How To Convert A Garage Into A Garden Room?

Are you looking for a way to add some extra living space to your home without spending much money? Converting your garage into a garden room could be the perfect solution! In this blog post, we’ll outline some of the steps you need to take to make this transformation. Keep reading for more information.

Is It Possible To Transform My Garage Into A Garden Room?

Most likely, it is correct. Thus many people have such a section of the driveway to connect the garage, where the car might be parked once the garage has been converted into a garden room or additional living space. If you’re looking for things to outfit your entire garage, GarageSmart® got you covered.

If there is no driveway, the area adjacent to the garage could be used, or the rear garden could be converted into a parking space. Otherwise, parking on the street is always possible, provided such is permitted.

My Garage: Should I Live There?

Whether your garage is attached or detached, converting it into liveable space is a simple method to enhance your home’s square footage. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to convert your garage, consider these advantages:

• You can get more living space from the garage’s current footprint than a brand-new addition.
• Converting a garage might save you valuable outside space.
• No need to necessarily dig out additional footing. Still, it’s a good idea to inspect the existing footings, especially if you plan to add another story above the garage.
• The majority of garage conversions may be done without applying for planning approval, and in fact, this is the kind of project that is usually met with approval.
• There are many potential uses for a converted garage, from an additional bedroom or utility room to a games area or home gym, among many other possibilities.
• As a component of a larger home makeover, they perform admirably. Consider alternative floor plan configurations to smoothly transition from one area to another.
• Your home’s resale value could be significantly increased by converting your garage.

To Transform A Garage Into The A Garden Room, A Planning Permit May Be Required

As long as the work being done does not impact the exterior of your house and you do not want to enlarge the existing building, you will likely not need to obtain planning permission to convert your garage into the garden room. However, the following are not among them:

• If you need a bedroom because you’re going to be using the garden room as a full-fledged living space,
• In an apartment or maisonette.
• Your neighbourhood is protected, so your home is, too.
• Your house is on the historic registry.
• It’s time to give your garage a facelift from the outside in.

Anyone using their PDRs should remember that they must obtain an LDC beforehand. This will prove that the garden room was built within the law at the time it was built.

Storage Space To Pleasure: Converting Garages Into Garden Rooms

For many of us, building a garden room from the ground up is nothing more than a fantasy. While it is possible to construct a garden room on a modest budget, this option will stay out of reach so long as financial constraints prevent its implementation. However, there are many little garden rooms on the market, or you could create and construct your own. 

Still, if you have a rear yard large enough to accommodate a couple of rubbish bins or even no rear garden, you will regretfully not be able to fit in even a pocket napkin-sized garden room. 

Even if your garage is adjacent to your home, it is possible to transform it into the garden room of your dreams, making it the ideal solution for individuals who want a more spacious outdoor living area but have neither a garden nor a large yard. Need storage solutions for sprucing up that blank wall in your garage? Adding a GarageSmart® SmartWall is a quick and easy method to upgrade your garage’s storage capabilities. 

Making Use Of Your Garage

Since the slab of concrete (also known as the base or foundation) of an existing building has to support the weight of a vehicle, it is likely to be more robust than would have been necessary for a garden room, which might save you money compared to starting from scratch. 

You might be fortunate to have stone or brick walls, possibly chosen to complement the main house; however, many garages were built utilising prefabricated concrete panels, which are not the most aesthetically pleasing of walling material but are sturdy and robust, and therefore it makes good sense to retain them. Next, we’ll examine how exterior cladding can hide the presence of prefabricated concrete panels. 

To conceal the prefabricated concrete panels that were removed when the garage was converted into a garden room, a new front wall could be built out of stone or brick to match the existing walls, or a timber frame could be built and clad.

Verify that the slab of concrete (also called the concrete base) is thick enough to hold the new wall or that the garage’s foundations continue below the opening where the car would have been driven. If you have any concerns regarding the stability of your concrete slab, you should see a contractor or structural engineer. 

If your garage already has a side door and a window, you can skip the cost of installing them; if not, you’ll need to make a hole in the wall to instal them. If you’re building a new front wall, you can have a window installed simultaneously; however, you should check with your local planning first to see if any permits are needed. 

Only some people will want to permanently seal off the opening through which the car would be driven; for whatever reason, some may decide to re-install the garage later. In such a case, you could construct a momentary wooden frame and then use insulated fibreglass board on the interior of the building while keeping the original garage door on the outside.

