Garage conversion - replacing the door as a first step?

_Sam_

Wondering would it be possible to start a garage conversion with replacing the up and over door with the front door, before doing any other works? Would anything need to be done about the floor level?

I’m hoping to order the door (composite) to exactly match the existing opening, with two side panels. The garage is integrated, block inside and brick outside. 

We don’t have funds enough for the full conversion, so hoping to make this a “work in progress” and do bits at a time, maybe some DIY. And it would be nice to have a good secure front door in place. (Plus I can then sell the current electric up and over door and use funds towards the conversion.)

Section62

Have you checked whether you need planning consent?

You will need to deal with building regulations, which makes the DIY approach over a long period of time potentially problematic.

In particular, if you get the door installed, the BCO may later be asking for alterations to the floor for damp proofing and/or thermal insulation which require the door to be taken out to complete the work.

If you get a proper plan drawn up and through building control, it would give you more latitude to take your time doing the work, without the risk of having to undo things to get BC signoff at the end.

_Sam_

We have checked about the planning consent and it falls under PD, there are no restrictions applied to the area or the house. 

I was wondering about BR, and was thinking to follow the “building notice” route rather than plans? 

I think it would qualify as a simple conversion, apart from insulation of the floor and walls and electrics, the two more complex things I can think about is removing a wall which currently separates the garage from a tiny hallway (a side door is currently our front door), I’m 99% sure it is not load bearing but we will double check this when the time comes to do it. Second is the bit of the garage that sticks out beyond the boundary of the house has flat roof, which looks to me very basic almost like a shed roof. So we’ll need to see what regulations apply there. Although, the protruding part of the garage (about 4feet) is where we are planning to have the porch, so effectively the new front door will lead to the porch area, and then there will be a stud wall with another door leading to the house.

Once converted the garage will be used as a hallway/utility. There is already a window with obscured glass to the side which we will leave in place. I’ll double check but I think the damp proof course is already in place as can be seen from the outside between the bricks. Also the garage floor is only a little lower than the house floor, maybe about 2” difference.

_Sam_

Basically I’m wondering if I can just ring the door people to arrange and they just come and install the door, or would I first need to find a builder to make some preparations for the door to be installed, in that at the moment there is just flat concrete floor flowing from the inside of the garage to the outside...

grumbler

If you convert it to a living space, the floor will definitely need good insulation that will lift it up, I guess, 100mm at least.

Section62

_Sam_ said:

We have checked about the planning consent and it falls under PD, there are no restrictions applied to the area or the house.

No planning conditions either?  Also worth checking if you have any relevant covenants if you haven't already.

_Sam_ said:

I was wondering about BR, and was thinking to follow the “building notice” route rather than plans?

It would be interesting to hear other views, but as I suggested, if you are thinking about this being a long drawn out project there may be an advantage to going down the plans route so you know what will be expected from you for each aspect of the project before you start.  The notice route works well for experienced builders who know what is required and can get on with the job with less risk of making an expensive error.

_Sam_ said:

Second is the bit of the garage that sticks out beyond the boundary of the house has flat roof, which looks to me very basic almost like a shed roof. So we’ll need to see what regulations apply there. Although, the protruding part of the garage (about 4feet) is where we are planning to have the porch, so effectively the new front door will lead to the porch area, and then there will be a stud wall with another door leading to the house.

This may be the most problematic part of the project.  You'll need this roof to comply with current standards for habitable rooms, which may mean reconstructing it to allow sufficient insulation and ventilation - in other words you may have to make this roof 'thicker'.  If you don't have sufficient internal headroom to achieve the requirements, the alternative is to go up on the outside.  That would be a modification that almost certainly would need planning consent unless the difference is very minor.  You may be lucky and not need to do this, but it is an example of where you can get tripped up by not being aware of the requirements in advance.

Something else to consider is whether the house as a whole would look better if you replaced the flat roof with a tiled pitched roof, subject to this being practical.  If you needed to re-roof to comply with building regs, then doing a bit more than the minimum could potentially make a significant difference to the property value.

Do you know where the foul and surface water drainage are?  Sometimes they are routed under the garage floor - you'll want to rule out that possibility before starting work.

Section62

_Sam_ said:

Basically I’m wondering if I can just ring the door people to arrange and they just come and install the door, or would I first need to find a builder to make some preparations for the door to be installed, in that at the moment there is just flat concrete floor flowing from the inside of the garage to the outside...

You need to work out how that part of the floor needs to be altered to convert the garage into habitable space.  Typically the floor slab has to be cut back and isolated from the outside for both damp and thermal insulation.  Some BCOs will also require a foundation and stub wall which the door frame will sit on.

This is the point I was making earlier.  You need to know all the things that will be required for BC signoff and how they interrelate, so you don't do things like getting a door installed on a floor which will need to be dug up later in the project.

_Sam_

Section62 said:

You need to work out how that part of the floor needs to be altered to convert the garage into habitable space.  Typically the floor slab has to be cut back and isolated from the outside for both damp and thermal insulation.  Some BCOs will also require a foundation and stub wall which the door frame will sit on.

This is the point I was making earlier.  You need to know all the things that will be required for BC signoff and how they interrelate, so you don't do things like getting a door installed on a floor which will need to be dug up later in the project.

I guess that’s what I’m asking  Not about all things, but just about replacing up and over door with the ordinary front door. I thought there would be a good/preferred/required way of doing it, but you say “some BCOs” may require one way and other different way, in other words impossible to know unless first consulting with the particular BCO in my area? 

I can try to get in touch with them, and see if they’ll talk to me without plans. Really need to do this with an eye on the budget.

_Sam_

Section62 said:

This may be the most problematic part of the project.  You'll need this roof to comply with current standards for habitable rooms, which may mean reconstructing it to allow sufficient insulation and ventilation - in other words you may have to make this roof 'thicker'.  If you don't have sufficient internal headroom to achieve the requirements, the alternative is to go up on the outside.  That would be a modification that almost certainly would need planning consent unless the difference is very minor.  You may be lucky and not need to do this, but it is an example of where you can get tripped up by not being aware of the requirements in advance.

Would porch area be regarded as a habitable room? The flat roof is only on the protruding part of the garage, the rest of the garage is under the main roof which is properly insulated. 

If we install the front door now, would we be able to do the roof later, or would it interfere with the door in any way?

stuart45

Normally a foundation is dug out and built up in masonry to DPC level to sit the new door frame on.

Section62

_Sam_ said:

Would porch area be regarded as a habitable room?

Sorry, poor choice of words on my part.  I meant part of the house used by people as distinct from a garage for the parking of vehicles.  I shouldn't have said "habitable room" as that has a specific meaning.

The issue will be about how the porch area relates to other parts of the house - if your design treats the porch area as one using any permissible lower standards, you may (probably will) need to separate that part from the rest of the house by (for example) an exterior grade door and/or wall insulation.  You have some options, but those options may have consequences for other parts of the project.

_Sam_ said:

If we install the front door now, would we be able to do the roof later, or would it interfere with the door in any way?

No idea... this is why you need a plan.