How much does a garage conversion cost in Gloucester?
Turning your garage into a room? Post the job for free and it goes to local builders who cover your area. Only the builder who takes it on gets your contact details.
Free to post, and only the tradesperson who takes your job on gets your details. Read our privacy notice.
Converting a garage
A garage conversion usually means filling in the door opening with a wall and window, insulating the floor, walls and roof, and adding heating, electrics and sometimes plumbing. The finished room needs to be warm, dry and safe to live in, so turning a garage into habitable space will normally need building regulations approval.
Building control will look at the foundations under the new wall, the damp-proofing, insulation, ventilation, fire safety and a way out in an emergency. Garage floors are often lower than the house and may need raising. The existing walls may be single skin, which needs extra work to keep the room dry and warm.
Planning permission isn’t usually needed if the work is internal and doesn’t enlarge the building. But on some estates, particularly newer ones, permitted development rights have been removed by a planning condition, which can mean you need permission even to convert the garage. Listed buildings and conservation areas have their own rules. Check with the council for your area before committing.
Think about parking too. Losing the garage may matter if the drive is short or there are local parking restrictions.
Say whether the garage is attached, integral or detached, and what the room will be used for. A home office, a bedroom and a utility room all have different needs.
What to include when you post
A few details help a builder see how much work the garage needs. Include:
- Whether the garage is attached, integral or detached
- Rough internal size, and whether it has a flat or pitched roof
- What the room will be used for
- Photos inside and out, including the door, floor and roof
- Whether there’s power, water or a boiler in the garage now
- Whether you have drawings or building regulations approval
- Whether you know of any planning conditions on the house
- Where you’ll park once the garage is gone, and access for a skip
If you only want part of the garage converted, say which part and what the rest will be used for.
What to ask
Garage conversions involve several trades, so be clear on who is doing what. Ask:
- Who deals with building regulations and books inspections
- Whether electrics, heating, plastering, flooring and decorating are in the price
- Whether electrical work will be done by someone registered with a competent person scheme, and whether you’ll get the certificate
- How they’ll insulate and damp-proof the floor and walls
- What the foundations are like under the new front wall
- Who takes away waste and the old garage door
Get a written quote that lists exclusions. At the end, make sure you have the building control completion certificate and any electrical certificates.
Not quite the right job?
See every job on our Builder page, or post it anyway and describe it in your own words.
Before a tradesperson starts work
Registrations
Some work must be done by a registered professional. Work on a gas boiler, cooker or fire must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which you can check on the Gas Safe Register.
Our business check
Limited companies are checked with Companies House and sole traders upload their insurance certificate. Trade registrations are confirmed by the tradesperson when they sign up.
Get the price in writing
Ask for a written quote that sets out the work and the price before anything starts. Your contract for the work is with the tradesperson.
Questions
What people tend to ask before booking this job. For anything specific to your home, ask the tradesperson who takes it on when they get in touch.
Often not if the work is internal and doesn't make the building bigger. But some homes, particularly on newer estates, have had permitted development rights removed. Check with the council for your area before work starts.
Usually an electrician, and sometimes a plumber, heating engineer and plasterer. Ask whether the builder manages them or whether you need to arrange them yourself.
Converting a garage into living space will normally need it. Building control checks insulation, damp-proofing, ventilation, fire safety and the new wall's foundations.
Yes, a part conversion is common. The converted part still has to meet building regulations, and the wall between the two needs thinking about.
Often. Garage floors are usually lower than the house and need insulating and damp-proofing. How much work that is depends on the existing slab.