Has anyone converted their garage?

[wheresmymojo]

We have a garage that we'd like to convert into extra living space for a gym and upholstery workshop. It's adjoined to the neighbours garage so there is a party wall but we wouldn't be doing anything that impacted that wall.

Does anyone know if this requires planning permission?

How much did it cost to convert your garage?

I'm thinking a window on our side (only overlooks our own garden) to let light in.

We'd need to replace the garage door, perhaps with a bi-fold. It's structurally sound as it's a new build but quite damp. Already has electric installed.

I guess we'd need to insulate and then plasterboard.

Any ideas? We're new to owning a home so a bit clueless!

Flooring.

Yes we did. Didn’ t need planning permission.

We did in our last place, detached house with adjoining garage.
We were quoted £11k (nw England) I think the final cost was about £13k. We used it as a den for dc. That was about 8 yrs ago.

The roof had a leak which had caused damp so that all needed sorting, pipes needed to be moved, electrical works, radiator fitted, etc.

Tbh I'm not sure it was worth it - it was lots of messing around and took longer than anticipated. However, we sold it 4 years ago and our buyers were planning on using it as an extra bedroom so we did probably recoup the cost.

No planning permission required BTW.

Yes, also moved internal load bearing walls to create a large hallway as well as a study and utility. We had to get planning consent as that was part of the conditions for the original house but that was unusual. We used an excellent package company because dh is allergic to the stress of getting the builders in (I would have used separate trades, cheaper but more work). Had to insulate. South east England so total cost including absolutely everything £17,000. Definitely could have been done more cheap,y but paid for itself in increasing the value of the house as the garage was too small to be viable for a car nowadays and we still have plenty of parking space.

Yes we've started off making the (integral) garage into a home office, keeping the garage door though. Made it all draughproof, floored it, put in a heater, lined walls.

A few years later, we totally redesigned the house, knocked down wall between hallway & garage to make it our now living room. This required planning permission as we changed the garage door to a window.

Is it adjoined to your house or a free standing garage attached to your neighbour's garage?

It can come down to a change of use and different councils have different local policies, also they consider a garage a place to park even if you have never used it for your car so on my application form (I converted a double garage but one was integral) it asks if it affects parking. Our drive is big enough for 4 cars plus we retained a storage area for tools, gardening stuff.

Our estate was built in 1999/2000s and they removed permitted development so we had to apply for planning permission but didn't have to pay. Definitely double check. They tend to do this to stop anyone doing anything wild which would affect the other houses being sold.

You are also altering the look of the garage too by changing the garage door instead of using a pedestrian door. Has anyone else on your estate done this? Their plans will be online.

You need to check with the council. You will need to pay a consultation fee to them for their advice, but firstly have a look to see if anyone has already done this and look at their plans first.