A free site visit, a check of what your lot allows and a written, line-item price.
Get your free estimateFast, Reliable Garage Conversion Contractor Across Dallas
Garage conversions in Dallas typically cost between $55,000 and $110,000 depending on whether you’re finishing an attached garage into a bedroom, adding a full apartment with kitchen and bath, or turning the space into an ADU. Most jobs take 6 to 10 weeks once permits clear. Fielding ADU Dallas serves every neighborhood in Dallas, from Lake Highlands to Oak Cliff to Preston Hollow, with crews that know the older wiring, slab movement, and attached-vs-detached zoning rules that decide whether your project is even legal. Call (903) 342-8977 and you’ll get a live person, not a recording.
Why Fielding ADU Dallas Is Dallas’s Preferred Garage Conversion Contractor Company
Reed Calloway leads the Fielding ADU Dallas team, and he built this location on a simple rule: show up in the window, put the price in writing, do it by the book, leave it clean, and stand behind it for a year. That’s The Garrison Code, and it’s not a slogan. It’s the standard every crew runs on.
We’re an independently owned member of the Garrison Partners family, which has been building to The Garrison Standard since 2006. Every Fielding ADU conversion gets a written price before any work starts. If the work fails inside 365 days, we return and correct it at no charge. That guarantee is in writing, not verbal.
Dallas homeowners tell us the same thing: they’ve been burned by a contractor who missed the schedule or moved the price at the door. Our answer is a line-item quote handed to you before a single nail is driven. Background-checked, uniformed technicians show up on time. If you call at noon or midnight, a live person picks up. No voicemail queue.
We know where the city’s permit office draws the line on what counts as attached versus detached, because it changes your project’s legality. A sibling crew in Fort Worth doesn’t need that depth of Dallas zoning knowledge. We do, because we work here every week.
Garage Apartment Conversion in Dallas
Garage Apartment Conversion in Dallas is most often the right move when a homeowner wants rental income or a place for an aging parent without adding a new structure to the lot. The job means turning the existing garage shell into a fully independent living unit: a bedroom, a bathroom, a small kitchen, and its own entrance. Dallas Development Code allows attached ADUs by right, so converting an attached garage into an apartment is legal in most single-family zones as long as the garage shares a wall or roofline with the primary house. A freestanding garage that sits even three feet from the house is a different legal situation entirely, and we check that before anything else.
Budget for a garage apartment conversion in Dallas at $75,000 to $110,000 before permit fees. That range includes the plumbing rough-in, the electrical subpanel, insulation in the ceiling and walls, a mini-split HVAC system, and the separate kitchen circuit the city inspector will check. Older Dallas garages, especially the single-car attached garages common in 1950s and 1960s ranch homes, often need more than drywall and paint.
Older Garages and What They Hide
When we open a 60-year-old Dallas garage, we find things the previous owner never dealt with: ungrounded aluminum wiring, a slab that slopes toward the alley, or a header that has sagged under years of water intrusion. None of these are dealbreakers. All of them cost money, and we write the allowances into your contract before we start so the price doesn’t surprise you later.
Rental and Income Use
Dallas property owners often ask whether they can rent out a garage apartment legally. In zones that permit attached ADUs, yes. But the unit must meet Dallas building code for ceiling height, egress, and HVAC. We pull the permit, we install the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors the inspector requires, and we hand you a unit that passes final inspection the first time.
Garage Conversion Permit in Dallas
Garage Conversion Permit in Dallas is a mandatory step, not an optional one. The city’s Development Services Department reviews every garage conversion that creates habitable space, and converting a garage without a permit will get you a stop-work order, a fine, and an order to restore the garage to its original condition. Fielding ADU Dallas pulls the permit for you, handles the plan review, and coordinates the inspections. The permit fee for a garage conversion in Dallas generally runs $1,200 to $3,500 depending on the scope and whether structural or electrical upgrades trigger additional plan review.
Attached versus Detached: The Legal Test
The Dallas Development Code treats a garage as attached only if it shares a wall or roofline with the primary dwelling. A garage that sits a few feet away and is reached by a covered walkway is still legally detached, and detached ADUs are prohibited in most single-family zones. Before we quote any conversion, we measure the setback and the attachment point. If your garage is legally detached, we tell you straight, and we explain what alternatives exist under the code.
Expansive Clay Soil and Foundation Compliance
Dallas sits on blackland prairie soil. It swells when wet and shrinks in a drought. Any garage conversion that adds living space to an existing slab must address moisture barriers and grade drainage, or the new addition will crack. The city inspector will look for a vapor barrier under any new slab work and proper drainage away from the foundation. We handle those details at the start, not after the drywall goes up.
