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Hello folks. I'm converting an old brick garage into an office. Currently I'm levelling up the brick courses, as the old (rotten) roof achieved its slope via the bricks. These slopes weren't very pretty though and I'd been informed that the correct (modern) way to achieve this slope would be through the use of firrings. Mulling it over I've been wondering if I shouldn't just cut the angle I need into the upper side of each of the rafters though, being oversized at 195mm (I couldn't source 170s at the time, that could be delivered to my area), I wondered if I could sacrifice some of that extra depth, that I don't really need, to achieve the slope instead. Just wanted to know if I might be missing something, like bowing/sag, and that it's actually a bad idea? Thanks in advance.

Hello. I stumbled across this fabulous place when looking for examples of submitted building control plans - and feels like a great group of like-minded individuals. I'm currently working on converting my garage (in England) in my downtime, and was hoping for a 2nd pair of eyes on prepared statements / drawings before I submit my (a) permitted development application and (b) Building Control notice. On the latter I feel some confidence there's an iterative process if details aren't exactly what's needed, but not so sure on the former(?). I'm a mechanical engineer by study, and a systems engineer by profession. And an avid DIY enthusiast. So all the work needed (minus certified trades) feels within my gift, and that's great as it saves £££ towards other costs, I just haven't found a conclusive list to ensure I'm checking all the boxes. Although believe I'm hitting all identified in research! (subject to a few queries I'll get to below). I did try contacting a few firms around double checking, but they generally seem more interested in selling me a full drawing package. Overview - now Garage is 7.65mx3.05m and approx 135mm below house floor level. Attached, via the utility room. Single skin brick wall, although the front aspect is double skin (as in 200mm thick, not a cavity wall). The brick walls have a DPC that's approx 75mm above ground level and is floor level inside the garage. The garage has a pitched roof that's shared with the utility room & hallway beyond it, that's partitioned off with blocks. The roof did have a couple leaks that I've had repaired ahead of this work with some new felting and re-pointing. The wall has a shoddily cored 100mm exhaust outlet that was once for a gas heater (long disconnected and gone) - I think they must have used a SDS chisel instead of a core drill and left it a mess, so planning to cut out the 4 impacted bricks and replace and re-mortar. This is the prepped 'shell' I am working from. Summarised my plan is.. Firstly floors: D.P.M layer on the concrete (lapped up the walls), and a floating timber floor (38mmx89mm) sitting on top, with 400mm centres and 600mm cross-supports. Within the frame I will insulate with 75mm boards with a 14mm airgap below. I will then top with 18mm chipboard, 5mm laminate underlay, and 12mm laminate (these last 2 will be done when all the works are getting there of course). The U value works out to 0.22. The increased floor height will be +125mm, so just 1cm drop from the main area which I'm inclined to accept. Secondly walls: Breather membrane on brick lapped with the D.P.M., and timber battens installed (38mmx63mm) with 400mm centres. I will insulate with 50mm board, with a 13mm air gap behind. I will then top with 55mm insulated plasterboard. The U value works out to 0.25. The wall upgrade takes up 10.8% of the floor area - I understand from the exceptions notes in the building reg for insulation that if insulating takes >5% floor area, there's flexibility, but I'm keen to have my future home office nice and warm even if the insulated plasterboard is ££££. There is an 'internal wall' to the utility room, but right now I've treated all walls equally, as the utility is kind of cold and I don't think wall insulated having met old BC regs when built x decades ago. Thirdly ceilings: 100mm bottom roll among the 100mm rafters, topped with a 200mm super top up roll, leaving a 50mm gap on the eaves for ventilation. Some of this is lie-down crawl space only. Despite my hesitations with going near decades of thick cobweb build up, I want to affix breather membrane to the counter-battens and lap it with the walls', just to protect against any potential future leaks (the roof is a bit aged and another contractor suggested/quoted for re-setting the whole thing to correct the previous leaks, but my 10 year plan sees us extending upwards anyway, and this killed my budget). On the underside of the rafters, 12.5mm plasterboard. The U value