Planning Advice

[Toadstool]

Trying to get my head around the WAG and CCC guidance and can't really make it out.

Don't know if anyone here can help?

I have a detached at the end of my driveway that has a wall in my garden.

I'd like to add a door and window to the garage and possibly brick up and put a window where the existing up and over door is.

I'm assuming that the door and window in the garden are covered by "Permitted Development" so won't need planning permission but I'm not sure about the up and over garage door?

Anybody any experience of this?

Thanks

[BLUETIT]

I take it you left out the word GARAGE ???

Loads of people brick up their garages, as these days they are to small to put cars in, so are useless.

I got miss-measured new windows going cheap, if you’re in the Cardiff area

[The Bloop]

I dont think you'll need any permission at all. You're not changing the dimensions of the building itself, or changing the use of it so I think you'll be fine.

[Tuerto]

Think you night need building regs because you are changing the main purpose of the building, making it a living dwelling. Get it done official. Saw

[Toadstool]

I take it you left out the word GARAGE ???

Loads of people brick up their garages, as these days they are to small to put cars in, so are useless.

I got miss-measured new windows going cheap, if you’re in the Cardiff area

Yes!

[Toadstool]

Think you night need building regs because you are changing the main purpose of the building, making it a living dwelling. Get it done official. Saw

Thanks - it's not going to be a bedroom or anything like that just half office - half garage

[BLUETIT]

Thanks - it's not going to be a bedroom or anything like that just half office - half garage

I have, in all my years, never known anyone who has applied for planning for a poxy, single brick built garage.

I’ve had people change them to, play rooms(pool, darts, kids toys), aviaries , storage or offices.

It’s your garage, on your land . Crack on

[Toadstool]

I have, in all my years, never known anyone who has applied for planning for a poxy, single brick built garage.

I’ve had people change them to, play rooms(pool, darts, kids toys), aviaries , storage or offices.

It’s your garage, on your land . Crack on

Thanks BT - are you a builder?

[Taunton Blue Genie]

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/inf...e_conversion/2

[BLUETIT]

Thanks BT - are you a builder?

Retired chippy (not the one with fish, type)

[Tuerto]

Thanks BT - are you a builder?

Do the right thing and contact Building Control, they're a bit slow but easy enough to deal with because in all honesty they haven't got a clue. All you've got to do is let them know what you're doing, no plans, drawings etc. A garage was never built to be used as a dwelling to be lived in, if someone is an arse and decides to tell building control that you're converting your garage then they can make you add insulation etc, and put circuit breakers in, it has to reach a certain standard. If you let them know that you're putting a desk in there and getting rid of the roller shutter door they'll be fine, infact they probably wont care. The other thing is that you wont have a garage anymore, it'll probably fall somewhere between a garage and a dwelling and you will need it to be signed off if you decide to add electrics, hot water etc. I'd let them know, plenty of people tried it in Cathays in the back lanes in order to get more students in, they did it right but didn't inform building regs-they were stung because of over development.

[xsnaggle]

If there is a problem wit the main door leave it there and brick up behind it!

[Tuerto]

Thanks BT - are you a builder?

TBG has posted some useful info, i don't know if that includes Wales, although it'll be very similar. Don't be put off by it, it sounds complicated but it isn't. All the Council are interested in is the safety of any added electrical points, Insulation to stop a loss of energy, foul drainage if you're putting in a toilet and fire regs. Some of these things may not even apply to you.

[Tuerto]

If there is a problem wit the main door leave it there and brick up behind it!

And lose 300mm of floor space-with no light entering the dwelling

[xsnaggle]

And lose 300mm of floor space-with no light entering the dwelling

He's putting one window in the side he can put another or put it at the other end.

