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 in Dallas typically runs $38,000 to $95,000 for a full living-space build-out with permits, and most projects take 10 to 16 weeks from the first walkthrough to final inspection. We’re Lodgewick ADU Dallas, led by Russ Delmar, and we’ve been converting garages into livable space since 2010 as part of the Kingswell family of home-service companies. Every project starts with a written price before any work begins, and every build carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the work isn’t right, we come back and make it right, free. That’s a promise in writing, not a handshake. Call (361) 204-4652, and a live person answers.
If you’ve been burned before by a contractor whose price changed at the door or a crew that never showed, you’ll notice the difference in the first conversation. We say the number, put it in writing, and honor it. No change orders at the door. No vague timelines. No disappearing after the check clears. That’s The Kingswell Way.
Key Takeaways for Dallas Homeowners
- Written price first. You get a line-item number before any work starts, and it doesn’t change unless you change the scope.
- Permits handled for you. We pull all Dallas permits, schedule inspections, and stay on site until the city signs off.
- 365-Day Done Right Promise. If something fails within a year, we return and fix it free. That’s in writing on every project.
- One crew, one contact. Background-checked, uniformed technicians on your property, and a live person answers the phone 24/7.
- Call (361) 204-4652 for a free estimate on your garage conversion in Dallas.
Garage Conversion Permit
A Garage Conversion Permit is the legal authorization Dallas requires before you convert a garage into habitable space, and it’s the document that ensures your finished room meets building code for electrical, plumbing, insulation, and egress. In Dallas, permit fees for a garage conversion generally run $1,800 to $4,500 depending on scope, and we include permit management in every project quote. Skipping the permit saves money up front but can cost you at resale when unpermitted work shows up in a title search, and it can void your homeowner’s insurance claim if something goes wrong. Lodgewick ADU Dallas handles the full permit package, from drawings to city submittal to scheduling every inspection until the final sign-off.
What the Permit Covers
Dallas requires permits for structural changes, electrical wiring, plumbing lines, HVAC additions, and window or door modifications. A garage conversion touches all of these, which is why the permit package for a full conversion is more involved than a simple remodel. We prepare the drawings, calculate load requirements, and submit everything to the city with the correct fee schedule, so the permit doesn’t stall your timeline.
What Happens if You Skip It
Unpermitted garage conversions in Dallas create real problems: you can be ordered to tear the work out, your insurance company can deny a claim, and buyers routinely walk away from homes with unpermitted square footage. The city can also place a lien on the property until the work is brought to code. We don’t build without permits, and we won’t ask you to accept the risk.
Garage Conversion to Living Space
A Garage Conversion to Living Space is the full transformation of a garage into a heated and cooled room that functions like any other part of the home, with proper insulation, flooring, drywall, lighting, and code-compliant access. Dallas homeowners spend between $45,000 and $85,000 for a typical two-car garage conversion to living space, depending on whether you’re adding a bathroom, kitchenette, or dedicated HVAC zone. The work covers everything from raising the floor to match the house, reframing the garage door opening, running electrical and plumbing, and finishing the interior to match the rest of the home. Lodgewick ADU Dallas manages every stage, from first drawing to final coat of paint.
What Changes in the Build
The garage slab usually sits lower than the main floor, so we raise it with a framed floor system and insulate underneath. The garage door opening gets reframed and closed in with a wall that matches your home’s exterior, and we add windows for light and egress. HVAC is the piece most contractors gloss over: we size a dedicated system or extend your existing ductwork so the room actually stays comfortable in a Dallas August.
Dallas Climate Considerations
Dallas summers are brutal on a converted garage if the envelope isn’t right. We spec closed-cell spray foam or rigid insulation on all exterior walls and the ceiling, and we use low-E windows to cut heat gain. In neighborhoods like Lake Highlands and Casa View, we regularly see older garages with zero insulation, and the difference after a proper conversion is night and day. The room should hold 72 degrees in July without the AC running nonstop.
