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 Houston Homeowners
A garage conversion in Houston typically costs between $45,000 and $95,000 depending on square footage, current condition, and whether you’re adding a bathroom or kitchenette. Most projects take 6 to 10 weeks from permit approval to final inspection. At our Garage Conversion Contractor in Houston, we’ve been turning underused garages into livable space since 2010, and every project runs under The Kingswell Guarantee: a written price before work starts, a real arrival window, a clean job site, and a written guarantee on the finished build. If it’s not done right, we come back and make it right, free of charge, for 365 days. Call (361) 326-2313 to talk through your project with a live person.
Garage Conversion Permit
A Garage Conversion Permit is the City of Houston’s formal approval to change your garage from vehicle storage into conditioned living space, and you need one before any framing, electrical, or plumbing work begins. Houston requires permits for garage conversions because the city must verify that the new living space meets residential building code for egress, insulation, ventilation, and electrical load. Lodgewick ADU Houston handles the entire permit process for you, from drawings and submittal through the inspections and final sign-off, and our written price includes all permit fees, which in Houston typically run $1,800 to $4,500 depending on the scope of the conversion.
Why Permits Matter in Houston
Skipping the permit is the most expensive mistake a Houston homeowner can make on a garage conversion. Unpermitted work can block a future home sale, trigger fines from the city, and in some cases force you to tear out finished work so an inspector can see behind the walls. We pull permits on every single job because the Kingswell Guarantee includes doing it right the first time, not hiding work from the building department.
What We Handle for You
We prepare the site plan, floor plan, and structural drawings, submit them to Houston Permitting Center, and schedule every inspection from rough-in to final. You get a copy of the approved permit and the final inspection report in writing before we consider the job complete.
Garage Conversion to Living Space
A Garage Conversion to Living Space means transforming a standard two-car or single-car garage into a heated and cooled room that functions like the rest of your home, whether that’s a family room, home office, gym, or playroom. This is the right move when you need more square footage but don’t want to add on to the house or move, and in Houston it typically costs $45,000 to $75,000 for a finished conversion without a bathroom. Lodgewick ADU Houston handles everything from raising the floor to match your home’s interior height, to insulating and drywalling the walls, to installing HVAC, lighting, and flooring that blend with the rest of the house.
What Changes in the Build
Your garage slab sits lower than your home’s floor and slopes toward the door for drainage, so a proper conversion means leveling or building up that floor. We also replace the garage door opening with a framed wall and windows, and run new electrical circuits sized for living space rather than a garage’s single outlet and opener circuit.
Comfort and Climate
Houston’s heat and humidity make insulation and vapor barriers non-negotiable. We insulate the walls and ceiling to current code, seal the slab against moisture migration, and size the HVAC ducting or a mini-split so the new room actually holds temperature in August, which a garage’s original structure was never meant to do.
Garage to Bedroom Conversion
A Garage to Bedroom Conversion turns your garage into a code-compliant sleeping room with a closet, a window for emergency egress, and proper heating and cooling, and in Houston it runs $50,000 to $85,000 depending on whether you add an attached bathroom. This is the conversion Houston homeowners choose most often when an aging parent moves in, a teenager needs space, or a growing family needs another bedroom without moving to the suburbs. Lodgewick ADU Houston specializes in these conversions and builds them to the same bedroom standards as the rest of your home: egress window, smoke and carbon monoxide detection tied to the house, and a closet so it legally counts as a bedroom when you sell.
Egress and Safety Requirements
A bedroom in Houston must have at least one window large enough for a firefighter in full gear to enter through, and your garage’s original side door does not count. We frame and install a code-sized egress window in the right location, and we tie the room’s smoke and CO detectors into your home’s existing system rather than leaving them as standalone battery units.
Adding a Bathroom
If the new bedroom is for an aging parent or a rental, an attached bathroom changes the whole project and typically adds $18,000 to $30,000. That cost covers the plumbing rough-in through the slab, a shower or tub, a vanity, and a properly vented exhaust fan, all permitted and inspected.
Garage Conversion ADU
A Garage Conversion ADU is an accessory dwelling unit built inside your existing garage footprint: a fully independent small home with its own entrance, kitchenette or full kitchen, bathroom, and sometimes its own utility connections. In Houston, a garage conversion ADU runs $65,000 to $110,000, and it’s the fastest way to add rental income or a long-term guest suite because the shell, foundation, and roof already exist. our Garage Conversion Contractor in Channelview has been building ADUs as part of the Kingswell family since 2010, and we treat every garage ADU as a separate dwelling, not a room addition, which changes how we run electrical, plumbing, and even the address and utility setup.