(Or he can put it in the wall behind the door and open the door when he wants more light rofl )

[Toadstool]

Thanks for all the info guys

[xsnaggle]

And lose 300mm of floor space-with no light entering the dwelling

anyway who said it was a dwelling, besides you? lol

[Tuerto]

anyway who said it was a dwelling, besides you? lol

To be determined! You can certainly go down the route of 'going it alone' although things have tightened uo over the last 15 years or so. I did a knock through, two rooms into one, single brick skin wall, going back 15 years ago, supposed 'mate' when he decided to sell up, because the knock through hadn't been inspected by building control and no calculations for the steel beam that had been used to support the upstairs wall, the mortgage company were being awkward (can't really blame them) had to expose the steel and pad stones, get it retrospectively passed by Building control and patched back in-all this for a favour! lesson learnt-Charge top whack, get regs and calcs-f uck 'em

[xsnaggle]

To be determined! You can certainly go down the route of 'going it alone' although things have tightened uo over the last 15 years or so. I did a knock through, two rooms into one, single brick skin wall, going back 15 years ago, supposed 'mate' when he decided to sell up, because the knock through hadn't been inspected by building control and no calculations for the steel beam that had been used to support the upstairs wall, the mortgage company were being awkward (can't really blame them) had to expose the steel and pad stones, get it retrospectively passed by Building control and patched back in-all this for a favour! lesson learnt-Charge top whack, get regs and calcs-f uck 'em

Its a frigging detached garage not his house lol Very few upstairs rooms to support I'd wager! (Only playing)

[Tuerto]

Its a frigging detached garage not his house lol Very few upstairs rooms to support I'd wager! (Only playing)

Detached garage is worse, if it's joined to the house then it will have come up to scratch in terms of regs, especially if it's knocked through. Detached and converted looks like it's being rented out as it's separate from the house, neighbours start getting nosey...

[xsnaggle]

Detached garage is worse, if it's joined to the house then it will have come up to scratch in terms of regs, especially if it's knocked through. Detached and converted looks like it's being rented out as it's separate from the house, neighbours start getting nosey...

Not if he leaves the door on and hides the wall behind it lol

[Toadstool]

That’s what I think I will do - door and window in garden so no one will see anyway

[blue matt]

I can help with this as ive dont loads over the years,

If you take out the door and turn it into a Home office, yes you will need building control to come and sign it all off, they will look at all aspects of the building, insulation will be a major one, as the wall will only be single skin

now here is the " trick " of course its not going to be a 1/2 office 1/2 garage unless that 1/2 garage is for a motorbike call it a workshop or storage room, you can have a desk in a workshop

how do i convert them, depending on budget, but this would be a basic, add the door and window, no drama on them,

the idea of sealing up the garage door, its been suggested above, lets call this OPTION A, build a stud wall along the inside of the garage door wall ( yes you lose a little space , but normally just fill in the door reveal and it makes it look better anyway ), fill in the reveal of the garage door with kingspan / celotex insulation, then fill between the uprights of the stud wall with the same

So then we come to taking the garage door out and fitting a window, its a massive window, Lets call this OPTION B

now of course OPTION A looks like a garage from the outside, has the advantage that if you come to sell, its got a detached garage or a workshop, it will not draw attention to the conversion, it will keep neighbours happy with it still being a garage and looking in keeping with the rest of the street etc etc, all plus's in that box

run all the cables for sockets

personally i like 50mm insulation all around the walls, so fix some 3" X 2" C16 timber around all the walls, just screw it to the wall, infill the gaps between them with 50mm insulation

Plasterboard and tape and fill the joints, then paint

Insulated the roof space, it its a pitched roof each enough to fill between the rafters with 50mm insulation , plasterboard the ceiling and you are good to go, if its a flat roof its not as easy, but screw some 3X2 C16 timber to the roof, insulate and plasterboard, you will lose 3 & 1/2 inches in height, but garages are normally 8 ft high, so its a trade off

then look at the floor, once again, insulate if you can, same as the flat roof ceiling, but board with flooring chipboard

The trouble with converting garages is they are normally poorly insulated and freezing and damp the the winter and become unusable

with plenty of insulation you will only need a small oil filled rad to heat it on the coldest days , the real trick is to insulate and insulate some more, it really makes a difference

if you want any advice on it, just fire over a PM

[splott parker]

