Coach house garage conversion?

Question

We live in a 2 bed coach house and as we are planning another baby next year, rather than move, we would like to turn our garage into a master bedroom. We are thinking of doing this ourselves and wondered if anyone knew of any good websites as a point of reference regarding regulations, damp proofing etc. The only sites I can find are building companies that are selling their services rather than how to do it. If anyone can offer any simple instruction on how to do it I would be most grateful. Many thanks!

Answer 1

Regarding regulations, you will almost certainly need a permit to convert a garage, and you can check with your local city website to see if they have building regulations online.  Some cities require houses to have a covered place to park cars, too, so you might find that to do this legally you'll have to build out some sort of covered parking area, too.  If you do it unpermitted, you still have some big issues to consider.... For damp-proofing, you need to be aware that that is a big issue for garages, which often are not on as firm a foundation as the house, itself, and which may have the surface simply laid out on the ground.  If you are going to put any kind of flooring or carpeting, then you'll need a layer of moisture-protection below anything you want to put on there or you'll run into moisture issues including possible mold and mildew problems.  You will also need to add insulation everywhere if you want to efficiently control the climate in the room (which you do for a bedroom).  I'd suggest you at least talk to a couple of contractors and get some bids from them.  They can tell you what needs to be done, can get prices for you, and, if they are good (get recommendations) can make the renovation a much more problem-free one into the future.  Even if you choose not to use the contractors you meet, they would undoubtedly let you know a lot more about what is involved in doing this kind of renovation just in the course of meeting them.

Answer 2

You will need to comply with Building Regulations (search for Approved Documents on-line) if you are in the UK, and you should make an application to your local authority. You will almost certainly need to insulate the walls - easily done with a plasterboard/insulation lining. The garage floor is lower than the rest of the house usually so building up the floor and incorporating a damp proof membrane is a cinch. The biggest thing is ensuring you have adequate light and ventilation (1/10th and 1/20th respectively of the floor area is a good rule of thumb). If you are changing the garage door to a window, there are FENSA rules that apply, and you may also need planning permission and if this a historic (ie listed building) you will also need listed building consent.. Extending the electrics and other services is not difficult but you may need the pro's to help.  

Answer 3

Is the coach house a grade two listed building..If so you can do nothing until you have spoken to the local council first..Ask them what is and is'nt allowed then get yourself a minimum of three quotes from builders. Bear in mind that there are not many coach houses left in Britain now which was why I asked if it is listed.

Any competent builder will be able to do the work..However, you say you would like to do it yourself so when you get the quotes ask as many questions as possible of all of them..Combine the answers and somehow you will pretty much get all the info you need without having to accept the quotes..

Yes it is devious but it works..

Good luck.