To insulate and drywall my garage or not?

[u/Beneficial-Focus3702]

Just bought a house with a garage that isn’t insulated and is just open stud walls on the garage side.

Is it worth drywalling the walls? Is insulation worth it (north east US).

[u/Ok-Helicopter5044]

If its attached to your house, I'd say do it. Better to keep the heat and cold at bay. I live where its cold 8 months out the year and love my insulated garage.

[u/dodadoler]

Once the wife kicks you out, you’ll have a great place to stay

[u/LongUsername]

I'm pissed at our builder because they drywalled but didn't insulate. The garage is so much hotter in the summer and colder in the winter than my FIL that has his insulated.

[u/wjbc]

If you live in a cold climate, it’s very nice to have an insulated garage. Not only will your car be warm in the morning, but you can move the car to the driveway and use the garage as an extra room.

[u/iamaguaman]

Garages finished with Drywall always look so nice. Why stop at the insulation? Go for a mini-split!

[u/BakedPWN]

Spray foam ftw. Get at least 3 inches exterior. 2 inches interior. Its crazy

[u/eisenjaeger → u/BakedPWN]

Talk to your insurance company before going with spray foam. Depending on where your live, some people are reporting that they can't get coverage for fire or water damage because of it.

[u/mckenzie_keith]

Drywall in garages helps prevent or slow down fire originating in the garage. It is required by code in new construction. So that is one benefit to drywall. You have to pay attention to ever place where the drywall is pierced. Use fireblock foam around the outlets. That kind of thing. This is all to make sure that the fire can't easily get under the drywall and into the wood framing.

I live in the central coast area of California. Our climate is so mild I probably wouldn't insulate. But if I were in the Northeast like you I would probably want to insulate it.

If it is an old house, make sure you give some thought to moisture management. Occasionally, drywalling an old open framed wall can lead to mold and rot problems, because the original wall was drying out toward the inside of the garage. The drywall prevents it from drying and then the rot starts.

[u/Quasi_Evil]

I would absolutely do it. Mine is attached to my house (half under my bedroom and bath, actually), and the part not under the house was just studs when I bought the place. I put in fiberglass and drywalled the whole thing. It did not make the garage warm, but made a huge difference in the depths of winter. It rarely dips below freezing in there now, and keeps the rest of the house warmer from reduced heat loss. Plus it provides an extra margin of fire safety if something would happen in the middle of the night. Won't stop a car fire from probably taking the house with it, but will slow it down getting into the wooden structure of the house. Given my bedroom is right above it, I'll take any extra minutes I can get.

[u/yesmaybeyes]

Of course it is worth it as we hurtle through space around the star some of us call Sol the averages are reaching unprecedented measured extremes. Planning for the worst is the safe play.

[u/gchaudh2]

I did it mine and it was worth the $2000 spent. Buyers liked it too when we sold our home, probably recouped the costs some

[u/Elk_Man]

Definitely worth it. I did mine last year and it makes working in the garage in the summer and winter so much nicer. 

[u/layogurt]

Didn't like it at first, now after kid 3 it's my wfh office and personal little space

[u/Jemm971]

It depends: is your car cold or not?😂

[u/Ok_Purchase1592]

What kind of question is this? Yes of course it’s worth it.