Worked case: outfitting a bare three-car tract garage on a budget — steps and cost

The scenario

Picture a one-story house from the early 2000s in a tract with a homeowners association. The garage has three bays, bare taped drywall and one wire shelf, and it is full of boxes stacked three high.

The owners want an L-shape: the back wall and one side wall, about 32 feet in total, with the third bay left free for a work area. A ready-to-assemble system fits the budget, and it can be extended later with the same finish.

Murrieta's housing is young. More than half of the city's homes were built after the turn of the century, so a garage like this is not repairing an old room; it is turning an empty box into a working one. That makes the wall layout simple, and it makes the plan for the panel and heater the first thing drawn.

Cabinets come in several widths, and the corner is planned so that the base and wall cabinets meet cleanly. The wire shelf is removed and hauled, since the new run takes its place.

The association's CC&Rs decide on contractor hours, parking and trash. The owners read them first, and the installer is told the rules before a date is set.

The garage in this example is plain: bare drywall, a water heater in one corner, a panel on the side wall and wire shelves the builder left. The owners choose a ready-to-assemble system to keep the first price low, then add a second phase once they see how the garage is used. The association asks for notice of work hours and where the delivery truck will park, and the installer plans the days around that, with the garage door left open for ventilation during the work.

What the job involves

1. The wire shelf and its anchors are removed and hauled away; wall holes are filled.
2. Studs are located; a level line is snapped at the cabinet height.
3. Base cabinets are assembled, set on the line and joined; wall cabinets are hung on a mounting rail.
4. LED strips are clipped under the wall cabinets and plugged into an existing outlet.
5. Doors are adjusted; the panel, heater and house door zones are checked as clear.

Materials and hardware

• Stud finder, laser level and chalk line
• Cordless drill and driver bits
• Mounting rail and structural screws
• Trash bags and a hand truck for the old shelf

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Remove and haul away old shelving — +$100–$350. The old shelving is removed and taken away.
• Under-cabinet LED lighting — +$150–$450. Plug-in strips only; hardwired power is an electrician's job.

Why it is done this way

The budget tier is where the ready-to-assemble rate sits. The calculator multiplies it by 32 feet, adds the cost of hanging wall cabinets, and then adds two flat options.

A bare garage often costs less per foot to prepare than an old one, since there is nothing to patch, but the length of the run still drives the total.

A builder-grade garage is a blank wall with a water heater and an outlet or two, which is easier to plan than an older garage full of shelves. The first decisions are which bay stays for a car, which wall gets the tall storage, and whether the floor is coated before the cabinets go in; the coating maker's cure time then sets the install date, and the cabinets are lifted into place rather than slid across the fresh surface.

What would change the price

• The owners move up to steel or melamine boxes.
• A bench top or a rack is added.
• The run is longer because the third bay is also filled.
• Contents must be moved out and back for the work.
• An association asks for a particular schedule.