Garage to Bedroom Conversion
A Garage to Bedroom Conversion turns your garage into a code-compliant bedroom with egress windows, a closet, proper ventilation, and a door that opens to the interior or exterior. This project typically runs $40,000 to $75,000 in Dallas, and the price shifts based on whether you’re adding an en suite bathroom, how much electrical work the room needs, and whether the existing slab can take the finished floor without leveling. We handle the full scope: framing, insulation, drywall, flooring, lighting, HVAC, and all the finishing touches that make it feel like it was always part of the house.
Egress and Safety Requirements
Dallas code requires a bedroom to have at least one operable window large enough for a firefighter in full gear to enter, and a properly sized exit door. If your garage doesn’t have a window that meets egress, we add one, which sometimes means cutting a new opening in an exterior wall. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are required in any sleeping room, and we tie them into the home’s existing system.
Best Uses for a Converted Garage Bedroom
A garage-to-bedroom conversion is the fastest way to add a first-floor primary suite, a guest room for aging parents, or a quiet space for a college student living at home. In East Dallas and Oak Cliff, we’ve done conversions where the bedroom connects to a new full bath, effectively creating a private suite without a full home addition. For homeowners in nearby suburbs, we also serve as a Garage Conversion Contractor in Balch Springs. The return on investment holds up at resale because the square footage is permitted and counted in the listing.
Garage Conversion ADU
A Garage Conversion ADU is a garage converted into an accessory dwelling unit, a self-contained living space with its own entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area, built to Dallas ADU code. Dallas ADU conversions cost $80,000 to $120,000 on average, though smaller units can come in lower and larger two-story additions above the garage can run higher. Unlike a simple living-space conversion, an ADU requires its own kitchen, a full bathroom, separate utility connections or submetering, and a private entrance. Lodgewick ADU Dallas has built ADUs across Dallas and the surrounding suburbs, including as a Garage Conversion Contractor - Duncanville, and we walk every project through the city’s specific ADU standards from lot survey to certificate of occupancy.
Dallas ADU Rules in Plain English
Dallas allows ADUs on single-family lots under specific size and setback rules, and the unit must meet all residential building codes for a standalone dwelling. Your lot’s zoning, existing easements, and the size of your current garage all shape what’s allowed. We verify every requirement against the current Dallas Development Code before we draw plans, so you don’t pay for a design the city won’t approve.
ADU vs. Living Space: Which Is Right
If you want rental income or a private space for a family member who cooks their own meals, build the ADU. If you just want a bigger house for the people already living there, a living-space conversion costs less and moves faster. We’ll walk you through both numbers in writing, with a straight recommendation, and the estimate is free.
Garage Apartment Conversion
A Garage Apartment Conversion creates a rentable or independent living unit above, beside, or within an existing garage, with full kitchen, bath, living area, and separate meter or utility allocation. In Dallas, a garage apartment conversion runs $90,000 to $130,000 when built above the existing garage, and $80,000 to $110,000 when the apartment occupies the garage footprint itself. The higher cost comes from structural work: a second-story apartment requires reinforcing the garage ceiling or reframing the roof, plus a separate entrance, stair access, and independent climate control. Lodgewick ADU Dallas builds garage apartments as true apartments, not finished rooms with a microwave and a mini-fridge.
What Makes It a Real Apartment
A real garage apartment has a full kitchen with 220V electric for a range, a bathroom with proper venting and waterproofing, a separate water heater or a properly sized shared unit, and a private exterior entrance. We also separate the electrical so the tenant can have their own panel or submeter, which matters if you’re planning to rent the unit long-term. In Dallas, an unpermitted apartment is a liability; we build to rental code from day one.
Rental Income Math in Dallas
Garage apartments in Dallas neighborhoods near transit and job centers, like the Medical District, Bishop Arts, and Lower Greenville, routinely rent for $1,200 to $1,800 a month. A $100,000 build at $1,400 monthly rent pays for itself in about six years before accounting for tax benefits and appreciation. We’ll help you run the exact numbers for your lot and your neighborhood before you commit to the build.
