Converting garage to a home office but keeping the door - need permission?

martinsurrey

Doozergirl wrote: »

If you’re using something as a room, it should meet building regulations, and it needs a window to do so. The window itself may well need to meet regs, but the room needs a window, first and foremost.

Every post of Doozer is right in this thread but this part is slightly misleading...

the room needs a means of escape, and a means of ventilation but that doesn't need to be a window. OP has already said that the garage has a front and back door (I guess the front is the up and over garage door and the back is a normal door to the garden), as long as one of those is in part of the converted room, and some source of ventilation is added (air vent on door), there will be no need for a window.

getmore4less

Wonder what builders with show rooms in the garage are doing these days?

Ours(20+ years old) was just drylined and papered no insulation in the walls there is some in the loft space but not sure if the builders or the first owner did that when he boarded it for storage.
When it was sold they just took the patio door&window out and put in 2 up and over.

bouicca21

A friend has a room hidden behind a garage door in just the same way as OP proposes. In her case it was because the local council refused permission on the grounds that it removed a parking space. The room is lovely as a guestbedroom but as there is no window I can't imagine Anyone being happy to use it as a workspace.

Personally I'd always value having an extra habitable room, so I'd try getting permissions first. A conversion hidden behind a garage door is neither one thing nor another, and may well devalue, as potential buyers are always going to wonder how well it was done.

Deisler

Hi guys,

Sorry just got back from work and checked all replies. Thank you guys so much for all your inputs.

Fro what you said, It seems it is likely a permission is not needed, but I will follow your advice to check with the Council, if we will convert it.

What we definitely do not want to do is to fully convert it to a room, i.e. building a wall with a window to replace the garage door etc. but I agree with an earlier poster that I should either do it properly or not do it at all.

For now I think I am leaning towards just putting the treadmill and an old sofa in, with some pvc mats as flooring, and then putting some ikea shelfs/cabinets for storage. Essentially it will become our home gym and storage room, without dryboarding the walls.

With this, I assume I do not need to worry about the building regs, unless I am still mistaken on something?

Cheers
Deisler

Doozergirl

Deisler wrote: »

Hi guys,

Sorry just got back from work and checked all replies. Thank you guys so much for all your inputs.

Fro what you said, It seems it is likely a permission is not needed, but I will follow your advice to check with the Council, if we will convert it.

What we definitely do not want to do is to fully convert it to a room, i.e. building a wall with a window to replace the garage door etc. but I agree with an earlier poster that I should either do it properly or not do it at all.

For now I think I am leaning towards just putting the treadmill and an old sofa in, with some pvc mats as flooring, and then putting some ikea shelfs/cabinets for storage. Essentially it will become our home gym and storage room, without dryboarding the walls.

With this, I assume I do not need to worry about the building regs, unless I am still mistaken on something?

Cheers
Deisler

Yes, that is fine. It won't be particularly pleasant to use year round but that also means it isn't habitable for building regs purposes.

EachPenny

bouicca21 wrote: »

A friend has a room hidden behind a garage door in just the same way as OP proposes. In her case it was because the local council refused permission on the grounds that it removed a parking space. The room is lovely as a guestbedroom but as there is no window I can't imagine Anyone being happy to use it as a workspace.

Personally I'd always value having an extra habitable room, so I'd try getting permissions first. A conversion hidden behind a garage door is neither one thing nor another, and may well devalue, as potential buyers are always going to wonder how well it was done.

It is 'something'. It is an unlawful development (in your friend's case) and since they applied for and were refused permission they cannot use the mitigation that they were unaware permission was required.

Pdbaggett wrote: »

Yeah just do it will be fine, if there's still a garage door its not going to be an issue.

The OP is hopefully aware that unlawful development can result in prosecution, fines, and the cost involved in removing the work and returning the building/land to the previous condition. This is not a theoretical risk, it happens on a daily basis.

If the unlawful development is not discovered during your ownership then you create problems for yourself when you come to sell. And if you've 'concealed' your development behind an existing garage door then don't think you will be able to rely on 'time-expired' to get away with it.

Your advice is misleading and wrong.

Lizabeth21

When buying a house I’d put much higher value on a garage rather than a gym or office. A garage is a parking space with security and storage. You can get insulated garage doors too (no gaps)