Options for my garage walls?

[1150A]

Recently moved into a new home we just had built. It is not huge.. 26x18. I have realized it's not as simple as throwing paint over these walls. What are some more budget friendly options to pretty up my walls? Got quotes around ~$1000 to get the walls ready for me to paint.

Unfortunately, I also now live in a colder climate and it will not be a consistent 50F+ until about June. Would be great to get these walls covered sooner than later.

I do work on motorcycles, basic auto stuff, and regular work around the home. Front facing wall will have my work bench/cabinets. Left and Right side mostly motorcycles, maybe wall cabinets/shelf up higher to conserve space.

 

[Mikes61]

If you are going to do cabinets, go high with them. Cabinets will take away part of the walls and ceiling that have to be textured, primed and painted.

Id use a light colored paint, Swiss Coffee maybe, when you do paint.

 

[Montauket]

I’d get a couple more quotes on that a grand is a little rich.

 

[Notgrownup]

buy a harbor freight sprayer, get some paint ,tape the holes and go at it ,with some good quality paint primer combination tinted to what you want You can get that done in an afternoon. You can go over the trim after. Get some cheap kitchen cabinets from Lowe’s hung up high for storage. Same with lowers but get a butcher block top if you can swing it. Or just a good quality plywood Top.
Paint it now while it’s still in unfinished state,

 

[Mike65]

I would do as Notgrownup suggested, buy or rent a sprayer. Make sur you use a primer on the bare sheetrock first, then get the brightest white interior paint you can find & paint it. The white will help make it lighter in the garage. Then hang your cabinets.

 

[racecougar]

I have realized it's not as simple as throwing paint over these walls. What are some more budget friendly options to pretty up my walls? Got quotes around ~$1000 to get the walls ready for me to paint.

What do you mean? What did that quote entail? Are you looking for a level 4 or 5 finish or something?

 

[1150A]

What do you mean? What did that quote entail? Are you looking for a level 4 or 5 finish or something?

Just an email quote of me sending the photo above and asking what it would cost to have these walls ready so I can paint them.

one guy said '2 coats and texture for $700'

another guy said '$1200 labor and materials for smooth finish'

I'm really just wanting to paint the walls and not have it look too terrible. I've been told if I just put paint on the walls as they are right now, I'll see all those tape marks. I'll get a few more quotes..

 

[Zeke]

One more coat of topping compound and texture would be 'ready to paint'. You can roll on a heavy coat and make some of your own texture in terms of roller stipple. I have a dozen spray guns from an airless, a handheld airless, a turbine HVLP, a conventional pressure pot , 6 guns for auto and furniture and some gravity fed HVLP's. I use a roller a lot.

Spray guns are useful, don't get me wrong. But they are seldom used optimally.

 

[PWC Repair]

Is it going to be a 'Garage Mahal'? If not, thick nap roller and paint!

 

[rayra]

I’d get a couple more quotes on that a grand is a little rich.

A grand is a straight up ripoff, for the drywalled garage pictured. It's ALREADY 'ready for paint'. All the OP needs to do is coat it with primer or even a combo paint.

As to the walls, I suggest a french cleat setup, which will allow easy rearrangement in the future.

All I did was split some 2x4s on an angle, screwed the bottom halves into the studs in the wall and set the upper halves in place before screwing various cabinets to the upper halves. The various cabinets just lift off.

 

[Kaizen]

Sacremento you call cold????? lol
You should be able to put a propane torpedo heater in there in get it hot fast. I just painted some metal in my garage when it was 40 degrees.
However I will disagree with how "flat" that drywall is. Looks like just one coat to me to cover nails and tape. Just paint on it you will see all the tape humps. Texture i guess will help but man I hate that stuff. I'm guessing from your question you have not done much in ways of sanding drywall or painting. That thousand to me sounds like 2 days work with 2 days return to sand so its not like its a one day affair.....esp with no heat.
If you're going to have the walls covered why not go to home depot and get some paint and roller? Prime it again and then color. A flat paint hides nicely. Heck i'm 54 and i could roll that out in a couple hours without breaking a sweat. Great project to cut your diy teeth on

 

[1150A]

Sacremento you call cold????? lol

Lol, I need to update that. In Northern Idaho now! I do agree that the tape looks a little 'obvious' already in some areas more than others so it'll be hard for paint to really hide it.

Yeah no experience sanding drywall or painting anything other than normal interior walls. I thought I could DIY it but been reading online that it can be a tough job so on the fence.

Curious if a dark or lighter flat paint would hide it more..

 

[Zeke]

The prices you are getting seem CA prices, not Idaho. You might just keep looking.

Advice to anyone. if you check for references, ask for the last job done. Any contractor can cherry pick his references and add his relatives that don't have the same last name. If the reference is more than 2 weeks old, it might be a shill. Might. Just sayin'.

RE: color of flat paint. Every room has a 'sight' wall. IOW, a wall that leads to a light source. No concealing defects there.

 

[demulsion]

Typical newer home garages are what they call "fire taped", just a rough coat of mud to stop any air getting through the cracks. As you can see, definitely not something you just want to slap some paint on. Finishing it really well can be a tough diy job, but just making it better might still be doable if you're willing to give it a try. Once the seams are sanded and another coat put on to smooth them out a little father, you can thin the drywall mud down a bit and put it on the walls with a paint roller. That helps cover blemishes.

Another option for covering it could be thin plywood. Maybe installed horizontally, and a piece of trim covering the seam to make it look a little more classy. Or figure out the cost of going that route, and then see how close it comes to some more bids from drywall finishers?

