MisterGT

Morning all.

We are considering having the garage attached to the side of our house converted into another room, but have absolutely no idea of the costs, so before we start getting quotes from builders we would like a 'general idea' of the figures we will be looking at.

The garage is approx 16ft x 8ft and 6 1/2ft high with a concrete base and marine ply roof with felt over. there is a wooden door to the front, one wall of single thickness construction block (other 2 walls are formed by the house). There is power and lighting already in place and there is also access from the main house (no need for any doors to be knocked through) . Currently it is used for storing rubbish

As far as I can tell we would need the following work doing( although I could be wrong )
1: Block up front and replace with wall and UPVC window
2: Raise height of single wall to allow for normal ceiling height
3: Line single wall to comply with building/heating regs. (possibly floor as well)
4: Reroof to match house (Devon Slate style)
5: Relocate electrics to better position
6: Smooth off interior walls.

7 Anthing I've forgotton

I assume that we will have to inform the builing regs people of the change of use and also they will have to check the work conforms to current regs.
Any help and advice will be much appreciated.

Goochie

Be wary of converted garages that still feel like a garage. When viewing houses for sale, many have done this and the room still feels like a garage. We saw one that had a bay window at the front and had added a window to the side - felt much less garage like.

Traff2003

If the side walls are only single thickness you will need to check with council planning office .... (you will anyway as you are changing usage) to be a habitable room the walls have to be double skin and comply to relevant regulations

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EddyH

I would of thought that the builder will want to see architect's drawings to give a quote. It's not the builders job to tell you what you need. I personally think you are at too early stage to involve a builder, you first need to get some plans into place and get them through building control.

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EddyH

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lfc958swmbo

Don't forget to extend your central heating . If you don't you will have spent a lot of money to convert it into a room that no one wants to use as it is too cold.
Cannot tell you any amounts but my sister had this done to her garage.She has added a bay window to the front and a window to the side,but due to its shape it still has a garage conversion feel to it IMHO.
Kathy

MisterGT

Thanks for the replies so far

To address a couple of points.

Heating is already in place. (Too complex to explain in detail but it is there)
I'm not concerned about the 'feel' we just need the space
I understood that as the conversion does not extend the footprint of the house beyond its current size that planning permission was not required, simply a 'Change of Use' and therefore complience with the building regs regarding habitation (well thats what the planning officer told me anyway, although he would need to see it to be certain).

Goochie

That sounds correct to me. As long as you comply with building regs you'll be fine.

kynastonp

Talk to the planning people before you start ,you are adding a window where a garage door was ,we converted two semis into one detached this meant blocking up a front door and replacing it with a window and there was a question about planning being needed for that .One of our neighbours did a garage conversion and had to provide parking for two cars on his front garden before it was allowed .
We applied for planning permission as there were some questions, the planning committee decided we did not need planning permission, and they send us a document called "A certificate of legality" or similar which we had to send to our building society to add to the deeds to prove that the conversion was legal .
The people we dealt with were brilliant and the plans we submitted to planning were re used to get quotes as they showed all the details of what we wanted done

EddyH

Something I just remembered is the owners of a house on my street applied for retrospective planning permission for a garage conversion and had it refused, however they also built a very large conservatory and a seperate garage also without planning permission which I expect didn't help their case.

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EddyH

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kenny

im not sure how the regs go down there but i worked for a company doing garage conversions up in scotland, infact ive done more building warrants and planning drawings than i can remember for them.

sadly each job is very much different and can involve varying works. in scotland planning can be required if its requested in the title deeds of the house. many houses in new housig estates use the garage as 1 parking space and the drive as another. each chouse requires 2. so in some cases driveways etc may require alteration.

there is very lifftle required, the newer houses its very easy, insulate the floor, roof and exterior walls, provide heating and lighting, a new window and basically your there.

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heresmo

(my bold)

FWIW I wish such certificates had been around when I'd made changes which did not require planning permission. Proving in a positive sense (when selling) that I had no documents was great fun Luckily, the council retrospectively provided a confirmatory letter.

More on topic, as I'm sure permission will be needed: "Forgotten things" might be whether the foundations are sufficient since the extra weight can cause an imbalance stress overall, plus whether there are service pipes running close by which might be in the way or affected.

Re selling, people moving up the ladder tend to prefer "proper" houses (they've probably been make-shifting already) IMO, so it's worth asking yourself whether you are prepared to write off the cost or want to get it back.

Regards
Mo

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MisterGT

Well we aren't planning on going anywhere, so getting the money back isn't an issue. Currently the area has no worth (except as a storeroom) as it is completely unsuitable to use as a garage, due to the doorway being too narrow and there being only approx 4 ft between the garage door and the main road (so no driveway) .We have a seperate off road parking area for up to 5 vehicles

I forgot to add that the house is nearly 150 years old and I suspect the garage was originally added during the 1930's when cars were a lot smaller and the road outside not so busy , however it has been rebuilt since then, which included relaying the concrete base.

Goochie

Back on the original question of "ball park estimates" - I think it'll be somewhere between £7k and £10k

kenny

on a modern house the company i was working for was charging between £5k and £12k but the latter was for double garages etc with WC etc so you should fall within that ok

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Ive seen a lot of good things die and im in an over emotional way
So please hand me the bottle I think im lonely now, and please
give me direction I think the hurt has set in, and I don’t feel nothing

heresmo

Hi again

Sounds like all is well generally. I'd immediately fall back onto my "I can't be the first person..." so would drive around (assuming your property is not unique) and politely ask other people as to their experiences, e.g. "I couldnd't help noticing/admiring....."

This has worked for me with all sorts of things, eg roofers, double glazing, paving, shrubbery and ornamental trees, conservatories (i.e. all the usual). I've dropped a note through letter boxes asking if they'd like to tell me about theirs.

People are often happy to impart their knowledge of things they are probably already proud of and you're giving them an extra reason to feel proud.

I mention this particularly, as a primary cause of complaint is the time it takes and escalating costs from "variations" etc. Peeps who've been been there and done that in your area tend to know what held things up etc and are a Godsend IMO.

Regards
Mo

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Johnnyc

I was involved in construction of a conservatory recently. Building control insisted that despite the door into the conservatory being an existing exit from the house, a cavity tray had to be installed the full width of the roof formed against the wall of the house. Not a nice job at all. However if the house is 150 years old then there won't be a cavity contruction.

What are you planning to do with the floor. Is it the same level as the floor in the house. You will need to ensure it has an adequate damp proof course and increased insulation to improve u values to building reg standards. The same will apply to the single course brick wall you mention.

Also do you have to re-locate or replace a boiler? If so then by law you have to replace it with a modern high efficiency condensing boiler. You mention you have heating already in the garage. Do you have thermostatic radiator valves or a thermostat controlling the heating feed to the garage. Building control will insist on it.

What electricity supply do you have to the garage. If the garage has its own distribution board then that will be fine if a bit unsightly. If the garage is fed via a radial feed spured off the house ring or via a single dedicated cable from the main distribution board then you can't simply spur off it again. You will need to add another cable to form a ring main to pick up all your sockets.

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Johnny

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MisterGT

To make life a little easier for everyone I have included a very rough diagram. (see attached)

Electricity feed is seperate lighting and mains feed from secondary fusebox located in Breakfast area. Main Fusebox is located in the kitchen.
Radiators have theromstatic valves.
Floor is level with the rest of the house and in 3 years has never shown any signs of damp (neither have the walls)),however I expect some form of insulation will be required to meet the current regs.