I Want to Insulate & Drywall My Garage to Turn It Into a Sun Room

Plan Insulation

• Sun room space can be very informal. You can install larger windows or a wall of glass to fit the space -- even if the flooring is imperfect. Woven grass rugs, outdoor furniture and lots of plants can fill the room. What's critical to the design is well-planned insulation so that sunlight doesn't overheat the area and plants don't freeze on winter nights.

Design Airtight Walls

• French doors from close-out sales or insulated glass panels can fill up side walls. You will need to construct framing from wood or metal to support glass areas. Learning the process of creating framework to keep out air leakage is important. An airtight room allows for more glass without sacrificing energy loss. You will need some form of heating and cooling in most situations, but air escaping around windows and doors will drive up energy costs.

Install Framing Correctly

• Wood framing will hold insulation for all side walls. Roll fiberglass insulation, for example, will fit between the studs. You will nail the drywall over the frame work. If your garage is large, you can install deeper studs to hold deeper insulation. You can lay insulation in attic areas between floor joists, but you will need a ceiling of drywall in place to hold insulation laid between attic floor joists. Blown insulation can work as well in attic areas.

Design Room Coloring

• Covering walls with drywall is an inexpensive way to create an attractive space. You can paint the drywall white or add various paint colors, depending on how light the room is. If a large glass section replacing the main roll-up garage door offers plenty of light, you can soften the light with darker floor tiles or darker wall paint. You may want to use drywall that is moisture resistant in case you want many plants or a hot tub in the sunroom.

Cover Main Roll-up Door

• The main garage door will need disguising from the curbside. The windows or siding you install to replace the roll-up door should look original to the house. You can add a row of French doors with light transom sections above them, for example. Sketch the front of the house, so your design can be fine tuned to look appropriate. Take out concrete or asphalt paving, so the driveway doesn't give away the fact that the sunroom is built in former garage space.