A free site visit, a check of what your lot allows and a written, line-item price.
Get your free estimateTrusted Garage Conversion Contractor for Dallas Homeowners
A Garage Conversion Contractor in Dallas can turn dead square footage into a bedroom, office, rental unit, or full apartment, and it typically costs $72,000 to $236,000 depending on size, foundation condition, and whether you add a bathroom or kitchen. We’ve built these projects across Dallas since 2006, and we know exactly what the city’s building department asks for before they’ll sign off. The short version: if your garage is finished, insulated, and plumbed for a half bath, you’re at the low end of that range. If you’re adding a kitchen, rewiring the panel, and leveling a slab that’s cracked from North Texas clay, you’re at the high end. Call (903) 342-8977 and we’ll put a written price in front of you before any work starts.
Reed Calloway leads Fielding ADU Dallas, and he runs every estimate the same way: walk the site, measure what’s there, tell you what the city will require, and hand you a number in writing. No allowances that inflate later. No change orders unless you change your mind about scope.
Key Takeaways
- Garage conversions in Dallas typically run $72,000 to $236,000 depending on plumbing, electrical, and structural work.
- The City of Dallas requires permits for any garage conversion to living space. We pull them, schedule inspections, and close the permit out.
- Every project from Fielding ADU Dallas gets a written price before work starts and a 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
- We build garage conversions, garage ADUs, garage apartments, and garage-to-bedroom conversions across Dallas, Irving, Mesquite, and the surrounding metro.
Garage Conversion Permit
A Garage Conversion Permit is the city’s legal sign-off that your converted garage meets Dallas building code for living space, and you need one before any walls come down or any electrical wire gets pulled. The City of Dallas requires a building permit for garage conversions because you’re changing the space’s use from uninhabitable storage to conditioned, occupied square footage. Fielding ADU Dallas handles the entire permitting process from our home office in Dallas: we draw the plans, file with the city, schedule each inspection, and close the permit out when the job passes final.
What Dallas Building Officials Check
Inspectors in Dallas look at ceiling height, egress windows, insulation values, and whether the new living space has its own heating and cooling tie-in. They also flag foundation issues, especially in older Dallas neighborhoods where slabs have shifted for decades. We build to the inspection list from day one so you’re not paying for rework someone else skipped.
How Long Permitting Takes
Plan on two to six weeks for the city to review and issue a garage conversion permit in Dallas, depending on current volume at the permit office. We submit complete plan sets the first time so review cycles don’t stretch longer than necessary. The permit cost itself is included in your written estimate, not buried as a surprise line item.
Garage Conversion to Living Space
A Garage Conversion to Living Space means taking a garage that was built for cars and storage and turning it into conditioned, code-compliant square footage your family can actually use every day. The most common version we build in Dallas is a garage-to-living-room or garage-to-family-room conversion, which typically runs $72,000 to $142,000 depending on whether you’re adding plumbing for a wet bar or half bath. We demo the garage door framing, insulate the walls and ceiling, run electrical, tie into the existing HVAC, and finish the space with drywall, flooring, and trim.
What Drives the Cost in Dallas
Older Dallas garages often sit on slabs that were poured with no vapor barrier, which means moisture wicks up through the concrete and ruins flooring unless we seal it first. That’s a Dallas-specific issue we see constantly in neighborhoods like Lakewood, East Dallas, and Far North Dallas. We test the slab moisture before we quote, so the price covers what’s actually needed.
HVAC and Comfort
A converted garage won’t hold temperature unless someone actually sizes the heating and cooling properly. We run Manual J load calculations on every garage conversion to living space, so you’re not left with a room that’s freezing in February and sweltering in August. This is the step most cut-rate bids skip, and it’s why those rooms end up as junk storage five years later.
Garage to Bedroom Conversion
A Garage to Bedroom Conversion converts your garage into a legal, comfortable bedroom that meets Dallas code for egress, natural light, and ventilation. Costs in Dallas typically run $68,000 to $138,000 for a single bedroom conversion, and the range mostly depends on whether you need a closet, a bathroom, or both. Every bedroom we build gets an egress window sized to Dallas fire code, a dedicated HVAC run, and a hardwired smoke detector tied into the home’s existing system.
Egress Windows in Dallas Bedrooms
Dallas code requires any sleeping room to have a window large enough for a firefighter in full gear to climb through. A standard garage window won’t pass, so we cut the opening larger or add a second window entirely. This is non-negotiable and we won’t build a bedroom without it.
Adding a Bathroom to a Garage Bedroom
If you want a true primary suite, adding a three-quarter bath usually adds $28,000 to $46,000 to the garage to bedroom conversion budget. That number includes breaking the slab for drain lines, tying into the home’s water supply, and venting the exhaust fan through the roof. We quote it as one line item so you see exactly what the bathroom costs, not a vague “allowance” that moves later.