works out to 0.155. Kinda close to the limit of 0.16, but if I can avoid the extra £££ for insulated plasterboard here when I already have 300mm insulation I would like to. Then some partitioning / plumbing Stud walls with 9.5mm plasterboard and some kind of sound insulation to partition the rear 2.3m into a 1.2m wide storage area, and a 1.5m wide bathroom with shower, toilet, sink. One element of the house's foul drain system is piped conveniently below the garage foundations at 200mm deep, which I intend to break into for foul drainage here. For the bathroom I'll also get an extractor fan installed to meet BC regs. The garage already has water for an outdoor tap and will just need some additional piping. The utility room already has a radiator, so my plan is to extend the central heating system into the garage with a nice high BTU vertical radiator. I intend to get in my plumber to tackle the infrastructure jobs early on, but leave the actual bathroom fittings a fair while so as to spread cost. Replacing the garage door Local door manufacturer and installer to replace the garage door with double french doors and a side window with opening top panel, at the increased floor level. Need to pin down exactly what they'll do in elevating it. Now question here.. I've seen lots of talk of how SE calcs are needed for a brick wall, but a door is a lot lighter, so do I need to get these calculations done for BC purposes, and/or is it something I can expect of the door installers? (who will do self-registration as their doors meet BC) Electrics Qualified electrician to expand on the current ring main providing 3 double sockets and a light, to add more 13A sockets, lights, shower termination, switches, etc. On this, I've read lots on how wiring should be above insulation in the ceiling, and obviously I want to see it done before the wall upgrades are finished so it's neatly behind, so in terms of sequencing should I be looking to get electrics done ASAP? That took a bit to get down! I think broadly a solid plan, but open to any criticisms on things I've missed, or tips on helping this along. What I'm focussed on right now as I prep the garage for works is the permitted development application, and prepping BC drawings for a BC notice. Pretty confident the work is valid under permitted development, especially since there is no covenant against something like this, and PP for the garage (in '87) has no stipulations removing the right. What I'm not 100% sure on for permitted dev. application is (and if anyone has an example that's been approved then please point me to it): The level of detail expected on the application If when they ask "Does the proposal consist of, or include, the carrying out of building or other operations?" they mean what I'm doing, or if they mean building a new structure. Right now my prepped form says Yes to this, and in 5 bullet points outlines the big ticket elements detailed above highlighting it's strictly internal with no footprint expansion. In verification evidence they ask for things showing timelines etc - I've input my quotes received, but don't know what else I might stick in there. Other than my BC plans. What I'm unclear on ref. BC is: The local council only IDs charges for a building notice and plans review (for a garage conversion specifically) - does this mean no site visits are needed? I only have a form for Building Notice - do the plans follow later on at request? I've drafted BC plans to submit based on examples I have seen around (incl a couple on here). If anyone can sense check these with a 2nd pair of eyes, I would appreciate it!! I have drawn them in smartdraw which I went and bought a license for as it seemed nifty for this and other work stuff, but I've been unable to get all my drawings on the same page - is it a problem that the necessary views are presented over multiple pages? They're all still to scale etc. I'm remiss to re-draw in another tool as there's a good few hours of work into these.. That's it! Again any thoughts/tips/suggestions warmly welcomed. I feel like my planning is in a good place. I'm hopeful over the next 7 weeks of weekends (and probably a week of focussed time) that I might be able to do the bare floor/walls/ceiling, but not sure how realistic this. Definitively it needs to be done by July so that my old office can become a nursery! 702110592_20230120-GarageconversionplanswithoutSite.pdf

Hi everyone, Hope you're all well! I recently purchased a 1930s semi detached house and plan to do a single storey rear extension for an open plan kitchen diner. The garage will also be converted into an office and I'm planning to add an en suite upstairs. Feel free to check out the attached drawings. I would love to hear your thoughts and any ideas to consider. Thanks!

