Converting garage into a room

emerald21

Hi my son would like to convert his garage into a room. Has anyone done this recently who can offer some advice please. The council want over £300 to do their part but the guy who came to give an estimate could nt because he did n t know what the insulation was going to cost. Son does n t want to pay for this until he has a few estimates because if it's too much he won t be doing it. Thanks.

phill99

Decent builders will know the insulation requirements and if they don't that information is easily available. Your son needs to get quotes from competent builders.

Davesnave

With insulation there are walls, floor and roof to consider and it's not always possible to see without exploratory work what, for example, the floor will need doing to it to reach an appropriate spec.

In other words, there are several ways of achieving the right insulation levels, so costing can't be accurate until the methods are chosen.

Your son needs to work with a competent builder to choose what's best for this particular garage. It sounds as if a small jobbing builder, perhaps with limited experience, was cagey about estimating for a 'pig in a poke' job. It is harder than estimating for a new build, but not that difficult once a strategy is decided.

jellie

I had my garage converted 18 months ago. All the builders who came round were happy to give me a price before I'd got the council involved. The price of the one I went with changed only slightly once I'd actually got building regs.

neneromanova

How much were the quotes jellie? I'm looking into doing this too.

I_have_spoken

Depends on how they do the roof, if it's raised and tiled with some Velux expect £12,000, a 'cheap' job retaining the flat roof would be closer to £7,000

Ozzuk

I was thinking of doing this, but informally. ie...knocking a door through from house (which I'd need BR for) and then just cladding the room in plasterboard and insulation. I'd leave the garage door in place but build a false wall in front of it, so when I sell the house it could easily be put back.

I don't see how I'd need BR or any kind of planning for that level of work though as essentially its still a garage, albeit a tidy one. I'd prob use it as a snug or cinema room and wouldn't install a window. It wouldn't become an official room.

Any issues with this approach?

ukjoel

We have been looking into doing this as well.

My research so far seems to suggest it will be between 8k and 12k for a single garage conversion done to building regs with council signoff.

Bearing in mind the usable space it will create in the house its the cheapest option we could see for increasing space at minimum cost.

Building an extension the same size would be 20k plus and a loft extension even more.

There are some good websites online showing jobs that have been done and at what prices.

jellie

neneromanova wrote: »

How much were the quotes jellie? I'm looking into doing this too.

I paid approx. £10k but mine was converted into a kitchen so had a lot of work involved, including a new electric circuit, new CU and making good of old kitchen. Would be much cheaper just converting to a living/play room.

Robin9

I converted mine in 2007 – the garage became a study and the carport my garage. Best alteration to the house I ever did.

Whatever alteration you do look on it as meeting your need and not as adding value to the property – you may not need a garage but a future buyer may . Have you any other storage for bicycles , lawn mower .......... ?

It needs to be professionally done – get it designed – there are lots of issues – my garage was integral to the house and had a living room above (it’s an upside down house) so fire precautions came into it as well as insulation and access.

Ensure you get Council Planning Permission (if needed) plus Building Regs. When you come to sell your alteration you will need these documents so keep them safe.

Consult your Mortgage provider - revise buildings insurance.

Get quotes from builders who do extensions.

emerald21

Davesnave wrote: »

With insulation there are walls, floor and roof to consider and it's not always possible to see without exploratory work what, for example, the floor will need doing to it to reach an appropriate spec.

In other words, there are several ways of achieving the right insulation levels, so costing can't be accurate until the methods are chosen.

Your son needs to work with a competent builder to choose what's best for this particular garage. It sounds as if a small jobbing builder, perhaps with limited experience, was cagey about estimating for a 'pig in a poke' job. It is harder than estimating for a new build, but not that difficult once a strategy is decided.

What do you mean pig in a poke job