Garage Conversion ADU
A Garage Conversion ADU is a self-contained accessory dwelling unit built inside or attached to your existing garage, with its own kitchen, bathroom, entrance, and utility meters, and in Dallas these projects typically land between $148,000 and $236,000 depending on finish level. The City of Dallas allows ADUs on most single-family lots under recent ordinance updates, though setback and lot coverage rules still apply. We build garage conversion ADUs as rentals, in-law suites, or long-term guest quarters, and every one is permitted as a separate dwelling unit, which protects your resale value.
Attached vs. Detached Garage ADUs
An attached garage conversion ADU piggybacks on the existing home’s foundation and roofline, which usually saves $35,000 to $60,000 compared to a detached build. A detached garage ADU gives you more separation and often rents for more, but it requires its own utility trenching and sometimes a separate sewer lateral. We’ll price both and show you the spread before you choose.
Prefab Options for Garage Conversion ADUs
For some Dallas lots, we recommend a prefab or panelized approach using Mighty Buildings or Boxabl, which can cut on-site construction time by four to eight weeks. We’re fluent with these systems and with conventional stick-built construction, so the recommendation comes from your lot’s constraints, not from whatever’s easiest for us to sell. Our job is to match the build method to your budget and your property.
Garage Apartment Conversion
A Garage Apartment Conversion is a garage conversion built out as a full rental apartment, complete with a private entrance, separate address or unit designation, and all utilities split from the main house, and in Dallas these projects typically run $165,000 to $255,000 depending on unit size and site conditions. The extra cost over a basic garage conversion comes from the separate electrical subpanel, independent HVAC system, water heater, and fire separation walls Dallas code requires between a rental unit and the main residence. If you’re planning to lease the unit, we build it to pass rental inspection the first time.
Fire Separation and Soundproofing
Dallas requires a one-hour fire-rated wall assembly between a garage apartment and the primary home, plus solid-core doors with weatherstripping at any connecting opening. We also add sound isolation batt insulation and decoupled drywall on the shared wall, because a rental unit where you can hear the tenant’s television through the wall is a rental unit you’ll struggle to keep filled.
Separate Utilities for Rental Units
If you want to bill the tenant separately, the garage apartment needs its own electrical panel and often its own water sub-meter, which Dallas Water Utilities permits on ADU conversions. Plan on $9,000 to $16,000 for the electrical split alone. We’ll lay out every cost line by line before you approve anything, and that number won’t change unless the scope changes.
Brands We Service
Mighty Buildings: We’ve worked with Mighty Buildings panelized wall systems on garage-to-ADU conversions in Dallas where the lot has tight access or the client wants to cut on-site framing time. The panels arrive pre-cut and pre-insulated, and we handle the foundation, assembly, MEP tie-in, and finish work.
Boxabl: For clients who want a turnkey prefab unit dropped in behind the existing home, Boxabl’s factory-built modules work well on flat Dallas lots with crane access. We prep the site, manage the crane day, and complete the utilities and trim so the unit passes Dallas inspection.
Tuff Shed: For a lower-cost garage conversion route, some Dallas homeowners start with a Tuff Shed structure and convert it to a workshop, studio, or guest room. We handle the slab, electrical, insulation, drywall, and finishing, and we’ll tell you honestly whether the existing shed shell is worth converting or whether a clean build makes more sense.
Whether you already have a Mighty Buildings, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, or Tuff Shed structure on your property, or you’re starting from scratch, we can help.
Signs You Need a Pro Right Now
- Cracks running through the garage slab or stem wall. Dallas clay soil expands and contracts hard enough to crack garage slabs within a decade of the pour. If you see cracks wider than a quarter inch or cracks that step vertically, the foundation needs a look before you spend money on finishes.
- Moisture or musty smell in the garage after rain. Garages built without a vapor barrier wick groundwater into the slab, and once you put drywall and flooring over that, you’ve trapped moisture inside the wall cavity. We test slab moisture before quoting so the fix is in the price, not a surprise.
- The garage door opening faces the street and you want it gone. Filling in a garage door opening properly requires new foundation work, framing, siding, and flashing. A sloppy fill leaks and shifts within two Dallas winters. We do it to code with new stem wall and proper sheathing.
- Electrical panel is already maxed out. A garage conversion adds circuits for outlets, lighting, and often a bathroom or kitchen. If your panel doesn’t have room, that’s a subpanel or full panel replacement, and you want that identified before the drywall goes up, not after.
- Your HOA or neighborhood has garage requirements. Some Dallas HOAs require that any garage conversion maintain a minimum parking footprint or architectural match. We read the HOA docs before we quote so you’re not fighting a violation notice mid-project.
Our Process, Step by Step
- 1
Site Walk and Written Estimate. Reed Calloway or a Fielding ADU Dallas estimator walks your garage, measures everything, checks the slab and electrical panel, and tells you what’s feasible under Dallas code. You get a written line-item price before we leave, not a verbal ballpark you have to decode later.
- 2
Plan Set and Permit Filing. We draw the conversion plans, file with the City of Dallas, and track the permit through review. When the permit is issued, we schedule the start date and tell you exactly who will be on your property.