Hi all, New member here with a bit of an issue. My wife and I have just bought our first home and we plan on converting the garage (not standalone) into a habitable room. Unfortunately the garage has a huge bulkhead inside it which severely limits its usability. Our house is semi-detached and the neighbour’s property mirrors ours pretty much exactly - there is a shared party wall between the two garages. The house is not in a conservation or other protected area. Neither of our garages are part of the original dwelling, they were part of a front extension which was done in the 1980s. The bulkhead is a result of an unnecessarily low flat roof (only about 2.5m from the outside) which means that if we were to build up the floor of the garage to match the floor height of the rest of the first floor, there would only be about 2.1m of clearance under the bulkhead (which covers half of the room). We therefore applied for full planning permission to our local council to raise the roof to 3m but they have said they will be rejecting the application because it will cause a mismatch between our property and our neighbour’s and therefore harm the character of the street. Our neighbour has also objected to our plans about six times! We have however already got a party wall agreement in place. The council's decision is due on Monday and if, as expected, they reject our application, we plan to appeal. I know the appeal process can be very long so my question is two-fold: 1. If the council refuse our application, can we still go ahead with raising the roof height of the garage to 3m under permitted development rules? This would remove our need to appeal to the planning inspectorate. 2. If permitted development rules don't permit raising the roof height, does anyone have advice on appealing a planning decision rejected solely based on "impacting the character of the street"? Thanks, RB

Hello, found my way here after searching for info on upgrading water mains as part of a family home renovation. I find it difficult to get builders/trade around for quotes and when they do turn up, they don't bother doing the quote. In 5 weeks I've had 1 quote, from the first builder that turned up, it's like pulling teeth, many can't be bothered. Not sure why. I've got planning permission, I've got drawings, I know what I want for most things. I've got a garage conversion, kitchen and bathroom refit. I'll probably have the heating upgraded too. Much be some profit there for someone. Anyway, this isn't supposed to be a rant.

Hi I’m converting my garage into a bungalow. It’s detached from my house & is about 10 m away. I will be extending it by 50% in size. Having trawled through here & the HMRC website I can’t work out whether I can reclaim the VAT. I’ve owned my house for 4 years and have never used it to store a car. The lady before me owned the property for 50 years, in her 80s & didn’t own a car. Any clues on if I can prove it hasn’t been used to store a car for 10 years whether I’d get the VAT back, & If so, any ideas how I can prove it? Many thanks. Nige.

Apart from a lick of paint and a recent bathroom, the house is pretty much unchanged since built: Gas warm-air heating (ducts, and lots of 'em) with electric immersion heater for hot water Parquet floors to lounge, hallway and dining room which needs resanding, filling and sealing (plus filling the gaps left when we remove the warm-air heating outlets) 1970s kitchen, including sliding-door cabinets! Our aspirations are: Immediate - Convert current tiny utility and the end of the double-length garage into a new dining area flowing off the kitchen, plus new utility and (probably) downstairs shower room Immediate - Roof lantern and bi-fold doors onto garden in new dining area Immediate - Replace warm-air heating, ideally with something more environmentally friendly Medium term - New kitchen (self-fitted) Long term - Replace tiling on gable ends with cladding (possibly cement board e.g. Marley Eternit) Challenges are: Three-gabled (T-shaped) chalet roof limits possibilities upstairs unless we put in dormers (which we don't have budget for and which would be tricky anyway due to multiple gables) No space to add a shower to upstairs bathroom unless we make the small bedroom smaller still. Possibly considering downstairs shower Existing ground-floor spaces are concrete floor with no inbuilt insulation Garage floor is about 100mm lower and so when we raise floor we'll have to raise the roof too Extending heating to the converted area of the garage - warm-air ducts can't be extended (and we don't think we're fans of it anyway). Garage floor isn't low enough for UFH and necessary insulation, and we don't have budget for lowering it, so it's going to have to be a combi-boiler and rads Asbestos throughout (we've had a specialist survey) including soffits, boiler flue, roof tile underboard, boiler cupboard door, utility ceiling, Marley vinyl floor tiles in kitchen (only the last three of these areas are likely to be touched though). No asbestos in warm-air ducting - confirmed by survey. Budget for immediate stuff is £30k. Conversion could be £20k, leaving only £10k for heating changes.

