Hi all just asking for peoples experience really
Im going to convert my garage into a room with a shower room.
Ive already done alot of research into the building regs requirements for this and it looks like if I was to meet those I would have to raise the roof and dig up and relay the floor.
Have people found that certain requirements can be changed to meet there needs when talking with building regs or is it just you have to meet there regs and that’s that.
I know the risks associated with doing the conversion without building regs and would much prefer to do it with approval. Im just scared that to meet the regs will cost so much that it will not be viable.
I will be making the conversion very safe and will be fitting escape windows smoke detection and fire resistance its just I cant achieve quite the level of insulation required to meet the regs
Thanks in advance for any advice

The regs are just a guide and any local sensible Building Control Officer will help you work within the limitations you have.

What head room do you have at the moment? The standard form of garage conversions is to lay a dam down over the existing floor, then timber battens with insulation between, followed by a 18mm T&G ply deck. The insulation will probably be in the region of 100mm of Celotex, so the battens (or joists, if you will) will need to be deep enough to accommodate this.

Doesn’t it depend very much on whether you are going to move any time soon?

As mikey says, they should be pretty flexible. It does seem a bit pointless that if something is hard then you don’t need to do it but that is often the way it is. Private ones especially seem to side with the builder In terms of going for the east option.

I’m not saying it’s right to do so, but 12 years ago we converted our double garage and a couple of small attached outbuildings into my office with kitchenette, toilet entrance hall and largish storage room.
Didn’t bother with BR but it was all done very properly (father was an architect).
I very much doubt someone’s going to pull out of a future sale becuse of it.
Make sure all the work is done as well as possible and keep records/pictures of what has been done for future reference.

Call building control and ask what they think. They are actually very helpful.

I know the risks associated with doing the conversion without building regs and would much prefer to do it with approval. Im just scared that to meet the regs will cost so much that it will not be viable.

But what else are you going to skimp on because it ‘costs’ money?

And ‘viable’? Have you a business case that needs fulfilling?

It’s a conversion and the only way it is too expensive is if either you can’t afford it or it’d be cheaper to move to a house that has what you want.

Call building control and ask what they think. They are actually very helpful.

tbh That is the last thing he should do if considering not doing it to regs.

I wouldn’t buy a house that hadn’t passed BR’s in fact I am pretty certain that mortgages won’t lend these days if an extension of any sort doesn’t havr BR’s ( if needed )

A house down the road from us had work done with out approval, it recently sold for a lot less than the market value.

If in doubt get the council involed could save you a fortune in later years

If you were selling a house which had non-BC compliant work carried out, I think the vendor would purchase a small indemnity insurance policy to cover this.

+1 speaking to your local Building Control Officer – they are generally very helpful. Just say you are thinking of doing some work – they aren’t likely to start monitoring your garage, waiting to pounce on you for breaking the law! Don’t forget – most Local Authorities have lost huge swathes of resource in recent years. The BC Officers I know are really overstretched.

Dammit! That should have said DPM, not “dam”. As others have said: Not getting BRs could affect future sale/value of the house.

in fact I am pretty certain that mortgages won’t lend these days if an extension of any sort doesn’t havr BR’s

Given that most (>80%) housing stock in this country doesn’t conform to current building regs, I very much doubt that!

There’s a difference between buildings that were built before regs existed, and ones that were built when regs did exist but just didn’t conform to them.