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The Department of Energy website has a ton of info on how to insulate your house, so the garage wouldn't be too much different. They will also tell you how much insulation you need - but R19 in the walls and R49 or so on the ceiling is standard for the northern half of the US.

The place you may run into trouble is the depth of the framing - studs, rafters, etc. To fit in enough insulation (and I'm thinking fiberglass batts), the framing needs to be about 2x6 minumum. Because the builder probably didn't anticipate the garage being a conditioned space, you may only have 2x4s. If that's the case, you may need rigid insulation (those blue or pink foam boards) to get enough insulation.

The DOE website should cover a lot of this. It's a fairly straightforward DIY project.

Are you planning on heating the space? If the outbuilding has electricity, you might look into electric baseboard heat. These things take a lot of power, so I would recommend having an electrician do the job.

I would recommend hiring a contractor/handyman.

When you are inside the garage can you see the studs? These are the 2 x 4's that make up the skeleton of your wall. If so, rolls of thick fiberglass insulation will be stuffed in between these studs. The more expensive the insulation the better it's insulating ability.

Then, you will want to cover the insulation with drywall and have that finished so that you can paint your office.

If you cannot see the studs and you have finished walls, you most likely have insulation in them. How good the insulation? That depends on the action of the original owner.

So, if you have insulation already--good. If you don't, you'll have to have someone put it in.

Then, I would have a small furnace installed in the garage as well. It can be installed in a dead corner or closet and in order to cut down on cost, you can have the ductwork run externally (which is common in garages anyway).

After that, I would suggest putting a heavy duty indoor/outdoor carpet over the floor and to seal a side door that may have to prevent drafts.

Hope that helps!

As a student in architecture, a nice easy way to put up insulation is to use insulation panels, you can cut them easily to any shape and they come ready to nail into wood. They'd work pretty well. The only problem I can see in working in a garage is a lack of natural light. I find without a good amount of natural light in my work space, I'm as good as useless. And depending on what you're starting with, you probably will want to hire a contractor to make things happen the way you'd like. Good luck though!

garages and out buildings need some exterior construction (for closing up the garage door)...and you need insulation and dry wall on the interior as well as a vapor barrier (plastic sheeting) somewhere in the wall to keep moisture out. ditto on the vapor barrier for the floor if it's conc. slab. if you want to add outlets and heat (which is something lots of DIYers CAN'T do themselves), you'll need an electrician. oh yeah, and don't forget about the permits! getting a contractor's opinion is probably the best way to assess the situation if you are new to this.

my husband and i signed up for angie's list right after we bought our 2-flat and it has paid for itself in a very short time. you can get other user's opinions and sometimes an idea of what the job will cost. you should get 3 contractors to come out and look at the space (for free) and give you quotes that you can compare. you should also ask them about their willingness to let you do some of the work if you feel like you can (e.g. trim, painting). some will be OK with that.

one last thought is that you should tell your home inspector that you are thinking about renovating the garage or out building for a home office. ask them to take a closer look at it for structural defects as well as the electrical wiring.

to matt in kc: R-15 insulation is standard for walls and R-38 for ceilings here in the Chicago area (unless a local codes require a higher R-value, I know Palatine and Lincolnshire do). Also, it will fit in standard 2x4 studs just fine. Then the vapor barrier, then drywall (or other wall covering). The furnace can be in the corner as art mentioned or you can get horizontal furnaces that would fit above your ceiling in the attic space of the garage. I would go with a commercial dropped ceiling in there and use commercial can lights and heating vents. Then do something with the garage door. Either take it down and fill in the space with framing or put an insulated door in with some window panels to let light in.

As arcgrrl mentioned, you will probably need a permit. You will probably have an electrical subpanel for the garage which may or may not be enough power too. The garage slab should have a vapor barrier under it already, if not, just use commercial carpet squares (InterfaceFLOR) and be warned that that slab will get dam cold in the winter.

Hi there,
I have a 500 sq ft rowhouse and I work at home. I recently added a 10 x 8 tuff shed in my yard. I just insulated it with insulation from Home Depot. I got the kind that is wrapped in plastic and really think it is worth the extra $$$. Anyway, after that I did not want to put up drywall because it would decrease the amount of space so I nailed up wood skin, the kind you put on doors and can also be found at HD. SO far I have added some curtains and my office stuff. I plan to decorate further some day. Oh, as for electric, the ground is frozen so I just ran an extension cord from my house. I had a LICENSED electrician put in a line that I hope to run in the spring. For now the extension cord works just fine. As for permits, Denver does not require a permit on a structure under 100 sq. ft.

Hey!

SF is talking about finishing garages

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/blogging-media/blogging-canadian-house-home-garage-makeover-044582

in an older structure, i doubt that there would be a vapor barrier under the concrete slab.

Even if it doesn't you can get away without a vapor barrier. We're seeing a lot of warehouse floors being poured without one these days and there's research that suggests that one shouldn't be used due to mold issues. Go figure.