Garage into office conversion advice

jonnyburgo

We have a single detached garage that I want to convert into an office/TV room for the kids, it has electric and lighting already although the consumer unit is an ancient brown 60s bakelite thing and the lights are miserable strip tubes.

Also the windows are rotten, Now then there is nothing I can't potentially do by myself in the job, insulating, boarding, new sockets, lights, windows, little modern consumer unit, double glazed windows etc. There would be no plumbing or anything needed.

My question is where will I stand when it comes time to rent out our property in the future, Could I do the above DIY or will It require an electrician in for the electrics for certificates etc and a FENSA person for the windows? The jobs are a piece of piss but I don't want to get in the shit when the time comes for the sake of saving a few quid now.

Jalapeno

Qualified electrician defintely has to sign off on 'leccy stuff. FENSA stuff is only for a guarantee I believe - might want to make an anonymous query at local planning office about not using it as a garage.

Wall insulation would be my priority over double glazing as the garage is unlikely to be a cavity wall, and roof will be just sheets of stuff unless it is a pitched roof, but still v.unlikely to be insulated.

My Dad put up a "sun lounge" when we were kids - didn't really use it Nov-May as it was freezing.

Snap

to add, don't underestimate the amount of insulation needed, especially underfoot - nowt more miserable than not being able to get warm in an office (where you will be sitting on your arse a lot of the time, feeling the cold!)

kin

I seem to recall being able to take out an endemnity insurance  ( not sure of the spelling) to cover the windows  when I sold a house where someone had replaced the windows. Definitely would get a spark in for the electric sign off though.

strtdv

The electrics will need signed off. The rest is fair game as far as I'm aware

Ossyrocks

I’ve just done the same with my garage, turned it into a workshop. Replaced the up and over door with upvc french doors and window. Insulated the ceiling, boarded, new lights and sockets on a dado around the walls. It’s really nice now and a lovely place to work.

I looked into all the permission stuff and because it’s detached and not a living space, ie bedroom. No rules apply.

Musicwolf

When I converted my integral garage, probably about 14 years ago, I needed planning permision (because I was changing the face of the house by removing the up and over door and replacing with brick work / windows), building regs sign off (change of use) and electrician certificate.

Ossyrocks

This is the link I used. I also talked to the local council planning dept.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/43/outbuildings/2

Jimbro66

jonnyburgo said:

We have a single detached garage that I want to convert into an office/TV room for the kids, it has electric and lighting already although the consumer unit is an ancient brown 60s bakelite thing and the lights are miserable strip tubes.

Also the windows are rotten, Now then there is nothing I can't potentially do by myself in the job, insulating, boarding, new sockets, lights, windows, little modern consumer unit, double glazed windows etc. There would be no plumbing or anything needed.

My question is where will I stand when it comes time to rent out our property in the future, Could I do the above DIY or will It require an electrician in for the electrics for certificates etc and a FENSA person for the windows? The jobs are a piece of piss but I don't want to get in the shit when the time comes for the sake of saving a few quid now.

In your shoes I would try to ensure that the building can be fairly easily turned back into a garage in future. If/when you come to selling the house a usable garage may add a little more value and sale-ability to your property than a detached office/playroom would.

Other than that I'd just echo what others have said about getting electrical certs and make sure you insulate the floor, walls and roof very well to ensure winter comfort and to avoid condensation issues.

BTW my understanding is that you can install all the electrical carcassing yourself but you need a qualified electrician to make the final connections, test and certify. They will also deal with the Building Regs Part P LA requirements.

I can't imagine even the fussiest of buyers would demand a FENSA cert for a garage.

Dominic

Most importantly when considering insulation is to consider vapour membranes and thermal bridging or you will have a well insulated structure that suffers from interstitual condensation and a musty smell /possible blackspot mould .
Insulate but ventilate also.

poopot

Needs building regs as well... if you are turning it into a habitable space... 

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/25/garage_conversion/2

however... if it’s just a well insulated and tidy storage unit where you store your computer and tv etc the council can go whistle!...

jonnyburgo

Cheers for the advice guys, looks like ill be getting a spark in for the leccy work, best to do it by the book. Ill be doing the windows meself though.

rsvmark

You will need to Comply with building regulations. 

A way of complying is to comply with the approved documents: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-regulations-and-approved-documents-index

This will need signing off by a building control officer and includes all requirements. One way of partially achieving sign off is via various exemptions such as the aforementioned sparky.

At at practical level, change the windows and make sure the double glazing meetings regs (employ a fensa registered glazing co) and you will be fine.

think about heat loss- thermal insulation is key so dry lining with a timber frame and a hopigh performance thermal board such as celotex. Think about heating. Can your radiator system flow and return be simply extended to add a few radiators or are simple electric radiators easier. These draw some juice so check your fuse box. It may be that your fuse board needs replacing. I believe current iee regs mean that sparkys are not permitted to work on systems unless the breaks are up to scratch and it sounds like an old box may not be safe.

