To think we can have ‘utility room’ in garage

Will you have access directly from the house? If so, I'd definitely do it.

Ours garage 'is' perhaps smaller than yours. (Front 2/3rds of house.)
We've converted it to a utility and downstairs WC, which gives us a coat and shoes cupboard under the stairs (rather than the really cramped WC we had in that space previously).
Have to say the utility frees up so much space elsewhere in the house, since it's become home to so many things. Aside from all the laundry stuff, and spare linens, we use it to store all the cleaning equipment (plus hoover, brooms etc in a large cupboard), spare bulbs and extension leads, batteries, candles and torches. We also use it to store all the tools and DIY stuff. And because it's spacious it's also great as a dumping ground when ds returns home from uni while I sort through / find places to stash it!
Previously we've had a tiny utility and that was too small to have the same impact and quickly got to crisis point with the washing in it. So don't skimp on the utility!

Going to be awfully expensive to rip up part of garage foundation to put in water pipes and drainage pipes for utility sink, & washing machine. Even harder if wanting to run gas for a boiler in there too. Also the appliances will have to work harder in an unheated and unventilated area- some tumble dryers won’t work if below a certain temp.

I would not advise putting a full utility area in the garage.

Depends what you use it for I think. Some people use their utility as a kitchen overflow (extra fridge) small appliance storage etc which may not work for your situation. But definitely for laundry or bulk item storage or even an overflow freezer it can work. I love a utility!

We have this - old garage that is now utility, workroom (DIY stuff), bike storage etc so sounds fine to me

But if she doesnt convert the front of the garage then all of this would still be possible. It is in mine. I had a narrow , long garage. Back of it is utility and front of it now stores bikes, canoes, our wood storage, camping equipment etc. We would still be able to fit in a motorbike.

Not everyone wanting a garage needs it for a car though. Motorbikes (our specific need), kayaks, camping gear, bikes, SUP boards, all sorts of alternatives to cars tbh.

@Conniebygaslight - our house was built in 1982. You can't get a modern car into the garage (we once got a 3 door polo in but had to fold in the wing mirrors and there was no way you could open the doors fully). Nearly everyone has converted the garage and has their car (or cars) on the driveway (which were all built as singles but most xan now take 3 cars). So I'd be the person who didn't comment on your lack of a garage....

I think your idea is great and sounds ideal, but for me it would depend on cost vs. sale value.

Would the cost of the conversion reduce the house price? If I was looking to only stay 5 years that would impact my decision.

If it doesn't impact the house value, I would also consider how much this was going to cost. If in 5 years you are at looking at moving, for me, I would prefer to put the money towards my future house.

I did this. Our garage was narrow - built when cars were much smaller than they are now. So it was used only for storage anyway. We did add a small extension...i'll add a diagram if you want. In the other half of the garage we added a mezzanine level for more storage.
If anything it has increased the value of our home because the garage was unusable for its original purpose. Our neighbours on one side hasn't got a utility room at all but made half the garage a small office and the other side did make it a utility room but with no extension so they need to go outside to access it.

When we bought our new build the kitchen door from the kitchen lead to the garage. The garage also then had another door to the garden. The garage had the plumbing/and was designed to have the WM and TD housed in there.

we decided to divide the space into a clearly defined utility and the rest garage. Which has worked well. It was more for aesthetics and functionality - as I guess we could have continued to have just have the garage/utility as it was was… but I wanted a stud wall so I couldn’t see the bike/garage garbage in view everytime I went opened the door or went to use WM or TB. We didn’t need any building regulations as nothing was changed other than a stud wall (if that’s makes sense) but it’s very warm and has no heating other than from the kitchen internal wall to the agates and the heat from the extra fridge that’s also in the unit it space. (Not sure why that is? I can only think that Maybe the garage had more insulation put in by the developers originally as was always designed to have the TD and WM in the garage?) and I guess the stud wall makes it a small space so holds heat?

anyhow it’s worked for us very well! No regrets! I guess if a buyer wanted a full garage - it would only be the cost of knocking down the added insulated stud wall though.

hope that helps OP!

