Garage Conversions in Preston, Lancashire and the North West

What can a garage be turned into?

Common uses are a home office, a bedroom, a playroom, a gym, a utility room or a snug. Deciding the use early matters, because it shapes the design. A bedroom needs a safe way out in a fire, a shower room needs drainage, and an office needs good light and plenty of sockets.

Integral, attached or detached, what is the difference?

• Integral garage. Built inside the main walls of the house, usually with a door into the hall. It is normally the simplest to convert, because it already shares walls, a roof and services with the house.
• Attached garage. Built against the side of the house. It often has a single skin wall and a lighter roof, which need upgrading to meet the rules for a habitable room.
• Detached garage. Standing apart from the house. It can be converted into an office, gym or studio, but it needs its own power, heating and possibly drainage. Using it as a separate home needs planning permission.

Do I need planning permission to convert a garage?

Often not. When the work is internal and the garage door is replaced with a wall and window that match the house, a conversion is usually allowed without a planning application. You may need planning permission if:

• the house is listed or in a conservation area
• the original planning consent for the estate removed permitted development rights, which is common on newer estates
• a planning condition requires the garage to be kept for parking
• the outside of the house changes in a bigger way, for example a new roof or an extension at the same time

Check your title deeds as well, because some estates have covenants about garages. We check the planning position for your house before work starts.

What building regulations apply?

Turning a garage into a habitable room always needs building regulations approval. Building control usually look at:

• Foundations. The new wall that fills the garage door opening needs a suitable foundation. The existing garage door opening often has none, so building control may ask to see what is there.
• Floor. Garage floors are usually lower than the house and have no insulation. The floor is raised and insulated over a damp proof membrane.
• Walls and roof. Walls and the roof are insulated to current standards, and single skin walls need extra work to keep damp out.
• Ventilation. Windows with background ventilation, so the room stays dry.
• Fire safety. A safe way out, which may mean an escape window depending on the layout, and smoke alarms.

Building control inspect the work and issue a completion certificate at the end.

How do I know if my garage is suitable?

Most garages can be converted, but a few things decide how much work is involved. We look at the foundations and the condition of the walls, any signs of damp, the roof covering and structure, the head height once the floor is raised, and where drainage and heating pipes could run. On an integral garage, the wall between the garage and the house also needs checking before any new doorway is made.

Will the conversion look right from outside?

It should look as if it was always part of the house. That means bricks or render that match, a window that lines up with the other windows on the front, and a neat finish where the garage door used to be. Choosing matching materials early avoids a patched look, and it also keeps the work within the usual planning rules.

Will I lose parking?

You lose the garage as a parking space. Many garages are too narrow for a modern car anyway, but check you still have room on the drive, and whether the planning consent for your estate expects the garage to be kept for parking. We look at this at the survey.

How disruptive is a garage conversion?

Less than most building work, because nearly all of it happens inside the garage. The noisiest stages are taking out the garage door, building the new wall and opening any doorway into the house.

What affects the cost of a garage conversion?

• The size of the garage
• Whether the floor needs raising and insulating
• The new wall, window and any foundation work
• Heating, electrics and any plumbing
• The finish you choose

After a site visit we give you a written, fixed price quote, so the price is agreed before work starts.

How does a garage conversion run?

1. Survey and written quote

   We check the foundations, damp, the roof and the head height, and any planning conditions on the house, then give you a written, fixed price quote.

2. Approvals

   Building regulations approval is always needed to turn a garage into a habitable room. Planning permission is sometimes needed, for example where an estate consent removed permitted development rights.

3. Building work

   The garage door opening is filled with a wall and window on suitable foundations, the floor is raised and insulated over a damp proof membrane, and the walls and roof are insulated.

4. Finish and sign off

   Electrics, heating, plastering, flooring and decoration, then building control inspect the work and issue a completion certificate.

Timescales depend on the size and type of project and are confirmed in your written quote.

Why choose Introspec Construction?

Introspec Construction is a builder based in Preston, Lancashire. The team has more than 100 years of combined experience. We are fully insured, and every job is priced with a fixed price quote, so you know the cost before work starts.