Especially if asbestos was used in its construction, your garage’s roof might need to be rebuilt entirely; a new flat roof will be watertight and properly insulated, resulting in a significant temperature differential within the garage during the winter. On the other hand, you may make it look more like your main house by giving it a pitched roof, and you can take advantage of the potential storage space up there. If you want to convert your flat roof into a pitched one, you should check with your local planning authority to determine if you need special permission before cutting any new holes in your ceiling. 

A skylight installed in your new roof will let in lots of natural light and cool air during the warmer months and add value to your home. One reason to convert a flat roof to a pitched one is a shortage of headroom inside the house. This could be due to the building’s original design, or it could result from your having to raise the floor level to instal additional damp proofing, insulation, and possibly even underfloor heating. 

A pitched roof can have a vaulted aspect without the need for a ceiling if the ceiling joists are raised. However, adding the necessary extra courses of blocks or bricks to a flat roof will not suffice if you want to raise its level; you will likely need to replace the entire roof.

Insulating your roof is crucial in converting your garden room into a comfortable living space, regardless of the type of roof you already have.

Using Clapboards For Your Garden Shed’s Exterior

External cladding can be made from a variety of materials. Still, timber is the most popular because it is affordable and simple to instal yourself, making it the material of choice for most homeowners. In addition, if you insulate the space between the cladding and the inner wall of your garden room, you can use it to regulate the room’s temperature year-round.

Floor Of Repurposed Garage-Turned-Garden-Room

Also, a waterproof membrane (DPM) and a waterproofing course are commonly omitted from garage construction sites when damp proofing is needed (DPC). Since most garage floors aren’t insulated, you’ll need to add some before turning your garage into a usable garden room.

Protected From The Rain

Although you can find do-it-yourself kits for installing the injection of a chemical damp-proof course, we advise consulting with your provider to make sure you get the right equipment.

Water-Resistant Membrane

Trying to bring the floor level up to coincide with the around it street level will also prevent future flooding, so if the floor of your garage seems to be lower than the floor level around it, installing a waterproofing membrane without constructing a step-up inside the floor level should be a simple matter (unless a step up in the floor level is desired).

Before installing your moisture-proof membrane, ensure your garage floor has been thoroughly swept and is free of any loose objects.

There is the option of using a solid damp proofing membrane or a liquid one, such as a liquid epoxy; however, if head height is a potential problem, it is more practical to utilise the liquid membrane. 

Lapping up the walls to a point where the chemical injection moisture-proof course is installed is essential for installing your damp-proof membrane, and lapping up the walls beyond the flooring you choose is essential for preventing dampness at the ends of your flooring. 

If you’re having trouble standing up straight, you have two options: raise the height limit, which will likely require raising the height of the roof, or dig up the present floor and instal a new one, next time with the appropriate damp proofing and insulation.

Flooring Insulation

After you’ve finished waterproofing your converted garage garden area with a damp proof course & damp proof membrane, it’s time to start planning how you’ll insulate it. There is a wide variety of underfloor insulation products on the market, so you should shop around to choose the one that best fits your needs. 

Good news for individuals who value their ceiling height but worry about losing it: insulation solutions have come a long way in recent years, and thin insulation that performs admirably is now readily accessible.

Radiant Floor Heating

Consider installing underfloor heating to warm a garage-turned-garden room without sacrificing floor space to bulky radiators or space-hogging freestanding heaters. 

Underfloor heating is more effective and cost-effective than traditional radiators since it operates at a lower temperature. In addition, underfloor heating, and at least the water-based variant (also known as a wet system), takes far longer to warm up than radiators mounted on the wall.

Radiant Floor Heat Fueled By Water (Wet System)

This system functions similarly to the radiators in the home and uses the same piping system to distribute heat from your boiler for both. 

A water-based underfloor heating system will have a more noticeable impact on the floor level than an electrically heated floor system. Thus this must be considered if the neck room is a possible problem. However, the water-based variant’s lower operating costs mean it will pay for itself in the long run.

Radiant Floor Heating Fueled By Electricity (Dry System)

Underfloor electric heating typically consists of tiny cables running from the wall outlet to the floor below. This heated floor is typically installed as part of a matting or membrane. It comes in various thicknesses, including very thin ones, making them suitable for any space where there is a constraint on the amount of vertical space available. 

The cost to operate an electric underfloor gas boiler is roughly three times that of a water-based system; hence these systems are typically only installed in smaller rooms or regions that are difficult to access. In addition, electric underfloor heating systems must only be wired into the building’s electrical system by a licenced electrician.

Internal Partitions

Insulation can be installed between the plasterboard and the inner walls if you use it to line the interior walls; if you use a timber frame and cladding for the new front wall, insulation will also need to be installed. Looking for garage shelving, storage solutions, or something else to organise your garage? Look no further than GarageSmart®!

