thoughts on garage conversions

[nospammer999]

Guys ... appreciate your thoughts... I need a bit more house room... Been working from home a while and really need a separate small office... and SHMBO would also like a utility room off the Kitchen...

House viewed from above... is L shaped with garage/dormer bedroom Garage is a double... (forms the leg of the "L") Sloping roof with a dormer bedroom on top... rear wall of garage adjoins living area... no current access from inside house...

I was thinking of a garage conversion... either

a) Simplest... changing double to single... to leave a usable single garage I guess the garage half would have to be slightly more have half (say 8.5ft?) which would leave (after a robust partition wall ... double skin?) about 7.5 ft for living areas which I would divide into

2 rooms (say 7.5ft x 8ft), enter first (utility) from new door from house... then into second (study) from utility...

b) My preferred... Extend front of garage by about 9ft... Partition off about

9ft off the back of the garage across whole width and split this into the two rooms...

Benefit of b) is that a double garage is retained... And two rooms are slightly bigger... and I have enough room on the drive to extend and still get 2 cars side by side on the drive).. Disadvantage is it's a bigger job, will need roof reworking (either re-sloping existing... to cover or putting a separate pitched roof over garage extension)....

I spoke to a "garage conversion company" and awaiting them to send someone out... but over the phone they were only interested in doing the former... claiming it would add value to the home ... and said the second option would not (But I don't think they wanted the hassle of the extra work)....

So any thoughts? Is either worth doing... considering the small (but very useful) amount of extra space (any experience of likely costs NW UK) Are either likely to add or detract from future resale value... Or should I look at other things (perhaps even moving... Currently got 4 bedrooms but all in use for a few years until kids leave ... smallish back garden... little room for extension there)...

Thanks AJ

[Christian McArdle]

This depends on the area. You say you would still have 2 off road parking places, so there is a good chance that a utility and study would add considerable value, even losing a garage space. However, in some areas, having a double garage is an essential tick box for certain value ranges. You need to rummage through property papers to see what is expected.

The main problem with (b) is that it will definitely require planning permission, whilst (a) might be exempt. Indeed, bringing the front of the property towards the public highway will be very problematic from a planning point of view. You would definitely need to sound out the council. They may have a policy of blanket refusal for this.

Even if option (a) does require permission (it might not), it is likely to be granted, as there will still be 3 off road parking places, which is likely to meet the requirements of the council's local plan. More importantly, it does not require potentially ugly development close to the public road.

Christian.

[nospammer999]

Thanks for the thoughts ... Yes I'll persue option a)... Spoke to an estate agent and he though it would be price neutral (so long as I left a single garage) ... However, the garagae conversion company is talking about =A311k to convert double to a single ... which is about double what I expected... (I know its a bit more work than just partitioning the garage, replacing double door with a single, and blocking end with a wall/window.... there's the insulation & finishing ... still seems quite a high quote) AJ

[Simon]

I'm just in the process of doing your (a). We have plenty of off-road parking and want to convert half of our internal double garage into a play room for the children. Our local builder gave us a rough quote of =A34.5K. That is to block up the garage door & replace with a new double glazed window, build a double skin insulated wall (with a fire door) between the garage and the new room, fix & insulate a ceiling, fit all the pluming & wiring and then plaster the walls.

He suggested that we contact a local architect to draw up some plans and make sure all the building regulations are met (she is coming out this week to take a look). I expect her fees will be a few hundred plus a couple of hundred for the building regs inspection, etc. I emailed our local council in Bridgwater to ask about planning permission and they replied the same day to give me all the information about building regs. I then received another email the following day to say that they had checked the planning restrictions on the property and no planning permission was required. Very efficient!

As you say, the estate agent's view is that the conversion is price neutral - some people would like the extra room, some would like the double garage.