Garage conversion poll - please help me decide!

[MumofOne1789]

For extra info, I have a lot of dead space and a bare concrete plinth I can put storage sheds etc at the side of my house, so can replace some of the garage storage.

Assuming no existing utility, put that in.

Definitely utility room at the back, you can also hang coats in it, keep shoes in it. If big enough you could also have a clothes horse and dehumidifier. Very useful space 👌

We moved to a modern house where the garage had been converted into a bedroom/study. It was so cold we couldn't use the room in winter.

Planning this at the moment! We have a large utility room already and if I didn't have that it would be part of the conversion. I love shutting the door so I can't hear the washing machine or tumble dryer (mainly in the winter). I can leave clean laundry in there until I take it up without worrying about cooking smells affecting it! So yes, a smaller room and utility would be my choice.

I'm having two rooms and really well insulated - the bedroom above is currently freezing (even though it has 2 radiators) and the conversion should really help with that. The rooms are to be an all singing, all dancing craft room and a smaller wine store (with proper fridge).

if done properly to normal habitable room standards, with windows, heating, insulation etc, then garage conversions will be as warm
as the rest of the house.

The problem is a lot of garage conversions are done on the cheap. Just a platsterboard box built within the garage and often garage door left on.

Moral of the story, if you’re going to do a garage conversion then do it properly, or not at all.

Did you get the building regs certificate for this conversion, as it doesn't sound suitably insulated?

We converted our double garage 5 years ago and it is well insulated, has radiators and is not cold.

We made a shower room and laundry area with washer, drier, airer, laundry basket shelving in there, as well as a living space with sofa bed used for guests. We had an existing small Utility Room, which now serves as a separate Boot Room with the utility sink, cleaning supplies, etc.

How many people live in your house, do you need the extra room, do you need a utility…so hard to answer without more details of what your needs are. I would kill for a second living room for my teens, but if it were just the two of us I would keep the garage and have a utility room. What are your needs?

This means it wasn’t done properly and it wasn’t insulated.

We were only renting the house with the cold conversion for a year.
I'm sure it was done badly as many other things in the house were lashed up too. It's hard to imagine how it's possible to muck up a new house to such an extent.

Depending on how many rooms and people there are in your house, I would have a utility room. It's one of my favourite rooms in my house - just makes all the other rooms function better

I would love a utility and an extra room, and it we weren’t planning on selling sometime in the next 5 years, I’d just do what our needs are. But I’d like to make it more sellable so wanting general preferences from other people.

I actually don’t know if it’ll add value, I’ve seen conflicting information online so I am going to get professional advice too…not doing it if we won’t get our money back when we sell in the not too distant future.

In which case you need to look at the sale values of houses on your street and look at the commonalities of the houses that achieved the highest value. It might be that spending a minimal amount will deliver the best selling price.

We sold a house within 5 years of buying it. We actually did very little. A new driveway, painted inside, tidied the garden and new flooring in the lounge. So we spent circa £7k. The price increased by 40+%. The people who bought it spent ££££ on it.

From an investment perspective, if you know you will be moving, spending the least amount to deliver the most is key.

We just did a garage conversion (we have a utility cupboard, not a separate utility room). It will be cheaper if not adding a utility (as you will need to think about plumbing etc). In most cases this will add value as you're adding a room.