Do what works best for you but be wary of trying to squeeze too many functions into the space if it's a standard single garage as the internal dimensions do end up quite small. A living area, storage and a utility sounds a bit squashed. I wasnt clear if you were extending existing living space into the garage or creating a new self contained area? One option might be to create a utility cupboard within the new living space so it's neatly housed but you create a more multi functional space.

I agree with keeping the front half as a storage area if it's a family sized home. We've previously lived in a house with a full garage conversion and as our kids were growing it was getting more difficult to store their larger bikes, camping stuff, big paddling pool in sheds and Keter units in the garden.

Depending on layout, if planning is a constraint rather than budget, could you seek to lose the garage door and extend the garage to provide your utility and a larger room with downstairs toilet/shower room proposed for ground floor disability access/provision for elder living?

We have a designated laundry room in an outbuilding. I love it because I can shut the door on noisy washing machine and dryer, and unsightly clothes horse, and it freed up lots of space in the utility.

we don’t have a garage as we built a downstairs bedroom with en-suite shower room & a utility instead. The amount of people who have commented that we don’t have a garage is nuts….we have a very large garden shed. It’s almost part of the British culture to have a garage just to fill with junk….🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

We had our garage converted into a utility room. It now has a sink, washing machine and freezer in it with lots of junk and clothes driers. Make sure your roof is ok especially if it is flat as we had ours re covered and have a few problems with that. We also have a radiator and side door and window put in.

We plan to convert our garage next year. It will be a full on put in a window and lose the garage door conversion. At the moment the room above the garage is freezing as is the hall because there's no insulation at all in the garage. I 'work' (furniture upcycling) in the garage and despite having draft excluders around the door the wind still gets in - so it can be freezing and feel damp if it's raining. I'd hate to have my utility room in there currently. However once the conversion has been done I'm moving the utility in there - no more tiny space but room to do everything including the ironing.

We use our garage for bikes and bike maintenance but also have the tumble dryer in there. I think keeping 2/3 of the garage flexible for storage & utility is the most flexible option. You or a future buyer could put up a light partition but don’t do anything too difficult to undo as there are people like us needing more space for cycles or motorbikes.

If you're creating loft space and decent garden storage I'd consider getting rid of the garage door and having a window and making it a better utility room. Natural light in the space will make it much more attractive.

Losing the garage would be a deal breaker for me. Not because I need to park a car but because I need the storage and workshop area.

If you do partially convert you'll have to consider that the garage floor might not be damp proofed like the house is. You would also have to insulate very well, including the roof so the ceiling would be low. The door through would need to be exterior grade and lockable.

I quite like the idea of a utility room though, a pantry too. A downstairs WC is a must too.

We converted the back half of our garage to a utility room. Best thing we ever did, we really needed the space in the kitchen.
We tanked out the space and insulated it properly to make sure there wasn't any damp.
The only downside we can't access the garage from the house and have to go outside which is a pain in the winter going out in the rain/cold.
I am a bit of a utility room snob now though, would never consider a house without one.

I have a "utility zone" in the garage. We did it when we had the kitchen done and re-purposed some of the old kitchen units & counter.
So we have the old kitchen sink (with the cupboard underneath) and then the counter continues along with the washing machine and tumble dryer underneath. It works really well and I love having an extra full size sink and the space to sort out stuff on the counters. Yes, it's not as flash as some of my friends but it does the job!

Very few people I know use their garage for putting a car in. I'd much rather have a utility area. It would add not reduce value and attractiveness of your property for me, provided there was enough storage for bikes, lawnmowers etc too.

I’ve had a vented dryer in my garage for six years that is still going strong now

I’m following this thread really to watch it. I have a fairly new build and I have been looking at trying to move my washer into the garage to create more space in my kitchen but all of the water pipes are under concrete floors and it’s just looking like an absolute nightmare to achieve with drainage concerns as well. I just thought I would mention this in case it was relevant to you