I can help with this as ive dont loads over the years,

If you take out the door and turn it into a Home office, yes you will need building control to come and sign it all off, they will look at all aspects of the building, insulation will be a major one, as the wall will only be single skin

now here is the " trick " of course its not going to be a 1/2 office 1/2 garage unless that 1/2 garage is for a motorbike call it a workshop or storage room, you can have a desk in a workshop

how do i convert them, depending on budget, but this would be a basic, add the door and window, no drama on them,

the idea of sealing up the garage door, its been suggested above, lets call this OPTION A, build a stud wall along the inside of the garage door wall ( yes you lose a little space , but normally just fill in the door reveal and it makes it look better anyway ), fill in the reveal of the garage door with kingspan / celotex insulation, then fill between the uprights of the stud wall with the same

So then we come to taking the garage door out and fitting a window, its a massive window, Lets call this OPTION B

now of course OPTION A looks like a garage from the outside, has the advantage that if you come to sell, its got a detached garage or a workshop, it will not draw attention to the conversion, it will keep neighbours happy with it still being a garage and looking in keeping with the rest of the street etc etc, all plus's in that box

run all the cables for sockets

personally i like 50mm insulation all around the walls, so fix some 3" X 2" C16 timber around all the walls, just screw it to the wall, infill the gaps between them with 50mm insulation

Plasterboard and tape and fill the joints, then paint

Insulated the roof space, it its a pitched roof each enough to fill between the rafters with 50mm insulation , plasterboard the ceiling and you are good to go, if its a flat roof its not as easy, but screw some 3X2 C16 timber to the roof, insulate and plasterboard, you will lose 3 & 1/2 inches in height, but garages are normally 8 ft high, so its a trade off

then look at the floor, once again, insulate if you can, same as the flat roof ceiling, but board with flooring chipboard

The trouble with converting garages is they are normally poorly insulated and freezing and damp the the winter and become unusable

with plenty of insulation you will only need a small oil filled rad to heat it on the coldest days , the real trick is to insulate and insulate some more, it really makes a difference

if you want any advice on it, just fire over a PM

I’d also advise using a breathable damp proof membrane (not Visqueen) on the walls and floor (there’s likely to be no membrane below the slab)before insulating & boarding. You’re creating a solid wall with full fill insulation in effect so your losing cavity air flow. One drawback will be the 100mm intermediate piers, if you can live with losing 120mm of width, you could up the U value to 75mm wall insulation, using 2400 x 1200 sheets rather than traditional 1200 x 450 cavity wall sheets. This would leave 25mm air flow in the cavity which should be ok seeing as there isn’t a new outer skin being built resulting in mortar snobs and droppings. Obviously the face of the piers will have no U value at all but insulating them would result in a further loss of width (although there is a thinner ‘quilt’ type insulation on the market), removing the piers? Hmmmm, they are there for a reason. As you rightly point out maintaining a decent U value in an ex garage is vital and forking out a few bob more initially is well worth it.

[blue matt]

I’d also advise using a breathable damp proof membrane (not Visqueen) on the walls and floor (there’s likely to be no membrane below the slab)before insulating & boarding. You’re creating a solid wall with full fill insulation in effect so your losing cavity air flow. One drawback will be the 100mm intermediate piers, if you can live with losing 120mm of width, you could up the U value to 75mm wall insulation, using 2400 x 1200 sheets rather than traditional 1200 x 450 cavity wall sheets. This would leave 25mm air flow in the cavity which should be ok seeing as there isn’t a new outer skin being built resulting in mortar snobs and droppings. Obviously the face of the piers will have no U value at all but insulating them would result in a further loss of width (although there is a thinner ‘quilt’ type insulation on the market), removing the piers? Hmmmm, they are there for a reason. As you rightly point out maintaining a decent U value in an ex garage is vital and forking out a few bob more initially is well worth it.

fair call , on double garages i would incorporate the pillars behind the walls ( and use just the 1" insulation infront of pillar ) on a double aswell i normally talk them into a recess that they could fit a TV in , makes me look professional ), on a single i normally just fit some doorstop on them and plasterboard, it does create a " cold spot " in the setup

only used a membrane on the wall with the garage door , i must admit its not all the time either and as you point out i should

When i start up my " bespoke garden building business " i really must remember the breathable membrane , out of interest, do you have a personal fav ? ? ? or are they much of a muchness ? ? ?