Not sure if anyone is well up on house valuations here as we are at the very early stages of planning a side extension (2 storey). We’re just trying to determine how to divide up the new space downstairs and on the first plans the garage seems to dominate compared to the office.

The current garage is used for bikes,tools and storage. My thinking is to pinch another 3 feet from the garage to make a bigger office. That would turn it into a long workshop with a more normal size door with no ability to store cars. That seems to give me the spaces I want in the house we plan to stay in for a long time, but the wife wound up by her parents is nervous about no garage.

We never have put a car in there and neither does anyone I know in theirs – it seems to be my parents generation that do that. But we don’t want to hobble the properties resale potential (no plans to sell).

I can’t see that square footage in a garage is worth more than that in an office but would the market demand a garage (4 bed edwardian semi) do you think?

Put a RSJ or pre-stressed beam in where the wall is built so that the wall is then non load bearing, it means when you sell it the folk that buy it can knock out the wall if they want to.

If its only going to be 3ft shorter than normal I’ll bet nobody will ever notice.

we had PP for side extension that had no garage. on our culdesac only 2/10 homes use a garage for cars and that seems very high compared to the rest of the estate. It was on our minds for resale issues but most are just expensive sheds/bike stores. would your planned garage be of a suitable size or would it be a bit of a bolt on cos we feel it should have one?
not much help but something we went through.

35 years ago when we converted a barn in Swaledale to a House, Planning insisted we had to have a garage to keep the car off the road. So a garage was built, but it only ever stored rubbish and the car was parked on the street like everyone else….

If you really want to stay in it for a long time then build. it as YOU want to have it and hang the resale value.

+1 for RSJ. Think about the floor level too, that way the conversion is easy.

APF

Thanks for your thoughts.

RsJ with a more temp wall is a good call and one we’re going to ask architect about. I’m pretty certain for building regs a garage space has to be lower than the inside rooms but not sure about a workshop. If it does then I guess this makes opening it back up into one garage level space trickier….

The 3 foot would be off the garage width not length so we would end up with a thin long workshop 7ft x 18 ft

We already have offroad parking for 2-3 cars so no impact on street parking

Never seen an Edwardian house with a garage built at the same time of build of house.

Me personally, theres no need for an old type sized garage for todays cars and also with
modern cars being galvanised. so as long has you can park on the front job done.

Regarding the facade of the garage, Try keeping or sympathetic to the facade of the house.

I’m pretty certain for building regs a garage space has to be lower than the inside rooms but not sure about a workshop

Just have it as a garage until it’s built and signed off, then change it later with a ‘temp’ wall.

IME Car insurance premiums go up if a car is garaged as a opposed to parked on a drive – as folk that garage cars are more likely to claim (possibly due to damaging the car while driving in/out).

Average family Cars are bigger than they used to be. Tried sticking a focus or mondeo in a standard council lock up size garage…..which are generally bigger than those on new builds.

Id be a bit miffed if i viewed a house that “almost ” had a garage…as it would then be crossed off the list. I never store my car in Te garage but i do work on the car in there on occasion

Re Edwardian Garage – no you’re right that bit is not original. Its a really nasty unmatching 70s addition that really spoils the house atm. That will all come down and be the space, plus another 2m width for the new build. making sure that it is in keeping with the original and enhances it is one of our major aims.I

sounds like we’re on about 5 V 1 for having the space I want rather than just a garage sized one for the sake of it…keep the votes coming for more statistical robustness!

b r – Member
I’m pretty certain for building regs a garage space has to be lower than the inside rooms but not sure about a workshop

That is correct due to vapour leaks naturally from the car and that the vapour will lay low
and should not enter the home.
To stop vapour is to keep the fuel tank over half fuel to compress the vapour.

A big no no is putting a fridge or freezer in a working garage which I have seen a house explode due to
the Fire investigator found that the car had less than half a tank of fuel so more vapour is released and when the fridge motor kicked in to keep the fridge cool, then ignited the vapour and lost half of the house.

Our house is extended and has an integral garage. We’re looking to convert it into a utility room and a study at some point in the future. If you don’t need the storage don’t bother with a garage (imho)

If you can’t open the doors on both sides of the car it’s not much of a garage – if you have adequate parking why not just build it as a workshop / store – you can make it a nicer place to work and more secure.

I won’t recommend having a garden tap inside any garage or workshop without a sink.

We park our car in our garage, but only because parking on our street can be a bit of a nightmare. Our car is a heap of shit. Nice not to have to defrost on cold mornings I guess.

Can you consider building it as a 1.5 garage with the garage door sized opening but glazed with normal doors/windows, then use an internal stud wall to create the office space. When you sell there is still potential for a large garage/games room by moving or removing the stud wall.