It takes more than insulation to make a room habitable. Post some pictures. My neighbor actually removed the garage and rebuilt it as a master bedroom.

Door will be replaced by French doors. Flooring, insulation, split system.

That looks to me to be some type of plywood 4x8' sheeting with furring strips(?) nailed on to cover the seams and make it look like board and batten. If so, it's not that special and so the smart thing to do would be to remove it, and then you can do proper insulation, run the electrical and plumbing, etc., and really do a good job preparing the structure for the modification to a living space.

Have you spoken to any contractors about what this project entails? And the cost? I know someone who converted without a real plan and eventually the floor caved and the ceiling fell. It was a 1-car garage, so they ended up with a longish skinny room that is very difficult to lay out the furniture.

Yes. We are contracting with a GC now. Scope includes keeping the wood walls as we kind of like the effect but we are discussing how to insulate. If he needs to rip it out and insulate around the studs and re-drywall… So be it. The house is built in 68 and it’s always been used as a garage. Dimensions are 22 x 22. There is nothing above the garage and we are planning on using it as living room space. No plumbing.

I always ask f this is allowed where you live. My last 2 places have not allwed living space in a garge without huge work almost like an addition . I for sure would not want to have to go to the main house to use a toilet either . What is the plan for the garge door and overhead opener eyc. The walls are nothing other than panelling and strips to cover the joints so rip them out if you get the permit and you will need more than wall insulation to make this a living space for sure. Where will the french doors lead ?

Whether you can do blow-in insulation depends on the thickness of the space between the inner and outer walls. If the space isn't that thick, you won't get enough R-value. That said, I'm not convinced your walls are worth saving. You can cut a discreet hole in one or two places where it's less likely to be noticed and take a peek. If you have a place where you know you're going to do something else, make it a big hole.

It’s a living space for our family. A larger family room. TV/pool table. A door leads to kitchen. Bathroom is off kitchen. French doors to the outside driveway.

We don’t live in an HOA where we need approval to convert our garage to living space.

It’s not going to be a bedroom or an ADU.

HOA has nothing to do with the permit required to build, that's your municipality. If you are contracting with a GC where are the plans that he/she is pricing? French doors to a driveway? Not very attractive.

We are not making structural changes to the building. It’s insulation, drywall and flooring.

My attached garage is side-entry and the french doors will open to a courtyard space. But thanks for your feedback.

Updating back that we decided to remove the walls to the studs and will insulate between studs with blanket insulation. Attic will be blown-in. Sheetrock. We are opening up the space having found a header that was buried in a partition wall (that will be removed). Replacing 4 windows and an exterior door. Super excited about the new space!

Your HOA has nothing to do with code that needs to followed and yes you need permits .

Our GC has filed the permit. Thank you.