To want to convert our garage into living space?

[EmmelineLestrange]

We (me, DP, and my 2 kids who are with us half the time and with their dad the other half) have a 3 bed house. It has a lounge, and a kitchen/diner. It's mid terrace, with a small garden at the back, off street parking outside the house for 1 car, and there isn't much storage space in the house. Low pitch roof so no opportunity to go up into the roof.

We have an integrated garage which is just used for storage, we don't put a car in there.

Kids are currently 12 and 9, and the lounge is a shared area to watch TV and they have their computer in there.

We are looking to either convert the garage into living space (probably a "grown up" lounge with a sofa bed to properly be able to accommodate guests), or to put a cabin in the garden, but that would be a lot smaller, take up a lot of the garden, and not get any direct sunlight.

As well as improving the living space for us, I'm mindful of what potential buyers might prefer in the future - this is not our forever home.

So, if you were buying a house, would you prefer it to have a garage, or another area of living space?

YABU - would prefer to have a garage
YANBU - not bothered about the garage and would prefer to have more living area

@nokidshere

I tried to do this but the bastards denied planning permission

If the garage is integral you shouldn't need planning permission just building regs.

Came on to say just this. Building regs only.

We converted our garage to use as a playroom and it's just fantastic. It's also classed as a bedroom which adds on value. The estate agent said no one uses garages for cars these days other than older people. Think we paid around 8k so it's really cost effective too xxx

It's an idea. Could you then do this with your existing living room?

Just thinking of doing this but with a garage 6 foot from the house and no plumbing. The "off road parking" is absurd - you have to reverse into a passageway between house and garage off a one way street and when you reverse in (I have a small car) any passenger has to get out otherwise there's no room to open the door.

On top of which the garage is built over an old drop kerb while the current passageway parking is over a full kerb. So may have to knock the garage down.

So yes, I suspect full planning permission will be needed - not just building regs.

(runs off to inspect lightwells)

YANBU,

We converted out integral garage a few years back. Garages just become receptacles for rubbish you can't be arsed to sort out half the time. We turned ours into a home office for DH, with two of us working from home at the moment it's been a life saver.

I don't think buyers really value a garage unless they are real petrol-heads and plan on tinkering a lot. Most people would rather have an extra room.

Looking at your floor plan you leave any potential buyers a huge wealth of options.

Especially because they could choose you have ground as living space and then use whole second floor as large bedroom and dressing room or large kids bedroom (would easily sleep 2) and playroom and then have the top floor as kids (easily have 3 up there over those 2 rooms) or have adults in en suite and other as office.

People tend to buy the space they need and configure it themselves rather than use each room as labelled in a plan.

For access in, I have a terrace and in order to add a door from hall to the back room, they stole a small corner of the living room so I have a door in hall which once in turns to the left and then you go through what would have been the door from living room to back room. Something like that might work if you partition off the section at stairs end then have an angled wall leading into main garage room.
If you can use some of the length in might make the proportions feel better

The estate agent said no one uses garages for cars these days other than older people

Apart from a couple in their 30s who moved in last year the average age of our street is 60. (About 20 houses) Not one person puts their car in the garage and more than half have converted the garage to living space.

My grandparents did this with their garage but they made it so you could still park a car in there, OR use it as a living space.

Would there be enough room to have one of those beds that pulls down from the wall?

@nokidshere

I tried to do this but the bastards denied planning permission

If the garage is integral you shouldn't need planning permission just building regs.

It's on a fairly new build estate and they said we had to have 2 parking spaces (one in front of the garage and the one inside the garage (even though it's never been used in 16 years and is too small!).

We did this. Brilliant decision. Garage conversions are not that difficult or expensive and the room we have got out of it is fabulous.

I would love to buy a house with a converted garage, as it would save me a job. We currently own a house without a garage and because it’s 3 storeys, we don’t have much attic space either. I know it wouldn’t be for everyone but I think it’s brilliant as it makes us far more discerning with our ‘stuff’. Houses are expensive. Why fill valuable potential living space with junk?

We looked at houses a while back and considered buying one with garage and converting. I seem to remember someone saying you’d need planning permission for converting the whole thing but not if you leave the door untouched. So leaving a meter or so as a storage area for bikes etc at the front and accepting it will be dark. Which is fine for teens using it as a den or movie room.

I think you would be very happy with the extra room, especially if you incorporate some storage to hide "stuff" . Also the bed could have drawers underneath and be used a sofa?
When you come to sell the house, it will attract families that want the extra space, but not those requiring a garage. That does not sound too much of a problem.

@SophieGiroux
I tried to do this but the bastards denied planning permission

If the garage is integral you shouldn't need planning permission just building regs.
It's on a fairly new build estate and they said we had to have 2 parking spaces (one in front of the garage and the one inside the garage (even though it's never been used in 16 years and is too small!).

There were covenants on our new build estate when we moved in 22 yrs ago. However, they were only valid for 7yrs. Are you sure yours haven't expired already?

@nokidshere it was ten years after building that we tried, didn't help that a neighbour complained at every opportunity. Someone else has now done theirs though with no complaints so I don't think they could really turn us down now if they're allowed.

@CloudFormations

I just did this. Best decision ever. The space is so much more useful to us as a room than it was as a garage.

Gosh !. My husband would have a seizure at that. We have a working Spitfire engine in our garage ( as in the aeroplane ). That and his grandfathers Rolls Royce. The garage is holy ground. Women are only allowed entry if carrying a cup of tea.

A couple of years ago we converted the garage into 1/3 a utility room and 2/3 'den' extra living space with a sofa bed.
We added a lean to 'shed' in dead space down the side of the house for storage.
It did increase the value of the house as the following year the house was valued when we split up.

A utility room and extra family space was far more useful than the garage too.