To think a second living area would be preferable to a garage?

[Dylaninthemovies1]

In the city where I live, new build houses are popping up everywhere. Lots of them have 3 or 4 bedrooms, a lounge, dining kitchen and garage. But the garages are actually a bit small for a lot of modern cars. Aibu to think they would be better making the space into a 2nd living / family / sitting area than a glorified storage room ?

Dylan I use them for craft space, pet space and board games atm. Because it’s all downstairs it’s so much more accessible than extra bedrooms etc too

Could well be planning constraints. If you are building on a compact site the garage counting as parking is v useful. Our house is unbalanced. 2 storey 4 beds 2 baths upstairs. Downstairs reception room running front to back, kitchen and garage. Needs something doing to it when I get the motivation!

Absolutely, you dont need a car in the city

Where I live, many new build properties don’t have the right to get residents’ parking permits from the council. They are cheaper because of this, as you can never own a car.

As a family with kids we'd be lost without our garage, even with a shed and loft. Everyone I know who has converted theirs has ended up lacking decent storage space and with a weird, underused room. It's totally subjective though, no two households will have the same needs.

Were a family with kids. Never had a garage.

Garages are brilliant storage. We used ours loads, years before we had a car. I would view a house with a lounge, kitchen and garage as a much more attractive prospect than one with 2 lounges and a kitchen.

DH has a motorbike. We need the garage.

I'd prefer a garage as lots of new builds are not given the right to park on the road. It's one of the clauses in the planning permission.

I think the point is they are trying to discourage car use, which is a good thing

Most new build houses have tiny bedrooms, 2 tiny doubles so one of the singles that fits no more than a bed ends up as wardrobe/dressing room...

I've never seen the point of a garage, tbh. Especially these days where most homes (or at least a significant portion) have more than one car.

Yep garage invaluable here.

Especially now- since we’ve had kids we’ve invested in a treadmill, bike turbos, a few weights and foam floor - overall far cheaper than 2x gym memberships and user far more. We have room for that and storage for lawnmowers etc. Been an absolute gidsend in lockdown

We don't have a garage as we like in a Victorian terrace. It's our first house we've owned after years of flats. One thing I find is we don't have space for bikes, ladders, paint and tools, that sort of thing. So depending on the household I think a garage is useful.

We converted our integral garage to a second living room about 14 years ago. It was great for sleepovers when the kids were younger, amd is now in its umpteenth reincarnation as dh’s wfh space and ds’gym. It was definitely money well spent, and we have plenty storage space in the 8x10 shed we bought to replace it

You will find that all councils have minimum parking standards so in my area 2/3 beds have to have two off road parking spaces, 4 beds 3 parking spaces, garages count as one, so if they were another room them more space is required outside for parking. Most garages now have to be a minimum standards to take current cars, ( not suvs etc )

We don’t have a garage. No-one does where I live, as it’s all terraced housing or flats. Hardly anyone has cars, though.

Depends on the amount of storage elsewhere on the property. Garages aren’t just for keeping cars in. They can double up as a utility room freeing up space in the kitchen, room for a big chest freezer, spare fridge, plus general storage space, bikes, etc.

Storage is the one thing that I think almost every house lacks. Or maybe I just have too much stuff...

You will find that all councils have minimum parking standards so in my area 2/3 beds have to have two off road parking spaces,

It’s the opposite of that where I live. Parking spaces or garages are exceptionally rare, and many new builds are even denied council parking permits to park on the street. You can never own a car. It’s to discourage car use.

A friend was looking to move because of lack of parking for her family: four DC, three with cars so a five car household.

Estate agent really pushed a 5 bed new build in a select development in a lovely quiet rural spot.

She went to see it, it had a garage, and a driveway(in front of garage so if you want the car in the garage the other one has to move), no front garden you could pave over and no street to park on.

Who would buy want essentially one parking space for 6 people?

Instead she bought an older place with a fab in and out drive. For less money.

I'd prefer the garage, even though I've never put a car in it.

Houses with garages sell better.

Our garage could take one car but it is full of stuff. Partly this is because there is so little storage in the house.

Its cheaper for the developer to put a garage in than another room.

Not necessarily, depends where you live. Here in Ireland, there are more rigorous building regulations around an integrated garage than around a living space in its place. My brother tells me that when he bought his house, the developers put a lot of pressure on him to opt for extra living space rather than an integral garage. He refused, although he knew that as the family expanded he would need the extra space eventually. The builders did charge others a "premium" to neighbours who opted for the additional living space.

Now, I'm not 100% sure of the finer details, but the builders need to make extra fire safety provisions for putting in a bedroom overhead and extra fire safety between the integral garage and the rest of the ground floor, a stronger floor too, I think, and extra strong lintel to support the wider opening space where the garage doors would be, as opposed to a standard window. Imagine if a car caught fire in this space, you would need a strong barrier to prevent the fire spreading to the house. Of course, the builder saved on insulation and plastering this space but still needed to provide power points and lighting.

DB and his family use the space for storage in the early years. When he had time he built a storage space/workshop in their large back garden. He converted the garage space himself into a playroom/games room for the children. Plastering, and some block and brick work to support the window were relatively easy tasks for him. The room is possibly a little smaller than the neighbours' living spaces but the advantage is that DB's room is much more soundproofed ideal for gaming and listening to music at high volume.

Watch for any restrictions on conversions in your planning permission. In Ireland a garage conversion where garage is attached to the house is exempt from requirement to obtain Planning Permission (provided it sticks to its original footprint) but is not exempt from requirement to comply with Building Regulations. However some Councils put in a condition in the Permission that notwithstanding that it is considered exempt, it is not permitted to carry out a garage conversion (or any other building work) in a particular development...for whatever reason they give...usually here it is' proper planning & estate management'. You can apply then for permission to do whatever but the original planning could hold firm if Council don't want houses looking different. The estate I live in is quite old & before Planning Permissions were really a thing ppl lopped up blockwork sheds, extensions, garages...you name it. It is higgedly piggedly, far from uniform & I think because of that newcomers/younger residents think they can just do as they please as they did in the past. Not anymore, someone added a side extension & I saw on a notice posted by the Council that enforcement action was taken. He may have to remove it now.

I just have small loft for storage at the moment and have a perpetual 'pile of stuff waiting to go up there'. I've been eyeing up a property on rightmove with an integral garage. Having an easily accessible space to store tools, ladders, cleaning supplies etc appeals to me. It has the added bonus of not having to regularly clean it. Admittedly if I had a more minimalist non hoarder DP and kids I'd probably opt for the extra living room!