Featured Project Apple Valley Garage Drywall Repair After Mouse Damage Mice had made themselves at home in this Apple Valley garage, chewing through drywall and leaving damage across the walls. Open gaps and unfinished sections gave them easy access, and the homeowner wanted the whole space sealed up and finished for good. You see this a lot in garages that were never fully finished by the builder. This single-family Apple Valley home had drywall in some spots, bare framing in others, and old builder tape that was peeling right off the joints. Our crew handled the garage drywall repair, framing, insulation, and painting from one call, so the homeowner never had to line up separate trades. Key Takeaways THE CHALLENGE Mouse damage, missing ceiling drywall, failing builder tape, and decades of yellowing left the garage unsealed and unfinished. THE INSTALL We demoed the damaged areas, framed around the fireplace chase, hung and finished new drywall, insulated the ceiling, and oil primed before painting. THE RESULT A sealed, fully finished garage with a scrubbable Sherwin-Williams finish, completed start to finish in eight days. Mice get into a garage because there is somewhere for them to get in. As we told the homeowner, the real fix is sealing the space and actually finishing it off, which is why we recommend finishing a garage rather than patching one spot at a time. That meant tear-out of the damaged material, new framing and drywall where it was missing, and a paint system that could handle a garage environment. Project Summary Client Profile: Apple Valley homeowner, single-family home Project Location: Apple Valley, Minnesota (Twin Cities South Metro) Primary Objective: Repair mouse damage and fully seal the garage with Drywall Installation & Repair Materials & Finish: New framing, drywall, ceiling Insulation Services, oil-based primer, and Sherwin-Williams Shoji White in the Cashmere line Key Outcome: Finished, sealed garage with a washable painted surface, completed in eight days Garage Drywall Damage We Found Our walkthrough showed mouse damage across several wall areas, along with sections of ceiling that had no drywall at all. Some surfaces were original and heavily yellowed with age, while other spots were simply open framing the builder never covered. Builders are only required to sheetrock and fire tape the walls that touch the living space, which gets a 60-minute fire rating. That tape is not installed as finish work, so years later it is often peeling, blistering, or gone entirely, which is exactly what we had to remove here before anything new went up. Demo, Framing, Drywall, And Paint Our crew started with demo, pulling out the chewed drywall and the failing tape. We built new framing around the fireplace chase where the homeowner had been having problems, hung new drywall on the affected walls and the open ceiling areas, then taped and mudded everything to a finished surface. We also added insulation in the ceiling and installed an access panel with a pull-down ladder so the attic space above stays usable for storage. "When drywall is old like that, we have to oil prime it. Otherwise, that yellow will come right through the paint." - (Troy, Mudslingers Drywall & Remodeling) Because the old drywall had yellowed and the new drywall hadn't, we oil-primed the entire garage to lock in the stains and give the topcoat a consistent surface to sit on. Our Interior Painting Services crew followed with Sherwin-Williams Shoji White in the Cashmere line, a scrubbable, washable paint that makes sense in a space that gets dirty. Running the framing, drywall, and paint with the same in-house team is why our Apple Valley Remodeling Contractor crew could move straight from one phase to the next without downtime. Before After Before After Before After Before After A Sealed, Finished Apple Valley Garage The garage went from chewed-up and half-finished to a fully enclosed, taped, and painted space in eight days, paint included. Every wall and ceiling surface is now closed off, removing the gaps and open cavities mice used in the first place. The homeowner also gained attic storage through the new pull-down access panel and ceiling insulation that helps hold temperature in a Minnesota garage. The washable Cashmere finish means scuffs and dirt wipe off instead of staining, and our drywall and paint work carries a 1-year workmanship guarantee. Need Your Garage Finished? We finish and repair garages across the South Metro, from mouse and moisture damage to full framing, insulation, drywall, and paint. Our in-house crew handles the whole sequence, so you make one call instead of chasing three contractors. Dealing with damaged or unfinished garage drywall in Apple Valley? Reach out, and we will walk the space with you and put together a free estimate. Mudslingers Drywall & Remodeling 1000 E 146th St #132, Burnsville, MN 55337 Call 651-200-2047 or Schedule Online Frequently Asked Questions How do you repair mouse-damaged garage drywall in Apple Valley? We demo the chewed and compromised drywall first, then frame and hang new board wherever material is damaged or missing. From there, we tape, mud, and finish the surface so the garage is actually sealed off. Patching one hole rarely helps if the rest of the space is still open, which is why we recommend finishing the whole garage. Why does old garage drywall need an oil-based primer? Old drywall yellows over time, and that yellow will bleed straight through latex paint. An oil-based primer seals it so the finish coat stays true. The drywall itself is not compromised; it just needs that extra step before paint, especially when new board sits next to original board. When can garage drywall work be scheduled in Minnesota? Unheated garages need to be warm enough for joint compound to cure, generally around 60 degrees, so we schedule them during the warmer months rather than mid-winter. In cold conditions, the mud can freeze, crack, and pull away from the wall, and portable heaters add moisture instead of solving the problem. Once the work is done, our drywall and paint carry a 1-year workmanship guarantee, and the washable finish holds up to normal garage use.