Most garages in Nottinghamshire have not had a car in them since the day the house was built. They have a chest freezer, a bike nobody rides and fourteen years of things that were going to be sorted out at some point.
What it costs
The two things that decide whether it works
Floor level
Garage floors sit lower than the house, and they are rarely insulated or damp proofed. The floor has to be built up with a membrane and insulation, which eats into your head height. If the garage is already low, this is the thing that kills the job, and it is the first measurement we take.
Planning conditions on the title
Some newer estates carry a planning condition requiring the garage to be retained for parking. It is not common but it is not rare either, and it is on the title rather than anywhere obvious. We check before quoting, because finding out afterwards is an expensive way to learn.
What people actually turn them into
- Home office. The most common by a distance. A room with a door that shuts, on the ground floor, nowhere near the washing.
- Gym. The concrete slab is already there and already strong, which is exactly what you want under weights.
- Utility and boot room. Less glamorous and possibly the highest daily value of the lot, especially with dogs or children.
- Snug or playroom. Somewhere the television and the noise can live that is not the room you sit in.
- Annexe. Shower room plus a kitchenette makes it self contained for a relative or a lodger.
Doing it properly versus doing it cheap
A garage conversion done badly is a cold room that never gets used. Done properly it is indistinguishable from the rest of the house, and that difference is almost entirely in the parts you cannot see once it is finished: the damp proof membrane, the floor insulation, insulating the walls correctly and getting the ventilation right.
The visible bit, meaning the wall and window where the up and over door was, is the easy part. If a quote is dramatically cheaper than everyone else's, it is the invisible parts that have been left out.
Building regulations
A garage conversion is a change of use and needs building control approval. That covers insulation values, ventilation, fire safety, and the electrical work which is notifiable and has to be certified. You get the certificates at handover, and your solicitor will want them when you sell.
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