Trusted Brands We Service in Dallas
Fielding ADU Dallas works with the prefab and modular platforms Dallas homeowners are already researching: Boxabl, Mighty Buildings, and Plant Prefab, plus conventional construction with James Hardie siding and Tuff Shed-style structures. If you want a Boxabl unit delivered and installed where your detached garage used to sit, or you want a conventional stick-built conversion with Hardie plank that matches your brick exterior, we can spec it. Our Garage Conversion Contractor team keeps vendor lead times updated so you’re not waiting six months on a panel order. The method should match your budget and your lot, not the other way around.
Common Garage Conversion Contractor Problems We See in Dallas Homes
- Legally detached garages quoted as attached. Contractor sees a garage ten feet from the house, calls it attached, quotes the job, and the city red-tags it midway. We verify attachment and setbacks before any quote goes out.
- Ungrounded or fire-damaged wiring inside closed walls. Dallas homes built in the 1950s and 1960s often have aluminum branch wiring. When the ceiling comes down, the upgrade can run $6,000 to $9,000. Our contract includes a written electrical allowance that you approve before we touch it.
- Slab movement from blackland prairie soil. The same clay that cracks Dallas driveways moves garage slabs. A 2-inch drop toward the alley is common. We address it with helical piers and moisture barriers, not a floor leveling compound that fails in two years.
- No moisture management on exterior-facing walls. Dallas heat and humidity push moisture through brick veneer into the garage. Converting without a proper vapor barrier and insulation plan leads to mold in the first summer. We spec the insulation and vapor barrier for our climate, not a builder in Phoenix.
Pricing for Garage Conversion Contractor in Dallas, TX
A basic garage-to-bedroom conversion in Dallas runs $55,000 to $75,000. A garage apartment with kitchen and bath runs $75,000 to $110,000. Adding a foundation repair or an electrical service panel upgrade pushes the number higher, which is why our written price includes allowances for the surprises older Dallas garages hide. Permit fees run $1,200 to $3,500 on top of labor and materials. Call (903) 342-8977 for a written, line-item quote before any work starts. You’ll get a real price, not a range with vague caveats.
We Also Serve Cities Near Dallas
Our crews serve Dallas and the surrounding cities, including Irving, Mesquite, Hutchins, and Lancaster. Same crew, same written guarantee, same price-first policy. If you’re just outside the Dallas city limits, we can usually schedule your estimate within the week.
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.
FAQs About Garage Conversion Contractor in Dallas
Your garage is legally attached if it shares a wall or roofline with the primary dwelling. A garage that sits three feet from the house with a breezeway between them is legally detached, even if it looks close. We measure attachment points and setbacks as the first step of any estimate. If it’s detached, Dallas Development Code prohibits converting it to an ADU in most single-family zones, and we’ll tell you before you spend a dollar. Call (903) 342-8977 and we’ll check your specific lot.
Yes. Every garage conversion that creates habitable space in Dallas requires a building permit from Development Services, plus electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits. Skipping the permit gets you a stop-work order and an order to restore the garage. We pull all permits, coordinate inspections, and hand you paperwork that proves the work is legal.
Expect slab movement. Oak Cliff homes sit on expansive clay soil that swells and shrinks with moisture changes, and garage slabs often show a drop toward the alley or a diagonal crack near the corners. Converting that garage into living space without addressing drainage and moisture barriers means the new addition moves. We bring in a structural engineer, spec helical piers where needed, and write the foundation repair into your contract before the drywall goes up.
Usually not under current Dallas Development Code, even with alley access. Detached ADUs are prohibited in most single-family zones, and the alley doesn’t change that. You may have options: attaching the garage to the house with a permitted addition, or converting the garage to non-habitable use like a workshop. We’ll tell you what’s legal on your lot, not what’s easiest to quote.
Because older Dallas garages hide what the previous owner never fixed: ungrounded aluminum wiring, slab drops, sagged headers, and failed waterproofing. A contractor who quotes low and then demands more money at the door gave you a number, not a contract. Our quotes include written allowances for electrical, structural, and foundation work. When we open a wall and find a problem, we price the fix in writing and you sign before we touch it. The number on day one is the number on the final invoice, unless you approve a specific change in writing.
Ready to talk about your Dallas garage conversion? Call (903) 342-8977 and you’ll reach a live person. We’ll schedule your free estimate, measure your setbacks and attachment point, and hand you a written price before any work starts.
Written by Reed Calloway, Owner at Fielding ADU Dallas, serving the city of Dallas and surrounding communities under The Garrison Standard.