Conclusion

The square footage of your home can be easily increased by transforming your garage, whether it is attached or detached. Converting a garage can provide a variety of benefits, such as creating more living space in the house (by adding a bedroom or utility room) or even more recreational space (by creating a games room or home gym). In some cases, a planning permit will be necessary for the conversion of a garage into a garden room.

It is still possible to turn your attached garage into the outdoor retreat of your dreams. An excellent option for those who long for extra outside space but have neither a garden nor a sizable yard.

A new front wall constructed from stone or brick to match the existing walls might be constructed to cover up the prefabricated concrete panels that were taken out of the garage when it was transformed into a garden room.

You can save money on this project if your garage already has a side door and window. Otherwise, you’ll need to enact structural modification in order to mount them. There are many who would like to permanently block off the passageway the car would use. One option is to utilise insulated fibreglass board inside a temporary hardwood frame.

To make your garden room a cosy place to spend time, you must insulate the roof. If the ceiling joists are lifted, a pitched roof might take on the appearance of a vault. In order to convert your garage into a garden room, you will need to insulate the floor. Damp-proof membrane installation requires lapping the walls to a moisture-proof course. Raise the height restriction, which will likely necessitate raising the height of the roof, or dig up the current floor and instal a new one if you’re having difficulties standing up straight.

Insulation options have advanced significantly in recent years, which is great news for people who love their ceiling height but are concerned about losing it. If you use plasterboard to line the inside of your walls, you’ll have a nice, wide space between the plasterboard and the wall for insulation. The new front wall requires insulation in addition to the timber frame and cladding. Water-based underfloor heating systems are more evident in terms of their effect on the floor level than their electrically heated counterparts.

