How To Build A Garage Man Cave – The Complete Guide

Where do you start with building a garage man cave?

Building a man cave is one thing, but building one in your garage? In its own dedicated space for your to geek-out to your hearts content? Clearly it’s a great idea, and certainly not one we’d dissuade you from. But what do you need to know about getting started?

As luck might have it, we cover everything from man cave garage must-haves, tips on the products you won’t realise you’ll need until you (very likely) end up needing them, and other aspects we’ve learned along the way that we think will come in handy at the start of your garage conversion masterpiece. Let’s get started.

Practical aspects to consider before you kit-out your man cave

Soundproofing

• First of all, you’re going to want to seal gaps and cracks that you’re already aware of, and hunt down any that you may not be. There’s no use kitting-out your garage with soundproofing equipment if it’s full on cracks from the outset!
• You might want to consider investing in heavy or soundproof-specific curtains, particularly if you’re going for a garage band/man cave combo for that extra bit of sound dampening.
• Acoustic panels are often the first go-to when we think of soundproofing equipment. If your budget allows, these are an absolute must.
• Another, more simple soundproofing addition is to actually splash-out on rugs and carpeting. Seems simple, and also inevitable for your  comfort, but they do also have soundproofing benefits as well as allowing for you to walk round barefoot (watch out for any rogue Xbox controllers though…).

Insulation

Adding insulation can often be one of those tasks where it can either seem a bit overwhelming, or something you skip and try to double-up with extra soundproofing product. Don’t skip this step! Let’s cover what you need to know:

• Insulation Type – One of the most common go-to’s for DIY insulation is spray foam. And, to be honest, this will do just fine for your garage setup. It’s reliable and relatively inexpensive when compared to other options like fiberglass.
• Do this early on in the process – Insulating foam can get messy, so you want to ensure that you haven’t already moved all of your prized possessions into the man cave before commencing. You waited forever for a PS5, don’t go ruining it now!
• Once applied, make sure that you hunt-down any pesky remaining cracks or visible gaps. You want to ensure that you’re not having to redo this continually, so take the time to cover any holes or lesions you encounter.

Flooring

When it comes to flooring choices, there are a few things you need to consider. For example, do you need to worry about how warm the floor needs to be based on the climate of your location? Will you be partying a lot in there and need an easy-clean solution? Do you need flooring that acts as a sound barrier rather than a carrier which might (well, will definitely) annoy the neighbours?

Generally we’d recommend either going for epoxy or concrete, and then adding rugs throughout for the sound-proofing benefits we discussed above. However, the choice really is yours based on what you need from the flooring and what you’re intending to do in the man cave!

Decoration

Alright, so we’ve discussed the basics in terms of insulation, sound-proofing and flooring. But what about decor? That’s the fun part, right?

Let’s assume you’re starting from scratch and don’t already have a ton of decoration, accessories, gadgets and gizmos to put into the space. Where do you start? Here are some products that are decorative staples for any man cave garage setup:

How to build a garage man cave – Steps to take in order of importance

It’s all well and good working out what you need to build your garage man cave, but where do you start in terms of knowing which steps to prioritise?

It goes without saying that there are multiple ways you can approach this, however we’ve found that the below steps work well in ensuring that you’re not having to go back over your efforts or make the task harder for yourself in the future by needing to revisit some of the more foundation-specific work.

Doing this right from the outset means that you can spend more time man cave-geeking, and less time going back over your handy work!

1. Mapping-out the space

This is absolutely crucial and will ensure that you don’t end up returning half of your purchases because they don’t fit.

Measure your garage and work out how much open space you actually have to play with. For example, do you want to have a garage gym/man cave split? Do you have the room for larger purchases like a pool table or a home bar? Or, have you overshot just how much you can get into the space and need to trim-down the wish list? Whilst this can be a bit annoying, its much better to work out dimensions and free space at this stage, rather than when you’ve already ordered everything.

2. Ensure that you’re starting with a clean slate

That means removing anything from the garage that can otherwise cause an obstruction. You want to be focusing on insulation, flooring, soundproofing and temperature control.

These aspects are paramount to the longevity of your garage dwelling, and will ensure that you keep the complains from the neighbours down to a minimum.

3. It’s time for interiors

Filling your man cave with all of the products you’ve had your eye on is undoubtedly the best part, and doing this as the final step means that a) you’re not having to navigate round your purchases in the foundation stages and b) you get that sweet, sweet delayed gratification for a job well done. Plus, as you’ve done the planning in stage one, you already know what will go where, or at least know that you’re not going to be struggling for any room for your product haul.

Must-have products for your garage man cave

We’ve had a look at the some of the more top-level decoration ideas, but now let’s talk specifics. Here are some garage man cave must-haves that should be going right in your basket:

Garage Man Cave FAQ’s

In Conclusion

Like we said at the start of this guide, there are many ways you can approach creating a garage man cave, but it does help to have a checklist and a process to go through to ensure you don’t miss any of the main tasks.

Hopefully our recommendations on how to fill the space has given you some inspiration too. For further man cave-specific ideas, check out our lighting guide for some out-of-the-box thinking on how to light up your space.