Garage conversion

Cazilou

Hello all,

I wonder if any of you keen DIYers can help me. I currently have a detached single garage in my back garden that is no longer functional as a garage (too small for a car!) so we just use it as storage. We need to replace the frontage as it is rotting and falling down and have decided it would be nice to replace it with Upvc doors and clad half of the inside (and build a stud wall) to make part of it a space that we could sit in during the summer months.

I am confident it is something that I can DIY sufficiently, however if I do it I know it probably won't meet the standards of building regs. However I have found conflicting messages online and I am unsure if an outbuilding that is essentially a shed would need to meet building regs? It would not be used as a dwelling of any kind, just have the doors open in the summer and put a couple of chairs in there, just want to make it a bit nicer surroundings by covering the concrete slab walls.

Can anyone advise if this is something that is allowed? I am pretty sure I don't need planning permission but I have no clue about building regs.

Davesnave

There's no need to meet building regs for the kind of use you envisage, as it will remain an outbuilding. Even an outhouse attached to the house can be OK; I have a non-compliant boiler room constructed from surplus materials from our refurb, which is fine from the building inspector's POV, because it's accessed from outside only.

There's no 'probably' regarding meeting building regs; to do so would cost thousands, but if it's not a 'beds in sheds' scenario, you have nothing to fear.