Content Summary

• You might find the answer in transforming your garage into a sunroom or garden shed.
• My garage would be perfect for a garden room, but I was wondering whether that was even possible.
• Therefore, many homeowners have this sort of driveway connecting the garage, where the automobile may be parked once the garage has been transformed into a garden room or additional living space.
• In the absence of a driveway, parking might be accommodated in the space next to the garage or in the back garden.
• The square footage of your home can be easily increased by transforming your garage, whether it is attached or detached.
• Consider these benefits if you’re still on the fence about transforming your garage:
• There is more usable room to be had in the existing garage than there would be in a brand-new extension.
• It’s possible that you could gain usable yard space by converting a garage.
• However, if you’re planning on building up from the garage, it’s a good idea to check the current footings first.
• Most garage conversions may be completed without the need for a planning permit, and in fact, this is the kind of project that is typically welcomed.
• The possibilities for a converted garage are vast, ranging from an extra bedroom or utility space to a playroom or fitness studio.
• Think of various layouts for the same space to ensure a fluid flow from one section to the next.
• By transforming your garage, you may be able to boost the resale value of your property.
• It is possible that you will need a building permit in order to convert your garage into a garden room.
• Converting your garage into a garden room probably won’t necessitate securing planning permission as long as the work being done does not affect the exterior of your property and you do not wish to increase the existing building.
• In a house or apartment.
• The safety of the area around your house extends to your own property.
• Your home has been added to a historical list.
• It’s time for an interior and exterior garage makeover.
• This will attest to the fact that the garden room complied with all applicable regulations at the time of its construction.
• Many of us can only dream of one day constructing our very own garden room.
• Although a garden room can be built on a tight budget, it will remain out of reach so long as costs hinder its construction.
• However, there are a plethora of available miniature garden rooms, or you might design and build your own.
• You won’t be able to have even a pocket napkin-sized garden room if your backyard is only the size of a couple of trash cans, let alone if you have no backyard at all.
• The greatest answer for those who want a more extensive outdoor living area but neither a garden nor a huge yard is to convert an attached garage into a garden room of their dreams.
• If you’re looking to save money, consider purchasing an existing building rather than constructing a garden room from the ground up. This is because the slab of concrete (also known as the base or foundation) of an existing building must support the weight of a vehicle, making it more sturdy than would have been required for a garden room.
• To continue, let’s take a look at how precast concrete panels can be concealed by outside cladding.
• A new front wall constructed of stone or brick to match the existing walls, or a timber frame constructed and clad, could hide the prefabricated concrete panels that were removed when the garage was transformed into a garden room.
• Make sure the foundation of the garage extends below the opening where the automobile would have been driven, or that the slab of concrete (also called the concrete base) is thick enough to support the new wall.
• For questions about the soundness of your concrete floor, it’s best to consult a builder or engineer.
• There is no need to drill a hole in the wall and spend money on a door and window if your garage already has one.
• A window can be put at the same time as a new front wall is constructed; however, you should first check with your local planning to see if any permissions are required.
• Your garage’s roof may need to be rebuilt in its entirety, especially if asbestos was used in its construction; a new flat roof will be watertight and properly insulated, creating a substantial temperature differential within the garage during the winter.
• However, by adding a pitched roof, you can make it resemble your main house and take advantage of the additional storage space.
• You should check with the local planning authority to see if you need any special permission to change your flat roof into a pitched one before you start sawing holes in your ceiling.
• Having a skylight built into your new roof can not only increase the value of your property but also make your home more comfortable during the hot months by letting in more light and air.
• Converting a flat roof to a pitched roof might help solve problems with low ceiling height.
• If the ceiling joists are lifted, a pitched roof might take on the appearance of a vault.
• Flat roofs can’t be raised by simply adding the required extra courses of blocks or bricks; instead, the entire roof will need to be replaced.
• Regardless of the sort of roof you already have, adding insulation to it is essential if you want to turn your garden room into a comfortable living space.
• The temperature in your garden room can be controlled year-round by insulating the area between the cladding and the interior wall.
• When garages need to be damp proofed, a waterproof membrane (DPM) and waterproofing course are often overlooked during construction (DPC).
• In order to convert your garage into a garden room, you will need to insulate the floor.
• DIY kits for injecting a chemical damp-proof course are available, but it’s best to check with your service provider to make sure you’re getting all you need.
• If your garage floor appears to be lower than the street level around it, putting a waterproofing membrane without erecting a step-up inside the floor level should be a straightforward affair that will avoid future flooding (unless a step up in the floor level is desired).
• Make sure there are no debris or stray items on the garage floor before you instal the moisture-proof membrane.
• When installing your damp-proof membrane, it is essential to lap up the walls to the point where the chemical injection moisture-proof course will be installed, and when installing your flooring, it is necessary to lap up the walls beyond the flooring you have chosen to prevent dampness at the ends of your flooring.
• Raise the height restriction, which will likely necessitate raising the height of the roof, or dig up the current floor and instal a new one, this time with the required damp proofing and insulation, if you’re having difficulties standing up straight.
• Insulating the floor is the next step after you have finished waterproofing your converted garage garden area with a damp proof course and damp proof membrane.
• You should look into the many underfloor insulation options available so that you can find the one that works best for you.
• To heat a garage-turned-garden-room without surrendering floor space to cumbersome radiators or space-hogging freestanding heaters, think about adding underfloor heating.
• Since it functions at a lower temperature, underfloor heating is more efficient and less expensive than conventional radiators.
• Underfloor heating, at least the water-based variety (also known as a wet system), is more slower to heat up than radiators on the wall.
• Substrate heating system that uses water as the heat source (Wet System)
• It distributes heat from your boiler in much the same way as your home’s radiators do.
• Water-based underfloor heating systems are more evident in terms of their effect on the floor level than their electrically heated counterparts.
• That’s why you need to give some thought to that if there’s a problem with the head room.
• Although the water-based alternative may cost more initially, it will save money in the long term due to its lower operational expenses.
• It is common practise to run a series of thin cables from an electrical outlet in the wall to the subfloor in order to provide warmth.
• These heated floors are often set up as a mat or membrane.
• Electric underfloor gas boilers have an annual operating cost nearly three times that of a water-based system, hence they are often only placed in smaller rooms or locations that are difficult to access.
• Further, only a certified electrician should connect an electric underfloor heating system to the building’s power supply.

FAQs About Garden Garage

Do You Need Council Approval To Convert A Garage Into A Room?

Planning permission is not usually required, providing the work is internal and does not involve enlarging the building. However, if you intend to convert a garage into a separate house (regardless of who will occupy it), then planning permission may be required, no matter what work is involved.

Do You Need Planning Permission To Turn A Garage Into A Room?

Planning permission is not usually required to convert your garage into additional living space for your home, providing the work is internal and does not involve enlarging the building.

Do I Need An Architect For A Garage Conversion?

You could use an architect or architectural designer whose expertise means they may come up with ideas you didn’t realise were possible. Alternatively, a good builder should be able to plan and carry out a straightforward garage conversion. Or you could opt for a company that specialises in garage conversions.

Do You Need Planning Permission To Brick A Garage Door?

Planning permission is not usually required, providing the work does not involve enlarging the building.

Can I Put A Toilet In My Garage?

If your garage is adjacent to your soil stack, you may be able to plumb a toilet and waste pipes from your basin, shower and bath directly into it with minimal disruption. The same goes for your water supplies.