- 3
Demolition and Rough-In. The garage door comes out, we frame the opening, run new electrical circuits, rough in plumbing if needed, and install insulation. Dallas inspector walks rough-in before we close any walls.
- 4
Drywall, Finishes, and Systems. We hang and finish drywall, set flooring, trim, paint, install the HVAC tie-in or mini-split, and mount fixtures. Every finish is done by our own uniformed, background-checked crew, not subcontracted out without your knowledge.
- 5
Final Inspection and Walkthrough. The city inspector signs off, we close the permit, and then you and Reed walk the space together with a punch list. The 365-Day Done Right Promise starts that day, in writing.
How Much Does Garage Conversion Contractor Cost in Dallas?
A typical garage conversion in Dallas runs $72,000 to $236,000 depending on scope, and here’s what that looks like in practice. A basic garage-to-living-space conversion with no plumbing runs $72,000 to $110,000. A garage-to-bedroom conversion with an egress window and closet runs $68,000 to $138,000. A garage conversion ADU with a full kitchen and bathroom runs $148,000 to $236,000. A garage apartment conversion built for rent with separate utilities runs $165,000 to $255,000.
What moves the price in Dallas: slab condition (older Dallas slabs without vapor barriers need sealing), electrical panel capacity, whether you’re adding a bathroom or kitchen, the HVAC solution (tie-in vs. mini-split), and whether the garage is attached or detached. What doesn’t move the price: surprise change orders from us. The number you approve in writing on day one is the number on the final invoice, unless you change the scope.
A free estimate from Fielding ADU Dallas includes the full line-item breakdown, the permit fee, the inspection schedule, and the written 365-day guarantee. Call (903) 342-8977 to set it up. You’ll get a real number, not a range, and you won’t have to chase anyone for it.
Our Service Area Near Dallas
Fielding ADU Dallas builds garage conversions across Dallas and the surrounding metro, including Garage Conversion Contractor in Irving, Garage Conversion Contractor in Mesquite, Grapevine, Carrollton, Far North Dallas, DeSoto, Coppell, Farmers Branch, Sachse, Seagoville, and Glenn Heights. If your project is in the metro and you’re ready for a written price, call (903) 342-8977 and we’ll get you on the schedule. Most estimates are completed within one week of your call.
Serving Dallas, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Dallas area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions About Garage Conversion Contractor in Dallas
A our Garage Conversion Contractor in Hutchins handles the entire job of turning your garage into living space: permits, demolition, framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, drywall, flooring, and final inspection. We perform all the work with our own background-checked, uniformed crew and we never hand off the permit responsibility to you. You call one number, we run the whole job, and the permit closes under our name.
Most garage conversions in Dallas take 8 to 14 weeks from the day the permit is issued, depending on whether you’re adding a bathroom or kitchen. A basic garage-to-living-space conversion usually finishes in 8 to 10 weeks. A full garage conversion ADU with a kitchen and bathroom takes 12 to 14 weeks, and prefab systems can trim several weeks off the schedule.
Garage conversions in Dallas typically cost between $72,000 and $236,000 depending on size, finish level, and whether plumbing or kitchen work is included. The exact number for your garage depends on slab condition, electrical panel capacity, and the HVAC approach. Call (903) 342-8977 and we’ll give you a written line-item estimate for your specific property, free.
Yes, we service and convert Boxabl, Mighty Buildings, and Tuff Shed structures, and we have direct experience with prefab and panelized systems from those manufacturers. We handle site prep, assembly, utility tie-in, and all finish work on prefab units. If you own one of these structures already, we can tell you whether converting it makes financial sense.
Most garage conversions are planned projects, and we answer every call with a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can reach us whenever you need to. If something goes wrong mid-project, the person who answers is the person who can dispatch the crew, not a voicemail. Call (903) 342-8977 and someone picks up.
Every garage conversion from Fielding ADU Dallas is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise, which covers workmanship defects in writing for one full year. If something fails inside that year, we come back and correct it at no charge. The guarantee is spelled out on paper, including what it covers and exactly how we make it right.
Clear out the garage so we can see the slab, walls, and ceiling, and have your HOA documents handy if your neighborhood has design rules. Make a short list of what you want the space to become, bedroom, rental, office, or full ADU, and we’ll price it accordingly. You don’t need to move anything off the property, just out of the garage.
Schedule Your Garage Conversion Contractor Service in Dallas Today
You’ve already dealt with a contractor who disappeared or moved the price. That won’t happen here. Call (903) 342-8977 and you’ll get Reed Calloway or a Fielding ADU Dallas estimator on your property, a written line-item price, and the 365-day guarantee on paper. The estimate is free and there’s no obligation. We’ve been building to The Garrison Standard in Dallas since 2006, and we answer the phone.
Written by Reed Calloway, Owner at Fielding ADU Dallas, serving Dallas and the surrounding metro since 2006.
