Partial garage conversion

retiredandskint

Although we live in a fairly new house (12 years old) our sitting room is small and has become a hazard for my DH who, apart from everything else, has mobility problems.

We have an integral garage and I'd like to use just under half and combine it with the dining room. Apart from a radiator and double electric socket I don't think there are any other services.

Do I need planning permission or an architect. I'm not asking for anything complicated just a straight through room, wall to divide the garage, floor raised and heating/ electrics.

I could also do with a ballpark figure.

Furts

If you are doing the work with an eye to the law, good practice, energy efficiency, disabled access, and so on, you definitely need professional help and an application for Buildings Regulations.

Planning can vary so check with your local authority here.

Cardew

You will have to apply for Building Regulations approval, but probably not planning permission; so will need drawings submitted with the specification of the work to be carried out. Insulation of floor and walls, fire protection, structural considerations.etc etc

If you ring the local planning/regulations department at your council, they may send out someone who will give you a steer on what is involved, and indicate(unofficially) some firms that they know will carry out the work.

It will cost more than most people envisage.

retiredandskint

Furts wrote: »

If you are doing the work with an eye to the law, good practice, energy efficiency, disabled access, and so on, you definitely need professional help and an application for Buildings Regulations.

Planning can vary so check with your local authority here.

The door to the current dining room, which I would use as the access to the 'new' room, is already wheelchair wide.

retiredandskint

Cardew wrote: »

It will cost more than most people envisage.

That's what I'm scared of

Wookey

retiredandskint wrote: »

That's what I'm scared of

It might be worth checking in your area if there are any disability grants available for providing level access type works etc. A chat with a community support worker might help with regard to that.

Furts

retiredandskint wrote: »

That's what I'm scared of

Do not under estimate the amount of work involved. Your garage is probably a single skin wall with piers. If so, this is no good as a cavity wall. If an inner leaf is built then it may not fit on the foundations - so additional work here.

The floor slab will not be insulated, and will be built sloping because all garage slabs should be like this. Hence more work with the slab, levels, insulation.

There is unlikely to be any foundation across the front of your garage, that is where the up and over door is. Hence a new foundation dug, concreted and tied in and then make good your driveway.

There may be electric and drainage under your garage slab... so converting a garage does not come cheap if done to Regulations and good practice.

retiredandskint

Furts wrote: »

Do not under estimate the amount of work involved. Your garage is probably a single skin wall with piers. If so, this is no good as a cavity wall. If an inner leaf is built then it may not fit on the foundations - so additional work here.

The floor slab will not be insulated, and will be built sloping because all garage slabs should be like this. Hence more work with the slab, levels, insulation.

There is unlikely to be any foundation across the front of your garage, that is where the up and over door is. Hence a new foundation dug, concreted and tied in and then make good your driveway.

There may be electric and drainage under your garage slab... so converting a garage does not come cheap if done to Regulations and good practice.

Thanks for the info obviously not as simple as I thought.

The front of the garage will remain a garage retaining the up and over door.

Wookey

Agree with what Furts says but you may have a few options rather than go full block construction if it isn't already a cavity wall., though this may well not be an issue as you say it is an integral garage which i would take as meaning there is a bedroom or some other room already above the garage. It may well be possible to go timberframe inside the garage which would save a ton of cash.

For the door opening if the front piers are of sufficient size and the slabs are right out to the front then a concrete pre stressed head set in and built into the piers would be enough to carry a wall above it up to window height or maybe even fit a patio style door in place which would require little modification to existing structure.

The garage floor is probably a fair bit lower than the existing internal floor of the house, a layer of underfloor insulation and then screeded will bring it up to the same level.

Defo worth a talk with a good local architect and structural eng to determine what's feasible and what local planning/building control are likely to pass.

martinsurrey

Furts wrote: »

Do not under estimate the amount of work involved. Your garage is probably a single skin wall with piers. If so, this is no good as a cavity wall. If an inner leaf is built then it may not fit on the foundations - so additional work here.

The floor slab will not be insulated, and will be built sloping because all garage slabs should be like this. Hence more work with the slab, levels, insulation.

There is unlikely to be any foundation across the front of your garage, that is where the up and over door is. Hence a new foundation dug, concreted and tied in and then make good your driveway.

There may be electric and drainage under your garage slab... so converting a garage does not come cheap if done to Regulations and good practice.

while this is good general advice its not as relevant to the OP.

The OP's garage is integral, so WILL be a cavity wall (It'll be supporting the cavity wall in the room above, and is more than likely insulated already

The OP is not converting the front of the garage, so foundations and drive way repairs are a non issue, a stud wall on a brick footing can be used to divide the room, and the loading of that will be less than a car, so the current spec slab should be fine.

Modern integral garages are almost always built at a floor level a bit lower than the main house (garage floor is at external floor level, main house floor is at DPC) which gives space to insulate and level the slab without lifting it.

OP, there is work to do, but as you can see, you need pro advice.

retiredandskint

There are two bedrooms above the garage and apart from the up and over, there's a door to the garden. The dining room has a bay french window also opening to the back garden. The garage has a plasterboard ceiling. The floor looks like one brick below damp proof level.