Think about the design- how are you going to access the space? Is there a simple knock through door? Make sure there is a structural design or standard off the shelf lintel. Often the garage floor won’t be the same level or insulated creating a step from finished floor level in the house and stepping down. Build up a suspended timber floor and add thermal insulation to avoid a cold floor.

have fun!

FastEddie

Dominic said:

Most importantly when considering insulation is to consider vapour membranes and thermal bridging or you will have a well insulated structure that suffers from interstitual condensation and a musty smell /possible blackspot mould .
Insulate but ventilate also.

I will echo this but also stress the need to insulate the slab. 
We build small developments and key aspect is the slab. It will suck heat beyond belief. 

Building Control is very important as are local planners. Call them. Ours are wonderful.

Try and find a set of plans for free on the web. You never know. 

ToneControl

at the last house we did the integral garage
We wanted a normal window at the front, full width of existing opening
Turned out we needed to dig a trench through the concrete to put footings in for a 3 foot high wall, and get building reg inspector in to sign off the foundations
Then we put down Kingspan under the screed, garage floor was lower than the house

at this house, just put patio french window doors into existing opening, much easier, not sure if we had to get building regs in

ToneControl

check your armoured cable feeding the garage
most will only be expecting to feed "garage" needs, and will overheat if you start running heaters, kettles, etc

The cable costs a lot, so people don't tend to overspec massively, and the longer it is the more the voltage drop, so be aware of how far from the meter cupboard your garage is and where the feed is taken from

Generally you can't expect more than about 8kW or so out of existing wiring I suspect

Get a sparky in before you start to look at the ends
Also you should be putting a small new RCD distribution board into the garage, I doubt a sparky would sign it off without that

Snap

We did a full renovation about three years ago. Green belt as well. We joined a detached garage to the house, replaced the door with a huge window. We consulted planning throughout - didn't need planning permission as it was all in permitted development. Based on that experience, I would doubt you need planning. My advice would be give your planning dept a call and get their view. 
Permitted development rights allows you to do a lot without planning permission. In our area we could have increased the floorspace of the entire property by 50% without planning permission - where we were limited was on the main roof as previous development had used up all the permitted development for upper storey roofs. 

poopot

Snap said:

We did a full renovation about three years ago. Green belt as well. We joined a detached garage to the house, replaced the door with a huge window. We consulted planning throughout - didn't need planning permission as it was all in permitted development. Based on that experience, I would doubt you need planning. My advice would be give your planning dept a call and get their view. 
Permitted development rights allows you to do a lot without planning permission. In our area we could have increased the floorspace of the entire property by 50% without planning permission - where we were limited was on the main roof as previous development had used up all the permitted development for upper storey roofs. 

Planning is different to building regs.

planning say IF you can build it...

Building regs say that you build it safe!...

Lestratcaster

Converted my detached garage at the back of my garden last year for a general storage/music room. Took out the garage up and over door and bricked over with a window. Replaced the other 2 windows with UPVC ones and added a door. New roof, plasterboard, outside render and electrics. Walls were insulated with celotex. Looking back I should have insulated the floor too, we just put a damp proof liquid membrane and a carpet over that. Got 3 radiators in there, but expensive to run.

ToneControl

Lestratcaster said:

Converted my detached garage at the back of my garden last year for a general storage/music room. Took out the garage up and over door and bricked over with a window. Replaced the other 2 windows with UPVC ones and added a door. New roof, plasterboard, outside render and electrics. Walls were insulated with celotex. Looking back I should have insulated the floor too, we just put a damp proof liquid membrane and a carpet over that. Got 3 radiators in there, but expensive to run.

surely you could still do the floor now?

https://www.insulationsuperstore.co.uk/help-and-advice/project-guides/insulation/insulating-a-floor/#solid

Lestratcaster

ToneControl said:

Lestratcaster said:

Converted my detached garage at the back of my garden last year for a general storage/music room. Took out the garage up and over door and bricked over with a window. Replaced the other 2 windows with UPVC ones and added a door. New roof, plasterboard, outside render and electrics. Walls were insulated with celotex. Looking back I should have insulated the floor too, we just put a damp proof liquid membrane and a carpet over that. Got 3 radiators in there, but expensive to run.

surely you could still do the floor now?

https://www.insulationsuperstore.co.uk/help-and-advice/project-guides/insulation/insulating-a-floor/#solid

I would think any insulation would go above the damp proof liquid membrane that's above the concrete? All I'd need to do it take the carpet off?