 

[CraigStu]

Look at paint prices and figure out how much it may cost to prime and paint it yourself. Then wallk through L and HD and any local yards at wall paneling. I built a lockable room in the corner of our basement. A 14ft wide wall. I found this;

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oak-47-75-in-x-7-98-ft-Embossed-White-Oak-Wall-Panel/1000937538

4 sheets for $100 and a $16 tube of fast attach adhesive. I had that wall covered in about 2 hours. Add in some prepainted white 1x4s for baseboard and door trim, which I would have had to buy whether the wall was painted or paneled, and I have a nice looking wall. BTW, I'd roll some primer and white paint on the ceiling as is then do the walls.

 

[Kaizen]

Lol, I need to update that. In Northern Idaho now! I do agree that the tape looks a little 'obvious' already in some areas more than others so it'll be hard for paint to really hide it.

Yeah no experience sanding drywall or painting anything other than normal interior walls. I thought I could DIY it but been reading online that it can be a tough job so on the fence.

Curious if a dark or lighter flat paint would hide it more..

like anything else it takes practice to get the touch. yes it is hard work. but half the work is already done for you. now you just need some mud and 2 drywall knives. Really depends on how much you want it to be perfect. Any shade of paint that is flat reflects less light and therefore less imperfections. That color you put above in a flat will be nice. you say you can roll on paint. do that first with a primer so its all one color. Then decide from there. we are hear for you if you need drywall advice. def do it before you fill the garage up.

 

[Richard D]

Is it a garage or a living room? I'd cover every available space with shelves. That's how my garage is and I still don't have enough shelves!

 

[duneslider]

I was going for a 25' garage so I just banged out a quick coat over the fire tape and called it a day. From the street it looks great but inside it looks like I painted over the second coat (because I did) and that is totally fine for me.

However, I have had luck with talking to the mud guys on job sites and gotten them to bang out garages for cash in the evenings. They are much faster than me and for pretty cheap they will stop by and put a quick coat on if I have materials on hand (especially if they are already in the neighborhood).

 

[frankd]

I love my Proslat slat wall. Not exactly cheap though.
Also, Home Depot sells these 4x8 plastic wall panels for around $25 each. They're around 1/16 inches thick. I used them in my laundry room rather than finishing the drywall. Its fast, relatively cheap, and more durable and water resistant. Just glue right over the drywall (after priming first)

 

[tncatadjuster]

Another vote for do it yourself with a roller. Empty spaces are easy and fast.

 

[Higgins]

I would do as Notgrownup suggested, buy or rent a sprayer. Make sur you use a primer on the bare sheetrock first, then get the brightest white interior paint you can find & paint it. The white will help make it lighter in the garage. Then hang your cabinets.

I’d go with a gloss paint as it will reflect light back better than a flat, and is easier to clean!!?
As a FYI - look at all the HIGH end repair shops as they are all painted white !

 

[Joe Reed]

It's a garage.....
Slap some paint on the walls and be done with it. I prefer semi-gloss to high-gloss for the walls. Did mine years ago in paint supposedly for kitchens & baths....mildew resistant. I used a very light gray instead of white....still looks good.
By the time you get workbenches, shelves, cabinets signs and big stuff stored next to/hung on the walls you'll hardly notice the walls.

 

[CraigStu]

It's a garage.....
Slap some paint on the walls and be done with it. I prefer semi-gloss to high-gloss for the walls. Did mine years ago in paint supposedly for kitchens & baths....mildew resistant. I used a very light gray instead of white....still looks good.
By the time you get workbenches, shelves, cabinets signs and big stuff stored next to/hung on the walls you'll hardly notice the walls.

I did similar in my previous garage. A very light grey. I didn't want grey, I just wanted to avoid operating room white so I didn't need sunglasses inside. The grey was light enough that I used it on the ceiling too. You know how much work it saves when you don't need to transition from a color wall to a white ceiling? Tons.

 

[rharman]

I’d go with a gloss paint as it will reflect light back better than a flat, and is easier to clean!!?
As a FYI - look at all the HIGH end repair shops as they are all painted white !

Gloss paint is going to magnify any imperfection on the wall surface. I get it for reflectivity and cleaning but not a good choice for someone with no experience.

 

[i4ni]

Watch some you tube videos on mudding joints and then buy a cheap texture gun and apply a light orange peal. It's pretty easy actually and you could do it for a $ hundred bucks or so over a weekend. Use a card board box to dial in the texture gun.

 

[rayra]

I cannot believe how much is being made out of painting a garage interior. It ain't rocket science. It certainly doesn't need to be pristine. IT'S A GARAGE, not your Living room. Treat it that way. Don't hold a garage to a false and unnecessary standard.

I also do enough work / projects / vehicle maintenance in my garages to know that dark paint is a terrible idea. 'Style' last.

Drywalling is not difficult, but it is easy to screw up for a first timer. Biggest key is the less mud you put on, the less mud you have to take off. And watch a few vids about progressing from narrower (spring steel) knives to wider. A few very simple techniques and anybody can do it well enough for a garage.

I've done a lot of remodeling and house flipping projects the last 20yrs+. Those two dust-filled photos are when I swore to never sand drywall again. I worked to get a lot better at skim coating and in recent years use more of a plastering technique and in general I don't sand **** anymore.

 

[mepstein]

$1k doesn’t sound bad for prep and paint. Good luck getting a real painter to spend the day at your house (and materials) for less.

 

[brothernov]

I'd be looking into plywood or ship lap or whatever under the assumption that It will be $1,000 cheaper

 

[LeonardY]

I'm shocked no one has suggested something like this. Slat wall and it's in Sacramento. $160 a 4x8 sheet if you can believe Facebook market place.

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This is GJ. Aren't we supposed to not read the OP post and give him other options?