
Step 1: Building the stud walls in the garage
Once we had settled on the design, it was time to roll up our sleeves and begin this exciting garage to office conversion. The first thing we did was to begin building the stud walls, which we created using 2X4 timber – a lot of it!
The horizontal floor pieces were put down first. We drilled pilot holes into the concrete floor and then fixed them down using concrete screws. Then we measured and cut the upright pieces of timber using a mitre saw and began fixing them into the floor piece with wood screws. Each upright was 400 mm to centre, and to comply with (what was the current) building regs, we ensured there was the correct sized air gap between the frame and the breeze block walls of the garage to allow for airflow.
Because our garage didn’t have much sturdy frame work, we didn’t have enough to support or fix a ceiling into. This meant we needed to add some additional joists, which ran across the length of the garage and fixed into the frames that we had just made around the side of the walls and the existing roof beams.
We also added a pre-made door frame where the sliding door was going to go, but we ended up ripping this back out as it wasn’t needed.
It took us a full day to get the framing up, but we couldn’t believe the difference it made. The garage to office conversion was already starting to take shape!
Step 2: Adding noggins
As it stands, the framing was all a little weak and wobbly. To make the walls rigid we measured and cut some shorter horizontal pieces of timber and screwed them in at alternating spaces across the walls. Without these noggins the walls wobbled, but once these are all connected the structure suddenly felt strong and completely solid.
Along the back dividing wall we added some additional pieces of wood along the top. So that when it came to attaching the sliding door tracks, they would have something sturdy to fix into.
Step 3: Creating a ceiling for our new home office
Next up we added the plasterboard to the garage ceiling. This was probably the worst job of it all; just because the plasterboard sheets are large, awkward and heavy! Thankfully we not only had our friends to help us, but we also had the assistance of a plasterboard lift – I’m not sure this task would have been possible without it. We hired our lift from Bradfords, it wasn’t overly expensive but was most certainly required!
We fixed the paster board onto the newly created joists using plaster board screws and a handy attachment which stops them going too far in and splitting the board. I highly advise buying one of these attachments, as they really do make this step easier.
Step 4: Cutting insulation for the walls
Cutting the insulation boards is an easy but incredibly messy job! Chris & James measured each gap and we transferred that measurement onto the insulation boards, where Olivia and I cut them to size using a regular handsaw. Then we passed it back to the lads who slotted them into the correct cubby. Every cubby was a slightly different measurement, so we did have to measure every single one to ensure the best fit. This job was pretty fun though, and come the end we looked as though we had been rolling around inside a life-sized snow-globe. It was everywhere!
Step 5: Adding the plasterboard and pulling through the electrics
Next up we added the plasterboard to the walls, which thanks to gravity is much easier then trying to fix the ceiling sheets up. Much the same as we did on the ceiling, we used plasterboard screws and the same bit attachment to avoid the screw going in to deep.
Once they were all up, we drew a pencil line down each board to mark where the wooden stud walling was behind (you could just see it through the tiny gaps) Then we added loads more screws to pull the board on nice and secure.
As for the smaller bits around the door frame, we attached the plasterboard to the wall, and then used a knife to cut the excess off once it was attached. This was easier than trying to get the perfect measurement, and anything that stuck out we just used a rasp to file it off.
We also had to cut holes and pull any electric cables and plug sockets through to the front of the new walls. Where we then installed new back boxes ready for the pretty front plates to be added later down the line.
Step 6: Filling the gaps and mudding the seams
I wont deny that there is a skill to master when it comes to mudding the seams and dry lining. You could obviously pay to get the entire room plastered, but as we were doing this ourselves we went for the more budget friendly option of dry walling. Thankfully our friend, Chris, knew how to do it so he taught James the ropes.
It’s quite a long process as it has to spread over multiple days to allow each layer to dry, then lightly sand back, ready to apply the next layer of dry wall compound. In the end, we did a total of 4 layers, feathering them out for a seamless blend. However, before they started mudding the seams, they first filled any of the bigger gaps with some filler.
There are plenty of YouTube tutorials online to help show the process of dry lining. It does require a bit of practice and patience, but you can definitely give it a go yourself. James has done it a couple times now, and he really mastered it during our living room transformation when he built our false chimney breast and alcove cupboards.
This is the compound we used, along with this mud pan.
Step 7: Fill all the screw holes
Once the mudding was underway, we also covered over every single screw with some filler too. This is where you may notice some screws are protruding slightly and need to be screwed in a smidge more. If you don’t have them all flush and covered with filler, then you will end up seeing them all when it comes to the painting and decorating part of this project.
Therefor, make sure to put the effort in at this stage and create a perfectly smooth canvas. Otherwise your finished project could end up looking a little naff.
Step 8: Sand the walls
This step of the garage conversion is going to get incredibly messy; make sure you’re wearing a mask and goggles! You now need to gently sand the entire room with some light-grit sand paper so there are no grooves, joins or patches showing from the mudding process. The goal here is to end up with perfectly silky-smooth walls, ready for painting.
