“Thinking of converting your Garage into living space?”
Garages nowadays are rarely actually used to shelter cars and end up becoming a bit of, shall we say, a lorry-loaded compartment for a man’s junk. Rusty toolkits, squashed bicycle parts, opened paint pots and loose screws come to mind. So, why not transform your not-quite-wasted space into an extended living space?
Let’s think about what to consider when converting your garage.
Having extra space in your property, rather than a cluttered garage, may help to improve the value of your property. Often, having any type of conversion can increase the value of your property by up to 10% and, what’s more, it is one of the cheapest ways to add value to your home.
In addition, converting your garage can add extra space to your home which may prevent you having to move house. Perhaps you are expecting a baby, or don’t quite have enough living space for comfort, either way, a converted garage provides the perfect option of creating space, without the upheaval and expense of moving.
You will need to consider the fact that many garages are longer and thinner than most people desire for a room in their house. You can tackle this by splitting the garage into two rooms, using stud or block walling. Many people opt to make the additional room a smaller bathroom, wet room or store room.
Most attached garages will not require planning permission, but it is important you make sure you are certain you do not need planning permission before any building work is started. In addition, you will probably be required to contact your local council with a building notice. There are separate rules for standalone garages. As a first point of call to find out if you require planning permission, take a look at the Planning Portal, the online building regulations website: “>Planning Portal.
You will need to ensure that you have damp proofing in the walls and floors. Many garage walls may already have a damp proof membrane, however, just so you know, in the wall, a damp proof membrane should be placed between two layers of bricks in order to prevent moisture rising up the wall and rotting the brickwork.
The floor will also need to be damp proofed by laying a damp proof membrane at the same time the floor is laid.
You will also need to ensure that walls are sufficiently insulated. Insulation is assessed in terms of a ‘u’ value, which is the measure of the rate of heat escape, in watts, from a square metre of the material in an hour. Windows and doors should be 0.18 W/m²K. Wooden doors are a good choice in terms of insulation.
According to the Homebuilding and Renovating Online Magazine on 17th July 2015, ventilation is required in a second room to meet building regulations, while fire regulations require an escape route.
New windows generally won’t require planning permission but should be energy-efficient and double-glazed to be approved by building control. They may need to be able to be opened right up, to comply with fire safety regulations. In addition, the window must also have trickle vents.
Wood frame windows can meet the above requirements but will have to be of sufficient depth to accommodate a 24mm double-glazed unit.
Finally, when putting in doors or windows in the walls of the garage, the original garage wall may need to be reinforced.
Windows and Doors UK can provide an installation service to go with your windows and doors. Our windows and doors are made to high specifications and high-quality standards.
For more information on our windows and doors, contact Windows-Doors-UK on 0843 886 8376.