Because of our budget, there's some hard decisions and trade-offs to be made. Grateful for any constructive comments! Remaining garage size It's a double-length garage - 9m. We could just convert half of it, leaving the front part as a regular-sized garage, but that will leave us tight on space. Instead we're leaning towards taking around 5.5m, making the front part just a workshop and store (and hopefully, micro-brewery ?. Floor will be raised by 100mm using PIR with 18mm chipboard on top, and external walls with timber frame and PIR. Roof to be raised by our tame builder. Shower location Due to the 3-gabled chalet roof, there's not many places where a shower can be put upstairs. There's no scope for an en-suite that we can see (unless we shelled out for a dormer, which is likely to be beyond our budget). The only option for an upstairs shower seems to be to move the bathroom wall into the 3rd bedroom, making it smaller still. The other option is to have a downstairs shower room in the garage, but that's then eating into kitchen/dining room space. Kitchen/dining room configuration The existing kitchen is long and narrow, but we aim to widen the room by taking out the built-in cupboards and moving the door back slighting into the hallway We'll then knock through the current utility room The new space is actually larger than the existing kitchen. Do we move the kitchen into the new space and have the dining room where the kitchen is? Could seem a little odd to walk through the dining room to the kitchen, plus we'd have to install a new kitchen pronto as we'd be wrecking the orginal (and that's not in our short-term budget) Would like big (possibly 4m, 5 door) bi-folds onto garden, and a big (3m x 1.5m) roof lantern in new converted space on flat garage roof. Lowest u-values we can afford. Leaning towards keeping the kitchen location where it is, sink relocated to window, and with a small utility room in old garage space Insulation Uninsulated concrete ground floor - which might be tricky to raise and too expensive to lower for insulation. VIPs too expensive to do throughout (but considering 10mm for kitchen) Cavity walls are already insulated Roof insulation needs topping up, and lap vents installing in roof fabric Heating and hot water Existing system is warm air, with electric immersion and cylinder for hot water. Boiler replaced within last 12 months, but the system can't easily be extended into the new conversion space. So we'd need a combi-boiler just for the conversion. Floor drop in garage isn't enough for the insulation that would be recommended for UFH House isn't well-enough insulated for ASHP As a result we're leaning strongly towards simply a new modern combi-boiler and wet rads throughout

Friends of mine have viewed a property (in England) that they are interested in buying. The listing from the estate agent mentions a detached garage but when they viewed the house the garage has been converted into an annex for the owners' parents. It has a bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen / laundry. They asked about it and were told that it has been done under permitted development and that the conversion was done before they bought the property. My friends have tracked down the estate agent listing when the current owners bought the property in 2012 and the conversion had indeed been made then as the listing mentions it but at that point it was only a half conversion at the back of the garage with a bedroom and a bathroom. Now the whole garage has been converted and the other half is now a kitchen/laundry and living room. They don't appear to have got either planning permission or building control sign off. My friends are still interested in the house but I thought that if a completely separate annex had been built not only did it need PP but that it would mean that separate council tax was due too? Can they avoid this if they immediately remove the kitchen? They would like to retain the laundry facilities if possible so that they have somewhere to wash their dog beds but have no wish to actually use the annex accommodation at this point. There is a other brick built building in the garden that is used as a summerhouse that appears to have no permission either. Sounds like a minefield to me TBH especially as they would like to extend the main house at some point anyway.