Unsexy but Necessary: The Real Prep Behind Our Garage Makeover

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It’s FINALLY time to remodel this garage workshop and turn it into a space that actually works for us. Before we could jump into any of the exciting stuff, we had to start with the least glamorous step of all: clearing out the garage completely. If you’ve ever used your garage as a catch-all for everything, you already know this part takes way longer than expected, but it’s a must if you want a fresh start.

Tyler tore out the workbench he built when we first moved into this house back in 2018. It definitely did its job for a while, but since everything was already cleared out, it felt like the right time to start fresh. While he was at it, he decided to tackle the sprinkler system wiring, which, surprise surprise, was a mess thanks to the very questionable builder install. Let’s just say the wiring situation left a lot to be desired… thanks, DR Horton 🙃

They had the sprinkler box mounted high, with the wiring running down a pipe and straight into the drywall in the messiest way possible. It was one of those things you don’t really notice until everything is torn apart, and then you can’t unsee it. The stuff you see on the wall to the left is leftover epoxy from Tyler’s old workbench; he added it back then as a protective coating.

That tube was barely secured at all, it went into the drywall super loosely, straight out through the exterior wall, through the brick, and into another tube on the outside that was just as loose. You could literally pull it right off with your hands. Not exactly what you want when it comes to wiring, and definitely something we wanted to fix the right way while the walls were still open.

He planned on ditching the tube altogether, dropping the wiring behind the drywall and replacing it with an access panel door and frame instead, which will make the wiring actually accessible (and a whole lot cleaner-looking). It’s one of those small changes that doesn’t seem exciting now, but will make a huge difference once everything is finished and buttoned up.

He labeled each wire first (because future us will absolutely appreciate that), then pulled everything back through the tube. Once it was out, you could literally see straight through the hole to the outside of the house. It was one of those moments where you’re equal parts glad you found it and shocked it was ever done that way in the first place.

After he got the wiring pulled out, he wasn’t quite ready to fix it just yet. First up, we had a LOT of drywall to repair. And by “we,” I obviously mean he 😅. He used DryDex to fill all the nail holes and even tackled a larger damaged area on his side of the garage so everything would be smooth and ready for paint.

Lots of spackle meant lots of sanding… which he also took care of. I normally do more of the hands-on work around here, but I was away on a flight attendant trip while he was knee-deep in garage prep mode. He knocked all of this out so we could stay on schedule and get the garage floors epoxied, more on that in the next post. 😉 When I got home from my trip he was just finishing up the sanding so we could get the walls painted.

But before any of that, he made sure to show the internet all of my “artwork” on the garage floor 😂. You know… from the times I set projects directly on the concrete and spray painted them without putting anything down first. In my mind, it was just the garage, who cares?! Meanwhile, it absolutely drove him crazy. One of the stains was from an entire can of stain spilling everywhere (that one was definitely an accident), but either way, the floor had seen some things.

This is the look he gives me when he knows he’s about to be doing most of the work 😂, like figuring out how to use our new paint sprayer, or painting the entire garage himself with said paint sprayer… because he can reach better. I’ll take it!

He also taped off everything while I was gone on my trip. Every wall, edge, and surface was prepped and ready to go when I got back. He was clearly on a mission and very determined to get this garage makeover officially started, and honestly, I wasn’t mad about coming home to all that prep already done, I HATE prep work!

Then he figured out the paint sprayer… because he actually reads the directions 😅. I, on the other hand, prefer the “press buttons and hope for the best” method, which drives him absolutely insane. This sprayer is super fancy, though, and once he had it dialed in, it made total sense why he wanted to do it right. Graco seriously makes the best paint sprayers, and this one definitely lived up to the hype. It’s also a good idea to read the directions on something like this because it was expensive and we want to really take care of it so it lasts a long time!

He got it all set up and running, then did a few test sprays to make sure everything was dialed in.

We knew we’d need masks for this part, but we definitely didn’t expect that much paint to be floating around in the air after just a few test sprays. So we both masked up for the rest of it, because breathing in paint mist was not on the garage makeover to-do list.

I mostly stood by and offered moral support 😂. I did grab the sprayer for a few test sprays myself, but I’ll be honest, I also have the Graco battery-operated sprayer and while it’s amazing, it’s heavy to hold for long periods of time. This was one of those moments where height really mattered. He can reach the ceiling without even thinking about it, and at 4’11”, I would’ve been dragging a step ladder around the entire garage just to keep up.

One quick tip if you’re painting a large space like this: take a light with you and shine it across the walls from different angles as you go. It makes it so much easier to spot missed areas or spots that need another coat before everything dries. Especially when there is no natural lighting coming in the space.

This is the paint we used, but learn from our mistake here: if you have exposed drywall like this, I highly recommend using a separate drywall primer first. We went with a paint-and-primer-in-one, and… we’ve definitely had to learn the hard way.