Brands We Service
We work with established prefab and panelized ADU brands, including Mighty Buildings, Boxabl, and Tuff Shed. With Mighty Buildings, we’ve handled site prep, foundation systems, and utility connections for their panelized units, which arrive as factory-built wall and roof sections that assemble on your Dallas lot in weeks rather than months. Boxabl’s folding Casita units are popular for backyard placements where a full garage footprint isn’t available, and we manage the crane placement, utility hookups, and Dallas permit package for those installs. Tuff Shed structures often serve as the shell for a garage or workshop that later gets converted, and we’ve finished many of them into conditioned living space with full insulation, drywall, and electrical.
Whether you have a Mighty Buildings unit, a Boxabl Casita, a Tuff Shed shell, or a conventional stick-built garage, we can convert it. Not every brand fits every lot, and we’ll tell you straight which one makes sense for your Dallas property before you spend a dollar.
Signs You Need a Pro Right Now
- Your garage has a “sag” in the ridge line or the roof looks wavy from the street. That’s a structural signal, and in Dallas, it can mean years of heat and humidity have compromised the framing. Before we can convert the space, the structure has to carry the new load, and a sagging ridge is the first thing a Dallas inspector flags.
- The concrete slab has cracks wider than a quarter inch or one side sits visibly lower. Dallas clay soil expands and contracts with moisture, and slabs shift over time. A conversion built on a moving slab cracks drywall and tile within a year. We level and repair before we build.
- You smell damp or see efflorescence (white chalky residue) on the garage walls. That’s water moving through the concrete, which means the space needs vapor barrier and drainage work before it can be finished. Insulation and drywall over a wet slab creates mold inside the wall cavity.
- The garage was built before 1980 and the walls are 2×4 with no insulation. Dallas summer heat soaks through those walls in minutes. Converting without a proper thermal envelope means the room will never hold temperature, and your electric bill will show it every month.
- Your home’s electrical panel is maxed out or the garage has a single 15-amp circuit. A living space needs dedicated circuits for HVAC, kitchen appliances, and lighting, which usually means a panel upgrade or subpanel. If the panel is already full, that’s a cost you want to know about on day one, not after the walls are up.
Our Process, Step by Step
- 1
Free on-site walkthrough and measurements. Russ Delmar or a senior project lead visits your Dallas property, measures the garage, checks the slab, roof structure, electrical panel, and site drainage, and talks through what you want the space to become. We take notes, photos, and measurements the same day.
- 2
Written estimate with a fixed price. Within a few days, you get a line-item estimate that includes demolition, framing, insulation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, drywall, flooring, finishes, permits, and our project management. It’s a fixed number. If you change the scope, we change the number and put the change in writing before we proceed.
- 3
Permit drawings and city submittal. Our drafting team prepares the plans Dallas requires, we file the permit package, and we track it through the city’s review queue. We schedule every inspection: foundation, framing, rough electrical, rough plumbing, insulation, and final. You never chase the city; we do.
- 4
Build, with a defined arrival window and a clean job site. The crew shows up in the window we give you, works in uniform, and keeps the site swept and contained every day. We protect the path from the street to the garage, we don’t leave debris overnight, and we’re off your property each evening unless the schedule requires otherwise.
- 5
Final walkthrough, written guarantee, and 365-Day Done Right Promise. When the city signs off, we walk the space with you and review every finish. You get the written guarantee in hand, and if anything fails within 365 days, we come back and fix it free. No phone tag. No “we’ll get to it.” Just the promise, kept.
How Much Does Garage Conversion Contractor Cost in Dallas?
