Don’t sell up – move into the garage!

Why consider a Garage conversion

Doing a garage conversion to create an extra area for living in can add as much as 10% to the value of your home. That aside, it is also the perfect way to make use of space, which, more often than not, is rarely used for cars — instead of becoming a dumping ground for various items we don’t know what to do with.

Using a garage to add to your floor space avoids using up garden space for an extension and allows you to keep building work relatively separate, and so any associated disruption is kept to a minimum too.

“In terms of disruption, 95% of the work is done within the garage,” advises Stuart Letts of Garage Conversion Specialists. “Creating the opening from the house to the conversion is one of the last things which we do to minimise noise and dust, etc.”

What Type of Garage do you Have?

Garages tend to fall into three categories — attached, integral and detached. Each comes with its issues:

Attached or Integrated: This type of garage is connected to the main structure of the house, sometimes to one side, but also often projecting out from the front of the house with a room above, commonly a bedroom. Attached garages can usually be accessed from inside the house, making the conversion even easier.

Detached: Just because a garage is detached does not mean it is not suitable for conversion into living space. However, you are more likely to have to apply for planning permission to change its intended use if it is a separate building.

How Big is Your Garage?

A standard-sized single garage can give you around 14m² of extra space, so is ideal if you are looking for somewhere to house a home office, playroom or guest bedroom — or even a downstairs shower room and utility. It might also offer the potential to extend an existing space, such as your kitchen or hallway, depending on the layout of your home.

double garage can add around 28m² and gives you the option of using part of the space for storage or still as a garage.