If you put painter’s tape on the paint now, it peels the paint right off because we didn’t use the right primer first, which is beyond annoying. At this point, I’m not really sure there’s a great fix for it, we’re just being extra careful moving forward. Another reminder that prep (and priming) really does matter, even when you’re tempted to skip a step to save time.

Also, for reference, it took five gallons to cover all three full walls and the ceiling. Also worth noting, using a paint sprayer uses a lot more paint than rolling, but it is SO much faster, which honestly made it worth it for a space this big.

Tyler did an amazing job, and by the end of it, he was absolutely covered in paint 😂. One of those “you can tell someone worked hard because they’re wearing half the project” situations. Totally worth it, though, because the garage finally stopped looking so ragged.

But seriously… look how good it looks! SO much better than staring at raw drywall and mud everywhere. Even just getting paint on the walls made a huge difference and instantly made the garage feel cleaner, brighter, and way more finished. It finally started to feel like a space we could actually build on.

Also, before we painted, he accused me of spray painting a mirror on the wall without covering anything 😅. I had to remind him that it was way up by the ceiling… which means there’s no way I could’ve reached it in the first place. Nice try.

And the funniest part? After we (okay, he) painted, you could still kind of see it faintly through the paint.

Now, back to that sprinkler wiring, once the painting was done, he finally got the cover door installed and everything properly sorted out. It looks so much cleaner and more intentional now, instead of that awkward, messy setup we started with. One of those small fixes that makes a big difference in how finished the garage feels.

He was also way too excited about using Wago lever nuts instead of the typical wire nuts for the wiring 😂. But honestly, I get it, these make everything so much cleaner, easier to work with, and way less annoying if you ever need to make changes later. Once you use them, it’s hard to go back.

After that, we cleared out the rest of the stuff from our garage and moved it all into our neighbor’s garage for a few days. Tyler basically bribed him for temporary storage by fixing his garage door that had been broken for months. A fair trade if you ask me, and it worked, because suddenly we had an empty garage and a very happy neighbor.

Next up on the to-do list: installing the new garage lights we ordered, and I am so excited about these. They’re fun and super bright, which means I’ll actually be able to see what I’m doing in here no matter the time of day. Our old garage lights seriously left a lot to be desired, so this is one of those upgrades that’s going to make a huge difference for working out here long-term.

We started by laying everything out on the floor first so we could figure out the shape we wanted. They snap together with these little plastic connectors on the ends of each light, which makes it really easy to play around with the layout and customize the hexagon design before committing to anything on the ceiling. Definitely recommend doing this step first, it saved a lot of guesswork later.

While Tyler was doing that, I was painting the part of the drywall above the garage that we couldn’t get to with the paint sprayer.

Once we had a game plan for the lighting, Tyler and our tall neighbor, Shane, got to work installing them on the ceiling. These lights are super lightweight and honestly way easier to install than we expected. They did come with drywall anchors, but since they weigh almost nothing, we ended up just screwing them directly into the drywall and skipped the anchors altogether. They feel plenty secure, definitely not going anywhere unless someone actively tried to rip them down.

Tyler hardwired them right into the ceiling where our old light used to be, which made everything feel clean and intentional instead of adding another cord or outlet situation. Although, these do have the option of plugging them in. It was a super straightforward swap and instantly made the garage feel super cool!

And they turned out SO good and SO bright 🤩. Like… instantly transform-the-space bright. They were such a hit that our neighbors all came over to check them out once they were installed. This has easily been one of the most asked-about parts of our entire garage build, and I get why, good lighting makes everything better, especially in a workspace like this.

We were cracking up once the sun went down because from across the street, the lights were SO bright you could barely even see into the garage on camera. It basically looked like a glowing spaceship 😂. Definitely overkill in the best way, and proof that the lighting upgrade was 100% worth it.

Then we had a little fun with the photo I took 😅. I couldn’t resist adding Clark Griswold out front like he was about to plug in Christmas lights for the house. Honestly, with how bright the garage was glowing, it felt very on brand, and it made us laugh way harder than it probably should have.

We had the garage floor scheduled to be epoxied, but since we still had a few days before that happened, I got busy planning out the cabinet build. I used painter’s tape on the walls to map everything out, which really helped visualize the layout and make sure the spacing and proportions felt right before we committed to building anything.

Here’s Tyler’s side:

Then my side:

But the painter’s tape didn’t stick very well at all 🙄. Lesson learned: never buy off-brand painter’s tape. It kept peeling off the walls, which made planning a little more annoying than it needed to be, but we still got a rough idea of the layout, and at least now I know where not to cut corners next time 😂.

Next up, the guys are here to epoxy the garage floor, so don’t miss it! This isn’t going to be your average garage floor epoxy situation… we may have something special up our sleeves 😉. Stay tuned because this is where things really start getting fun!