The Garage Project

[mbridle]

Hi All,

I am (hopefully) going to be moving house shortly. The biggest project I'll have is to build a garage.

I've not done this sort of thing before so I'm looking for some general info.

The facts:

-the planning permission sounds like it should be ok - I had a good chat to the local planning officer.

- 3.8m wide by 6 m long.

- It will be next to a boundary - it's on a corner plot so it's not immediately next to a neighbour's property.

-block built and rendered (to match the house)

- pitch roof (probably)

- electric supply from the house a couple of metres away

The questions;

- what order do you do things?

- what will be the approx cost to get a builder in to do the lot? (I live on the South Coast)

- Is it much more expensive to have a shallow apex roof?

- I plan to purchase "standard" garage plans from someone online. Will these be good enough for the planning people? Has anyone got an good or bad experiences?

- can I do any of the electrics without incurring part p problems?

Cheers.

[sponix]

IMO, Foundations, floor, walls, roof, dooor and window.

I recon around £4k

Yes.

No experience of buying plans off the shelf. Why not draw them up yourself?

Do you need part P? Yes. Should there be any major problems? Finding someone to sign the work off..

sponix

[John]

Depends what you want to use the garage for. If it's only to store cars & stuff a basic shell is adequate. If you want a workshop a few extras can be included at little cost. Consider an insulated floor. I missed this in my last build and suffered sever condensation in the spring when the floor was on cold earth and the air got warmer. The floor was litterally soaking wet. Power float the floor finish. Then apply a good epoxy paint. It costs a bit more but gives a better finish. Also, I'm told that normal floor paint doesn't take to a power floated finish. That's what was on one manufacturers tin. Also, paint the inside white. It makes it a lot lighter. You should be able to install the electrics yourself but will need Part P certification. My tame electrician won't certify work he hasn't installed as he doesn't know what's hidden. That may be the case in a house but in a garage with exposed wiring, you may be OK. Best check though. As the building will have to be passed by the local inspector, just don't install any electrics. Once all is certified, it's unlikely anyone will look at it again. Your risk though. Have you considered a concrete sectional garage. They're pretty good these days and come in a variety of finishes. The headroom is a bit low though. If you have a personnel door, look at the cheap steel ones on eBay for about =A3285. If it's for workshop use, think about a roller shutter door instead of up and over type. They keep the draughts out better. Also, if it's a workshop, Insulate everywhere. I calculated my heating needs and stopped when I reached 100kW and that was before I'd got to the roof. All these add little cost but add lots of comfort. Good luck.

[Owain]

Dig trenches, put in cables and pipes, pour in concrete, walls, roof, windows.

The pitch of the roof depends on what you are roofing it with.

If the work is subject to a Building Regulations applictaion, you can have the wiring covered by that application. Also consider water/drainage and security/telephone cabling.

Have you had permission from the Highways Dept and got the location of the dropped kerb confirmed? Without that, you cannot lawfully drive your car across the pavement.

Owain