Step 9: White wash the walls
Its crazy how white washing the walls suddenly pulls this all together and makes it look like you’re almost finished. You aren’t – but it looks like you’re seriously getting there! Once the walls are painted, this garage conversion really takes shape into a cosy home office.
Before you begin painting, hoover and wash down your walls to remove any lingering dust, then use a slightly watered down simple white emulsion as the plasterboard sheets will absorb a lot of it.
Step 10: Levelling the floor
After hoovering the floor within an inch of its life, it was time to level the floor ready to lay our chosen flooring.
This step is fairly easy, but you need to work fast as it soon sets! We only had a large bucket to work with, so we had to do ours in multiple batches. If you can mix the floor levelling compound in one go, then this would be even easier.
Starting in the far corner, and working backwards towards the door. We poured out a bucket of the floor levelling compound, teasing it slightly to help it flow into all the nooks and crannies. If you’ve mixed it to the correct consistency, then it should flow pretty well on it’s own without too much assistance. Then we left it to dry overnight.
Step 11: Laying our LVT floor tiles
I really enjoyed this step, it was like doing a larger-than-life jigsaw puzzle; a big attack at the end of an Art Attack episode (Millennials will know what I mean)
We used the same LVT flooring that we have in the bedrooms as we really like it and it was a great price, and the quality is brilliant too. To stick it down we used VS90 Plus adhesive.
Step 12: Add door trim
As I mentioned earlier, we removed the pre-bought door frame, as by the time we added trim, it would be getting quite narrow. So we pulled that out and instead built our own door frame from the same stud walls. This just cleaned up the finished look by adding some MDF, otherwise you could see all the layers of the wall (Plasterboard, wooden frame, plywood backing)
Step 13: Paint your new home office
We wanted to add a gentle splash of colour out here and settled on green as a nice welcoming yet calming colour. After a few different green paint tester pots, we decided on Snow on the Pines by Valspar; a light olive green with cool undertones.
I did two coats on all the walls, and left the ceiling white. I always enjoy using Valspar paint, and we’ve never had any issues with it on any of our DIY projects or room makeovers.
As for the skirting boards, we kept them white and applied the same Leyland white satin wood paint that we used when adding a stair runner to our stairs inside the house.
Step 14 : Add the skirting boards
To keep things cohesive, we tried to source the same skirting boards as the ones inside the house. Although we couldn’t find an exact match, we found these ones from Metersdirect.co.uk which had a very similar height and modern design.
We measured and cut the skirting boards using a mitre saw, cutting each join at a 45 degree angle for a neat end result. Then we fixed them to the plasterboard using a squidge of pink-grip and a few brad nails from the Ryobi nail gun.
Once they were all attached we ran some decorators caulk along the top of them for a perfectly manicured result.
Step 15: Attach the sliding door
To save on space, we decided not to have a regular internal opening door, instead we went for a sliding barn door.
If you’re interested in seeing how we made this door, take a read of my blog post ‘how to build your own chevron sliding barn door’ It was a fun project, and we think it adds a great feature to this room.
Anyway, remember I mentioned earlier that we added some extra wooden noggins to this side of the wall? Well that’s where we screwed the door track into the wall, making sure we remembered the height of where we had put the wooden beams.
Once the track was attached, we just needed to hook the door onto it, and add a small stopper to the floor which prevents the door from pulling away from the wall when sliding it left/right.
Our finished garage to office conversion
We haven’t fully finished decorating or furnishing this office room yet, so it still looks a little bare. Its lacking a rug and some artwork on the walls and I also (rather importantly) need a desk chair! But from what we began with, we are so happy with this DIY garage to home office transformation. Having this additional space at home is amazing!
As for the gym end, thats still a work in progress! We have covered the back of the dividing stud wall with chipboard, painted the breeze-blocks white for now and hung a cheap TV on the wall. It does the job and is a perfectly usable space to run, but we can make it much better! We still plan to add a ceiling and lay some gym matting, along with changing the light and repainting it all. It’s only a small space, but its so nice having this separate so that you don’t always have to look at a bulky treadmill in the office all the time. I’ll write a separate post when this gym area is finished.
Things to note:
We didn’t install central heating out here. Although that would be a lovely addition, its not a simple thing to do. To heat the office up, we just plug in an electric heater and that works well enough for what we need.
Separating the room also helps to keep the heat in, as the gym area at the back has lots of drafts from the garage door. So dividing the room and having our internal door helps to keep this end of the office warmer.
We couldn’t really insulate our floor as the step down into the garage was minimal. Had we had more depth to play with, we would have added insulation to the floor – as this can feel cold. I plan to add a large rug in here to help a little bit.
We didn’t add insulation to the ceiling. However, we still have access to the ceiling from the gym side, so we could easy roll out some insulation wool if we want to help further with keeping this room warm.
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