Garage Conversion & ADU in Georgetown, TX: 2026 Costs
A two-car garage conversion in Georgetown generally lands in the $70k–$110k range once you add insulation, HVAC, a bathroom and real windows; a small detached ADU on its own slab usually starts around $180k and climbs from there with size and finish level. Either way, Home Remodel Pro gives you a fixed price in writing before anyone swings a hammer, and we handle the permit submittal. Below is how the money, the schedule and the city process actually break down.
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What a Garage Conversion Costs in Georgetown
The garage is already under roof and on a slab, which is why it's the cheapest square footage you'll ever add. But "already built" is misleading — a garage has no insulation in the walls, no conditioned air, a slab that sits a step below the house, and an overhead door opening that has to be framed, sheathed and finished to look like it was always a wall.
Price moves on three things: whether you add a bathroom, whether you add a kitchenette, and whether the space stays connected to the house or becomes a separate suite with its own entry. We write one fixed number that covers all of it.
- Office, gym or flex room, no plumbing: roughly $45k–$70k — insulation, drywall, flooring, mini-split, electrical, new window wall where the door was
- Guest suite with a full bathroom: roughly $70k–$110k — adds drain lines cut into the slab, vent stack, tile, vanity and fixtures
- Full ADU conversion with kitchenette, bath and private entry: $110k and up, depending on cabinetry, appliances and whether the slab needs raising
- Detached new-build ADU in the back yard: typically $180k+, since you're paying for foundation, framing, roof, siding and a new utility run
Detached ADU vs. Converting the Garage
If your goal is rental income or a long-term place for a parent, a detached unit on a Georgetown lot is usually worth the premium — it has its own address feel, its own utilities, and it doesn't cost you covered parking. If the goal is a home office, a teen suite or occasional guests, converting the existing garage gets you there for roughly half the money.
The practical question we ask first: where does the car go? Plenty of Georgetown neighborhoods, especially newer subdivisions off Williams Drive and Ronald Reagan, have HOA language about street parking and garage door appearance. We look at that before we design anything, because a conversion that violates your HOA rules is an expensive mistake to undo.
Permits and Inspections in Georgetown
Inside the Georgetown city limits, a garage conversion or an ADU is permitted through the City of Georgetown Planning and Development Department, and it is reviewed against the Unified Development Code — not Austin's rules. Zoning district, lot size, setbacks, maximum impervious cover and whether a second dwelling unit is allowed on your lot all get checked before a building permit is issued. If you're outside the city limits in unincorporated Williamson County, the review is different again and septic capacity becomes the governing issue for any added bedroom or bathroom.
We handle the submittal, the plan corrections and the inspection scheduling. Expect inspections at foundation or slab penetration, rough framing, rough electrical, rough plumbing, insulation, and final. Removing a garage door and converting the space also triggers an energy code review — insulation values in the walls and ceiling, and a conditioned-air source that actually meets code, not a space heater.
Plan on design and permitting running several weeks before demolition starts. That's deliberate. We don't open a wall until the permit is in hand and the drawings are approved, so the construction calendar we hand you is the one we build to.
How Long It Takes
Construction on an attached garage conversion typically runs 8 to 14 weeks once permits are issued — closer to 8 for a simple office, closer to 14 when you're cutting the slab for a bathroom and kitchenette. A detached ADU is a ground-up build and generally runs 5 to 8 months of construction, similar to a whole-home renovation, which we quote at 4 to 8 months.
For reference on the wet rooms inside those scopes: a bathroom alone is typically 3 to 5 weeks and a kitchen 6 to 10 weeks. Design and permitting sit in front of all of it.
How Our Fixed-Price Design-Build Process Works
Most Georgetown homeowners get burned by allowances and change orders, not by the base bid. We work differently. We design the unit, select every finish, price the whole scope, and hand you one number in a written contract. If we underestimated the drain run or the electrical panel upgrade, that's ours to absorb — not a surprise invoice in month three.
Our carpenters are in-house, not day-rate subs rotating through. That's how we can put a 5-year workmanship warranty behind the framing, the trim and the cabinetry. Financing is available if you'd rather not pull the full amount out of savings.
- Walkthrough and feasibility — zoning, setbacks, HOA, utility and panel capacity
- Design and finish selections, so nothing is left as an allowance
- Fixed price in writing, signed before demolition
- Permit submittal and plan review with the City of Georgetown or Williamson County
- Construction on a published calendar, with in-house carpenters
- Final inspection, walkthrough, and a 5-year workmanship warranty
Georgetown homeowners also ask
Can I legally rent out an ADU in Georgetown?
It depends on your zoning district and, separately, your HOA. Georgetown's Unified Development Code allows accessory dwelling units in certain districts with limits on size, height and setbacks, and short-term rental use has its own rules. We confirm what your specific lot permits during the feasibility walkthrough, before you spend money on design.
Do I need to raise the garage slab?
Usually yes, at least partially. Garage slabs are poured a step lower than the house and sloped toward the door for drainage. We either pour a leveling topping or build a framed, insulated floor over the slab. Both are in the fixed price — it isn't an add-on we discover later.
Will converting my garage hurt resale in Georgetown?
It can if it's done badly — a visible garage door opening filled in with mismatched siding reads as a DIY job to every buyer. Done right, with a window wall and siding that matches the house, plus a code-compliant bathroom and HVAC, it reads as finished square footage and appraises accordingly. Keeping off-street parking somewhere on the lot helps.
How much is the design and permit phase, and when do I pay?
Design and permitting are a defined phase with their own cost, paid before construction. That buys you approved drawings, selected finishes and a permit — and it's what lets us commit to a fixed construction price instead of a loose estimate that moves once walls are open.