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The inside of a new room shell, blockwork walls up, roof joists and a lantern opening overhead and a new opening formed through to the house

Garage conversions

Garage conversions

The quickest room you will ever add, as long as the floor, the walls and the damp are dealt with properly.

What it involves

Garage conversions, done properly.

A garage conversion looks simple and often is — but the three things that go wrong all happen below eye level. The slab is usually lower than the house floor and rarely has a damp-proof membrane. The walls are frequently single skin. And the lintel over the old garage door was sized for a door, not a wall. Get those three right and the room lasts.

What we cover

  • Insulated floor build-up to match house level
  • Blocking up the garage opening in matching brick
  • Wall insulation and internal linings
  • New window or doors to suit the room
  • Heating, electrics and lighting
  • Building Control application and sign-off

Where we do this work

Garage conversions across north Hampshire.

Garage conversions in Basingstoke

Basingstoke has integral garages by the thousand — they came as standard on much of the estate housing from the 1960s onwards — and most of them are now storing a freezer and a bike. Because they are integral rather than detached, they are already inside the thermal envelope on two or three sides, which makes them among the cheapest rooms in the town to create. The one thing to check first is whether the estate has enough on-street parking to lose a space.

Basingstoke page

Garage conversions in Hook

Garage conversions in Hook tend to be on the larger 1980s and 90s detached houses, where the garage is generous and the drive can take two cars in front of it. That combination is ideal: you gain a proper room, usually big enough for an office or a fourth bedroom, and you lose nothing you were using. On the newer developments the garages are narrower and it pays to measure before you plan the furniture.

Hook page

Garage conversions in Winchester

Winchester has far fewer integral garages than the towns to the north — the period housing simply predates them — so most garage work here is on the post-war and modern stock towards Badger Farm, Weeke and Kings Worthy. Those convert well and sit outside the tightest conservation constraints. If your garage is detached and in a conservation area, changing what it looks like from the street is a planning question, even though converting the inside is not.

Winchester page

Garage conversions in Tadley

A large share of Tadley housing came with a garage, and a good share of those are now storing a freezer, a mower and thirty years of boxes. Where the garage is integral it already sits inside the thermal envelope on two or three sides, which makes it among the cheapest rooms you can create in the town. The catch on the tighter closes is parking — if the garage is your only off-street space, the room may not be worth what it costs you.

Tadley page

Thinking about garage conversions?

We will come out, look at the property and put a written quote together. No charge for the visit.

07502 002750Send a message

Questions

Garage Conversions, answered.

If yours is not here, ring 07502 002750 and ask.

Do I need planning permission?

Usually not, as converting an integral garage is normally permitted development. It does need Building Regulations approval, which is a different thing, and we handle it.

Will the floor be level with the rest of the house?

That is the aim and it is achievable in most cases. The garage slab normally sits lower, which gives us the depth we need for insulation and a membrane. Occasionally there is not enough and we will tell you before you commit.

Can I keep some storage?

Yes, and a lot of people do. Splitting the garage — room at the front, storage at the back with the old door retained — is a common and sensible answer.

Will it hurt the value of the house?

Only if the parking goes with it and there is nowhere else to put a car. On a plot with a drive it almost always adds more than it costs.

More of what we do

Other services.

Get in touch

Let’s talk about the job.

Tell us what you are planning and we will come out, look at the house and put a written quote together with the costs set out.

Tell us about the job

Six quick fields. We answer every enquiry ourselves.

We answer every enquiry ourselves.