Remodeling services
Mudroom remodel: inside the house or built on
The two very different projects called a mudroom, the floor and door choices that make one last, and what to ask each bidder. Plan your remodel: tell us the project and a person replies.
Plan Your Remodel What it costs
Written by HyreRemodel Research Desk Primary-source research and fact checking
The short answer
A mudroom remodel builds a drop zone at a secondary entry, usually from the garage or the back door: a durable floor, hooks, cubbies or lockers, a bench, and sometimes a sink or the laundry.
Carving one from an existing hall or laundry room is an interior remodel. A mudroom addition builds new floor area with a foundation, walls, roof and exterior door, and is permitted and priced as an addition.
What decides a mudroom remodel?
An interior mudroom reuses space you have. An addition is a foundation-to-roof project; see home additions.
Water, grit and salt land here first. Tile or another water-tolerant floor, with a mat well or a drain in snowy climates.
The code sets requirements for the door between an attached garage and the house.
Plan your mudroom remodel
Free, with no obligation. A person at HyreRemodel replies by email. Matching with remodeling contractors is not live yet.
Does your house need a mudroom?
Signs the back entry is doing a job it was not built for.
The family enters through the garage and has nowhere to drop things.
Wood or laminate swelling near the entry means water is getting in.
A wash station or a hose-friendly floor solves more than shelving.
Combining them is common; see laundry room remodel.
What does a mudroom remodel include?
An interior mudroom in order. An addition adds foundation, framing, roofing and exterior finish before step two.
Who enters, what they carry, and where each person’s things go.
Old flooring out, subfloor repaired where water reached it, then a floor that tolerates water.
A sink drain, outlets for chargers, lighting, and any change to the exterior or garage door.
Lockers, bench, hooks and upper storage, fastened to studs or blocking.
Exterior door weatherproofing and threshold, trim and paint.
What code applies to a mudroom?
Interior mudrooms touch few rules; additions touch all of them. These 2021 International Residential Code sections come up most. Your building department confirms editions and figures.
Section R302.5.1 sets the type of door permitted between a garage and the house and prohibits a direct opening into a sleeping room.
Section R311.3 requires a landing or floor on each side of exterior doors, with limits on the step down.
A built-on mudroom needs footings, energy code compliance and a building permit like any addition.
A new sink is plumbing work with its own drain and vent, permitted in most places.
What changes the budget of a mudroom remodel?
No figures here, by policy: see what drives a remodeling budget. The lines that move a mudroom:
| Factor | Why it changes the number |
|---|---|
| Interior or addition | The largest line by far: an addition adds foundation, roof, siding and windows. |
| Built-ins | Open hooks and a bench versus enclosed lockers with doors. |
| Floor | Tile or plank, plus a floor drain or recessed mat well in snowy climates. |
| Plumbing | A utility sink or pet wash adds a drain and vent. |
| Doors | A new exterior or garage-entry door, and its weatherproofing. |
HyreRemodel publishes no national average price for this work. Size, finish level, whether plumbing, wiring or walls move, the age of the house and regional labor rates move it far enough that a single figure would mislead.
Can an existing space become the mudroom?
If a back hall, laundry or garage corner can take it, keep it an interior remodel and the job stays small. If nothing fits, compare an addition against reworking the garage entry before you commit to building out.
How to compare mudroom remodel bids
Your inquiry
Tell us about the remodel
Nothing goes to a remodeling contractor unless you agree.
Free, with no obligation: a person at HyreRemodel reads your request and replies by email. Matching with remodeling contractors is not live yet, so this is not a quote, and nothing goes to a contractor unless you agree.
Plan Your Remodel
One short form: your address and how to reach you. A person at HyreRemodel reads it and replies.
Questions
What is the best floor for a mudroom?
Do I need a permit for a mudroom?
Can the mudroom and laundry share a room?
Is a mudroom addition the same as a home addition?
Does HyreRemodel build mudrooms?
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