Garage Conversion ..

Belfastbelle

Has anyone converted their garage to living space?

Zelie

I have no knowledge but was talking to a friend about this and he said that changing the use of the garage requires some sort of permission. No idea if he's talking tosh or not but you'd best check that out very carefully!

jenny74

I'm not so sure. I which council do u come under? Check their website. Our council have a great site, with FAQs. Good luck.

space_rider

I`m thinking of doing the same but for a bigger kitchen. My house is only 3 years old so I may have some kind of restricted convenant. I think you do need to notify the council and there is something about needing permission if a window is facing the road. You will also need to make sure that the walls are thick enough. The best place to check would be your local council.

jonesMUFCforever

We have done this - very useful since now we are divorcing and I am living there. No permission is required if you are not actually increasing the size of the house although the council may want to inspect for council tax purposes.

Even though we have a double central heating radiator the room is noticeably colder as no insulation on outer walls.

We did this a few years ago now and cost about £1500 including separating part of the garage with a door so we could still use the tumble dryer without soaking the whole room.

shelly

I would definately check with the planning office if you need permission as we recently received a planning notice from the council as our neighbour is converting his garage into some kind of living space.
I think you need permission as you are "changing the use"

Claremac

We looked into this a bit when we were thinking of buying a house and converting the garage to a lounge. The following websites were useful. They are companies that do it for you but they have useful info re building regs etc.

http://www.garageconversion.com/?gclid=CMTwn_vDkpICFQyhQwod_Wqd_A

http://www.garageconversionsuk.com/index.asp

http://www.carryduffdesigns.co.uk/conversions/garage-conversions.html

HTH.

Milsey-Girl

You will need to check with the Planning Department at your Local Council whether your particular house has any planning 'condition' (i.e. restriction) on converting the garage into a useable room. It is more common for newer houses to have this restriction due to the increase of car ownership. I'd strongly advise ringing your Council and explaining what you wish to do before you do anything. For most Councils the advice is free. You may also need Building Regulations and your Council can advise you on this too. Good luck!

Canucklehead

Good morning: Visit the Planning Portal for info on garage conversions.

HTH

Canucklehead

Belfastbelle

thanks to everyone so far- I'll check all the info out. All I need now is a few £0000s to get the job done!