Garage conversion or sunroom extension?

[abigailthespiderinthehat]

Looking at two similar houses to buy - one we'd need to convert the garage to a playroom and the other we'd like to add a sunroom extension (large enough for six seater dining table). Does anyone have a rough idea of what each of these would cost? We are in Scotland.

I'm not an expert but we have been recently looking at similar options.

By far the cheapest way to create extra living space is to convert the garage. The biggest cost in any extension is the foundations, walls, roof etc. In a garage all that's already there.

I guess the question is how much you need your garage .

The garage conversion would be a necessity- but that house is cheaper, the other house already has the garage conversion done but is dearer (the sunroom would just be nice if we could afford it, even if not right away). Have really no idea of what these things cost at all. Tried googling but not really getting anywhere!

A sun room may not be usable all year unless you are prepared to build it properly and heat it adequately. We have full height glass on two sides (it fills in an L shape) and a glass lantern roof. It has the highest possible spec for the double glazing plus Underfloor heating. I use it all year because it’s my kitchen. It is large and was £70,000 to build, excluding kitchen units. You can spend way less but what’s the point if you cannot use it? It’s cheaper to have a standard construction with big windows and roof lights. Only go for a sun room with cheap materials and poor heating if you don’t intend to use it in the winter. If you want a high spec one, then use it more often than for formal meals.

You'll have to get some quotes - most companies offer free quotes. They're notorious at not giving away their prices online. But remember you can always haggle your prices down, especially with a major project like a sunroom. To put it in perspective, a upvc window is a few hundred, doors, around £1000....

I got this info from householdquotes.co.uk

Single storey extension
If it all depends, how much does a single storey extension cost?
In 2017, an estimate for the cost of a single storey extension is anywhere between £1,250 and £1,750 per m2.
In London and the South East, this could be anywhere between £1,600 and £2,100+ per m2.
Let’s say you’re looking for a 5m x 5m extension. The cost of an extension might be around £30,000. In London, maybe even up to £50,000+. That’s just for building the extension.
If we add on 10-15% for professional fees for the architect, planning application, building regulations, structural engineer and so on the cost goes up.
And let’s not forget about VAT.
All in all, a single storey extension could cost £39,000 at the lower end. £65,000 in London at the upper end.
Check out costs for yourself by getting 3 quotes from builders local to you by using Rated People.

It will depend what direction the sun room would face and whether it would be too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

A previous house we owned had a conservatory already on the back, it was an absolute nightmare and I would never have one again.

We have done a garage conversion but a long time ago and would always suggest that you look at where you would store tools, gardening stuff, outdoor toys. Because we designed our own we kept a 6ft wide storage space across the back of a double garage which is more than adequate to store bikes/lawn mower/ridiculous about of power tools.

I’ve had a sunroom built recently- we call it that but it’s basically another reception room overlooking the back garden with roof lights and bifolds. Fine to use all year round unlike a conservatory. 18sq m, finished price about £30k. Well worth saving up for imo.

I'm not sure I know the difference exactly between a sunroom and conservatory- I'd like an ordinary room about roughly 5x4m with more windows than wall . Was hoping it wouldn't cost above £15k but seems I'm ridiculously off with that!

Yes PizzaPlanet that sounds like what I want, couldn't afford 30k in a million years though..

Pizzaplanet - can you link to anything that looks like what you have?