To think we can have ‘utility room’ in garage

[Newmumin23]

We’re about to convert our garage to give us more living space downstairs , we also thought we would add in a utility room.
The current plan is to 3rd the garage which would contain larger living space, into utility room and then small area at front left for storage and garage door.

I’m thinking to make the living space larger we could just make 2 rooms which would be larger living space with door into ‘utility/garage’ so essentially the utility units would be in the garage area. It would be done properly so proper flooring, walls boarded out etc so it was a room, it would just have a garage door on the front.

Am I missing anything? Husband thinks resale people might be put off having utility in the garage area, but we’re probably going to be here another 5+ years and the extra living space would be more beneficial to us, utility space is really a bonus.

Is my idea silly? Has anyone done anything similar?

Sounds like a good plan as long as you still have plenty living space. I love my utility

I think on the lines of your DH generally on resale value etc. However I moved a lot as a child/teen and during our relationship so it's kind of ingrained in me. However he stresses to me that our home is our safe space, we live in it so has to suit our purpose and not people who would buy it. For that reason I'd do the utility, having the extra space is so handy. I never had one before this house and would always have one now. It's my one organised space in the house that bizarrely nobody goes in to mess up. Strange that...

Would your layout work to have utility at the other end and replace garage door with either a full wall or another outside door? Sorry don't know how practical or expensive that would be.

I would much rather have a utility in the garage than no utility room.
Unless a garage is vital then they tend to get used for storage or junk . It is so much quieter having a separate space .
Some people have a second dishwasher in the utility

washing machine , tumble dryer, space for a heated airer., maybe an overhead one if there’s headroom.
And storage for laundry / cleaning items, your vacuum, steamer ,, mop.
Any big electronics that you use but need storage
Pet food, bin bags , maybe recycling bin.
Some industrial strong shelves for storage

You can tell I’ve thought of this 😂
I have a Utility Cupboard. The WM and TD are stacked and I have storage shelves . I wouldn’t like the WM in a kitchen now

As a current prospective house buyer, the loss of the garage would be far more of an issue and I wouldn't be interested in your house at all.... I love a utility, but a garage is more important for us.

Also badly done self-conversions (like my neighbours) with inappropriate insulation including in the roof make the place freezing cold and unusable in winter.

The neighbour's house sale has fallen through three times in the past few years because the buyers survey exposes the problems, including the lack of fire proofing (the garage is adjacent to other garages and has open joists!) and insufficient windows (ie none). They refuse to spend money to bring it up to standard and seem to be hoping to fool someone who only has a valuation survey not a proper one.

I don't think you should keep the garage door, but replace it.

If you have a car, please don't pave over the entire front garden to accommodate it. Lack of grass/earth for drainage is not good and could cause flooding.

Remember it needs to be warm enough for heat pump tumble dryers and fridge / freezers to work optimally

For me it would depend on what you use your garage for and how much of a dumping ground is it? And how easy access is from the house.

For example, if it will be a place to store bikes and DIY kit, are the bikes neatly mounted on the wall, with DIY kit organised neatly on racking / shelves? In that scenario, I think it could work. You'd basically need to think of turning the garage storage into something that you want in your house.

If a dumping ground for crap, then are you really going to want to be folding washing / storing food etc in there?

My parents did exactly this. They split their garage into a utility room and toilet, plus a small study at the front of the house, it's actually a really good use of the space

Thanks for replies . I do understand losing the garage but ours is literally full of junk (that we are getting rid of). We are boarding out the roof space in the garage to create loft storage which will hopefully mitigate some loss of storage. We also have a large garden so we’re adding storage for any of the outdoor things (kids toys, lawn mower etc) to accommodate that.

All work is being done properly through building control and necessary planning etc so will be fully signed off and compliant but thanks for pointing out @ButtSurgery
@markzily

@LlynTegid we have a drive already so won’t have any impact on that thanks for pointing out though

We have a rather large garage attached to our house. Our boiler, washing machine, tumble dryer, fridge freezer and another single freezer are all out there, along the wall of the garage. There is a bit of worktop and shelves over the washing machine and tumble dryer. It is not fancy. It is still the garage floor and breeze block walls.

But we still have room for our garden stuff and our car.

We have our washing machine and tumble dryer in our garage.

The only risk is that machines tend to last for less years due to it weigh cold and draughty. But we didn't have a choice because that's where the connection for the water is and we rent. But we have been here 3 nearly 4 years. My washing machine is 5 years old. My tumble dryer died after a year though.

So if you can make It draught proof. I don't see why not.

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

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

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 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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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….🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️