Converting Your Garage Into an Office

Converting a garage is a great way to give your home more living space or it could be a cheaper alternative to an office. You could turn your garage into a home office and it could work out much cheaper for yourself. If you’re a small business or freelancer you might not have the funds to rent an office out and working from home is fine then keep on reading this blog!

Converting your garage into a home office has loads of benefits. The first being you don’t need to rent an office and you can also claim tax back on your home office. You also don’t need to commute so it is really ideal!

Garages tend to be a place we use to put our junk in. Cars are getting bigger these days and houses are getting smaller and garages are turning into a wasted space. I know so many friends who park their cars outside even though they have a garage. Garages tend to be filled up with fitness equipment, old toys and just things you don’t want to throw out.

The problem with converting your garage into a home office is the price. It can be quite costly and a lengthy process depending on how you go about it. Sometimes it’s better to hire a specialist garage conversion company but it is totally possible to do it yourself. Also garage conversions will increase the value of your house too.

There are loads of benefits of doing a garage conversion that people don’t think of. When i got my garage converted I never even thought about the extra daylight it would bring into my house before i got it done. It was a pleasant surprise.

Can I convert my garage?

Before you even start with your garage conversion you should know all the legal issues involved. Theres three things you need to check first:

1. Check your lease – Check and see if there is any restrictive covenants. Some developers put a restriction on any work that affects the external appearance of a house. Usually you can get around this by paying a fee but if not your only way to getting around this would changing the internals and leaving the outside the way it is.
2. Planning permission – You will need to apply for planning permission if you want to convert a garage. I’d check with your local council and see what the procedure is.
3. Building regulations – If you plan on converting any room in your house to be used as a habitable space you need to comply with building regulations. If you talk to your council they should advise you on all of this. They will usually send a building control office out to discuss your needs.

You should also might run into these problems

1. If you live in a listed building or neighbourhood it is really unlikely that you can change the external appearance of the house.
2. You could run into drainage issues.
3. Additional insulation is needed – Depending on the council you might get away with filling the existing construction but if not you might need to do it as if it was a complete rebuild.
4. Parking restrictions – places such as london can refuse permission if there isn’t enough car parking spaces.

Garage conversion design details

Making your garage conversion look natural and less like a converted garage has a few steps to it. You should consider these points:

Exterior – You should try ensure the brickwork, materials and windows that replace the garage door exist well with the rest of the house. Your builders should fully tooth and bond the new brickwork into the old brickwork too. The top of the garage door is also normally lower in height than the others on the ground floor.

Floor levels – The garage floor will usually be lower than the floor level in the existing house too so if you can raise the floor but problems arise when the ceiling is too low as well.

Access – You also need to consider how you get access to the room. Does the existing door cause problems with the furnishings of the new room?

Heating – How are you heating your new room in the house? The concrete floor that was originally there needs covered for starters. Getting a nice carpet down will keep the place nice and warm. Proper insulation will ensure your new room is nice and toasty but combining that with a radiator will give you the results you’re looking for.