Garage conversions in Dallas run $38,000 to $130,000 depending on what you’re building. A simple garage-to-living-space conversion without a bathroom or kitchen starts around $38,000 to $50,000. Add a bathroom and you’re at $55,000 to $75,000. A full garage conversion ADU with kitchen and bath runs $80,000 to $120,000. A garage apartment above the existing garage runs $90,000 to $130,000 because of the structural reinforcement and second-story work. Here’s how the numbers break down:
- Garage conversion to living space: $38,000 – $85,000
- Garage to bedroom conversion: $40,000 – $75,000
- Garage conversion ADU: $80,000 – $120,000
- Garage apartment conversion (above garage): $90,000 – $130,000
- Dallas permit fees: $1,800 – $4,500 (included in our quotes)
- Architectural/engineering drawings: $3,000 – $8,000 (included in our quotes)
What moves the price? The size of your garage, the condition of the slab and roof structure, whether you’re adding plumbing for a bath or kitchen, whether your electrical panel needs an upgrade, and the level of finish you choose. A code-minimum conversion costs less, but cutting corners on insulation or HVAC in Dallas costs more every month on your utility bill. The best way to avoid overpaying is to get a written, line-item estimate and ask what’s included in the number. Our free estimates include every line item: materials, labor, permits, drawings, project management, and the written guarantee. Call (361) 204-4652 and we’ll walk the site with you and put the number in writing.
Our Service Area Near Dallas
Lodgewick ADU Dallas serves homeowners across Dallas, Plano, Garland, Richardson, Grand Prairie, Heath, Rowlett, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Balch Springs, Murphy, and Addison. Most projects start with a site visit scheduled within a few days of your call, and we keep a tight service radius so the crew shows up on time and the job stays on schedule. If you’re in a neighborhood just outside these cities, call and we’ll tell you straight whether we cover your area. You can also read more about our broader work on the home page or this Garage Conversion Contractor in Dallas page for full service details.
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 garage conversion contractor is a licensed specialist who transforms an existing garage into habitable living space: a bedroom, family room, ADU, or apartment. If you’re in the northern suburbs, we can connect you with our Garage Conversion Contractor in Addison. In Dallas, that means pulling permits, bringing the structure to residential building code, and managing every trade from framing to finish. Lodgewick ADU Dallas has done this work since 2010, and every project comes with a written price and a written 365-day guarantee.
A simple living-space conversion takes 8 to 12 weeks from permit submittal to final inspection, and a full ADU or garage apartment runs 12 to 16 weeks. Permit review time at the City of Dallas varies by season, but we submit early and schedule inspections as soon as the work is ready. We give you a written timeline with the estimate, and we stick to the arrival windows we set.
It ranges from $38,000 for a basic living-space conversion to $130,000 for a full garage apartment above the garage. The number depends on size, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and finish level. We provide a written, line-item estimate before any work begins, and that number doesn’t change unless you change the scope. Call (361) 204-4652 for a free estimate on your specific garage.
Yes. We handle site prep, foundations, utility connections, and full interior build-outs for Mighty Buildings panelized units, Boxabl Casita installs, and Tuff Shed shells. If you have another prefab brand or a conventional stick-built garage, we can convert that too, and we’ll tell you straight which approach fits your Dallas lot and budget.
If you have an active problem like a garage roof leak, standing water, or electrical failure, call (361) 204-4652 and a live person answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We’ll dispatch someone to assess the immediate issue and prevent further damage. For new conversion projects, we schedule site visits within a few days of your call.
Every project includes our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If any part of the work fails within 365 days from completion, we return and fix it free. That covers workmanship, installed materials, and the systems we build: framing, drywall, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, and finishes. It’s not a verbal assurance; it’s a written guarantee delivered with your final walkthrough.
Clear the garage of vehicles and stored items before we start, because we need full access to the slab, walls, and ceiling. If you have a home alarm system or anything attached to the garage walls, flag it during the walkthrough so we can disconnect and reinstall it properly. The best preparation is a clear list of how you want to use the space, and we’ll handle the rest. Call (361) 204-4652 to schedule your free walkthrough.
Schedule Your Garage Conversion Contractor Service in Dallas Today
You’ll get a written price, a defined arrival window, and a written guarantee before a single nail is driven. That’s The Kingswell Way, and it’s how we’ve built garage conversions across Dallas since 2010. Call (361) 204-4652 now for a free, no-obligation estimate. A live person answers, we’ll schedule the walkthrough, and you’ll have a real number in writing before you decide anything.
Written by Russ Delmar, Owner at Lodgewick ADU Dallas, serving Dallas since 2010.