ADU vs. Living Space
An ADU must have a kitchen or kitchenette and its own bathroom, and it needs a separate entrance so the unit can be rented or occupied independently. That contrast matters because a garage conversion to living space connects to the main house as new square footage, while an ADU keeps the two dwellings legally and functionally separate.
Rental Income in Houston
Houston homeowners convert garages to ADUs most often to rent them out, and a well-built one-bedroom ADU in neighborhoods like Montrose, The Heights, or Meyerland can rent for $1,100 to $1,600 a month. We build garage ADUs with durable finishes, sound-rated walls between the unit and the main house, and separate metering where the local utility allows, because those details directly affect what you can charge and how long a tenant stays.
Garage Apartment Conversion
A Garage Apartment Conversion takes an existing detached or attached garage and creates a self-contained apartment above it, beside it, or inside it, complete with a full kitchen, bathroom, and private entrance. Houston homeowners choose this route when they want a true rental unit or a multigenerational setup, and the cost typically lands between $70,000 and $115,000 for a full one-bedroom apartment. Lodgewick ADU Houston handles the structural work, the plumbing and electrical service upgrades, and the finish work, and we tie the new apartment into your existing utilities or run new service drops where the property needs it.
Detached vs. Attached Garages
A detached garage conversion gives the apartment real privacy and often rents for more because there’s no shared wall with the main house. An attached garage apartment costs a bit less to build since one wall already exists, but we isolate that shared wall acoustically and fire-rate it to code so both households stay comfortable and safe.
Utilities and Service Upgrades
Most Houston garages were never wired or plumbed for a full apartment, so expect a service panel upgrade and possibly a new water line from the street. We include those upgrades in our written price up front, because a price that changes when the electrician shows up is exactly the kind of surprise the Kingswell Guarantee exists to prevent.
Brands We Service
Lodgewick ADU Houston works hands-on with Dvele and Mighty Buildings prefab systems, two brands we’ve specified on garage conversion ADUs across the Houston area. Dvele’s panelized construction suits Houston lots with tight access where bringing in a crane or a wide load isn’t practical, and we’ve managed their foundation and utility integrations on both attached and detached conversions. Mighty Buildings’ panel system offers a faster shell timeline, which works well when a homeowner needs the unit finished before a family member arrives.
We also build with Boxabl for Houston homeowners who want a factory-finished core unit and a fast site set. Boxabl’s folding module ships compact, unfolds on site, and we run the site work, foundation, utility hookups, and finishing that turn the module into a permitted, rentable apartment. Whether you have a specific brand in mind or no idea where to start, we’ll match the material and build method to your lot, your timeline, and your budget, and the recommendation goes in your written proposal before you commit.
Signs You Need a Pro Right Now
- Your garage has a slab crack wider than a quarter inch. Houston’s clay soil expands and contracts through wet and dry seasons, and a moving slab will crack tile, split drywall, and pull door frames out of square after the conversion is done. We evaluate the slab before we quote so you’re not paying for finishes that will fail.
- You see water staining on the garage walls or floor after rain. A garage that floods or wicks moisture will carry that problem into the new living space unless the drainage outside and the moisture barrier inside are corrected first. We inspect the grade, the gutters, and the slab before any framing starts.
- Your garage electrical panel is full. A conversion ADU or apartment needs dedicated circuits for a kitchen, bathroom, HVAC, and laundry, and an already-maxed panel will need a service upgrade. We size the panel for the finished space and include that cost in the written price, not as a change order later.
- The ceiling is too low for code. Houston requires 7 feet of ceiling height in habitable rooms, and many older garages fall short once you account for insulation and flooring. We measure early and tell you plainly whether the conversion is feasible, which beats paying for drawings on a space that won’t pass.
- You’re planning to rent the unit eventually. A garage apartment built without a separate entrance, separate metering, or proper fire separation will be harder to rent and harder to insure. We build rental-ready units from day one so you’re not paying for a retrofit in two years.
Our Process, Step by Step
- 1
Site visit and measurements. We come to your Houston property, measure the garage, photograph the existing conditions, and check the slab, the roof structure, the electrical panel, and the water and sewer locations. This visit is free, and it’s the only way to give you a real price instead of a range.
- 2
Written scope and price. Within a few days you get a line-item proposal that lists every phase of the conversion, the materials we plan to use, the permit fee, and the total price in writing. That price does not change unless you change the scope, and we put that commitment on paper in the proposal.
- 3
Permits and drawings. We prepare the plans and submit them to the City of Houston, then schedule every inspection as the work progresses. You’ll know the permit number and the inspection schedule before demolition starts.
- 4
Build and daily cleanup. Our crew is background-checked, uniformed, and on site during the arrival window we give you. Every day ends with the job site swept and the tools put away, because a garage conversion is disruptive enough without tripping over debris in your own driveway.
- 5
Final walkthrough and written guarantee. We walk the finished space with you, note any items to correct, and hand you your written 365-Day Done Right Promise before we call the project complete. If anything fails within that year, we come back and fix it on our dime.
How Much Does Garage Conversion Contractor Cost in Houston?
A typical garage conversion to living space in Houston runs $45,000 to $75,000, a garage to bedroom conversion runs $50,000 to $85,000, and a full garage conversion ADU or apartment runs $65,000 to $115,000. The biggest cost drivers are whether you add a bathroom or kitchen, whether the existing slab and roof need structural repair, and how far the utilities must run from the main house to the garage. A detached garage at the back of a deep lot costs more to connect than an attached garage sharing a wall.
You avoid overpaying by getting a written, line-item price before work starts and by asking any contractor to explain exactly what’s included in their number. A low bid that excludes the permit, the electrical panel upgrade, or the insulation will balloon once the job is underway. Our free estimate includes a full scope review, a written proposal, and a fixed price you can hold in your hand and compare against any other bid. Call (361) 326-2313 and we’ll schedule the site visit.
Our Service Area Near Houston
Lodgewick ADU Houston serves homeowners across the Houston metro, including Spring, Katy, Sugar Land, Richmond, Missouri City, Jersey Village, Channelview, Friendswood, Deer Park, Alvin, and Dickinson. Most garage conversion projects take 6 to 10 weeks from permit approval to final inspection, and we schedule the site visit within a few days of your call. If you’re outside the city, ask about our Garage Conversion Contractor in Spring and Garage Conversion Contractor in Katy pages for service details in those areas.
Serving Houston, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Houston 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 Houston
A Garage Conversion Contractor - Galena Park handles the entire process of turning a garage into livable space, from permits and drawings through framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and finishes. Lodgewick ADU Houston does all of this in-house with our own crews, and we hand you a written price and a written guarantee before we start. Call (361) 326-2313 for a free site visit.
Most garage conversions in Houston take 6 to 10 weeks from the day the permit is approved to the final inspection. Adding a bathroom or full kitchen, or making structural repairs to the slab or roof, will push the timeline toward the longer end. We give you a schedule in writing with your proposal, including the arrival window for our crew each day.
A garage conversion in Houston runs $45,000 to $115,000 depending on the scope: living space conversions start around $45,000, bedroom conversions around $50,000, and full ADU or apartment conversions run $65,000 to $115,000. Your written proposal will show the exact line items, the permit fees, and the total price before you sign anything. Estimates are free, so call (361) 326-2313 to get a real number.
Yes, we have hands-on experience with Dvele, Mighty Buildings, and Boxabl, and we’ll recommend the right system for your lot and budget after seeing the site. The brand choice affects the timeline and the foundation work, so we walk you through the trade-offs in plain terms before you commit. Your proposal will name the system and the exact scope of our work alongside it.
Most garage conversions are planned projects, not emergency repairs, but if a family member is arriving sooner than expected we can often phase the work to get a bedroom functional first. The honest answer is that permits and inspections in Houston take the time they take, and we won’t promise a date the city won’t honor. Call us and we’ll tell you straight what’s possible on your timeline.
The 365-Day Done Right Promise is our written guarantee that if anything in your garage conversion isn’t done right, we come back and make it right at no charge for a full year after completion. It covers the workmanship and the materials we installed, and the promise is handed to you in writing at the final walkthrough. No fine print games, just a commitment from Russ Delmar and the Lodgewick ADU Houston team.
Clear the garage of vehicles, stored items, and anything mounted on the walls or ceiling, because once demolition starts the space needs to be empty for safety. We’ll protect the driveway and any path from the street to the garage, and we’ll tell you exactly when to have the space cleared so you’re not moving things out weeks early. The rest is on us.
Schedule Your Garage Conversion Contractor Service in Houston Today
If your Houston garage is sitting empty or full of boxes instead of adding square footage to your home, call (361) 326-2313 for a free, no-obligation site visit and a written price. Russ Delmar and the Garage Conversion Contractor - Pasadena team will put the scope, the schedule, and the total cost in writing before you commit. Every project runs under the Kingswell Guarantee, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise comes with every build.
Written by Russ Delmar, Owner at Lodgewick ADU Houston, serving Houston and the surrounding area since 2010.
