Garage Conversion Hinckley Rugby Burbage

Convert Your Garage to a Living Space

M&A HOME IMPROVEMENTS can provide a complete package for garage conversion all you building work, maintenance and home improvement requirements. Whatever your needs from our complete range of building services, you can rest-assured that the job will be properly project managed from conception to completion and you will receive a first-class service from our dedicated team of professionals.   A garage conversion can add value to your property as well as additional living space to your home. A well-thought out conversion can add as much as 10 percent to the value of your home, and is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve your property’s resale value. An additional benefit is increased living space without incurring the costs and inconveniences of moving house. Below, you’ll find the information needed to plan and carry out your garage conversion. homes/renovating/converting-garage The existing garage floor will be sufficiently strong but will require additional damp proofing and insulation to meet building regulations.   A concrete floor can be created and a Damp Proof Membrane added between the two layers. Insulation is also added under the new floor, but sometimes requires a separation layer to prevent a chemical reaction with the damp proofing. Finish concrete floors with a screed of 75mm depth and seal before painting.     A raised timber floor can be built over the existing floor. This will require a gap of 150mm between the joists and the original floor. Wide or long raised timber floors may also require a small supporting wall. Damp proofing is laid under the timber and insulation between the joists and the timbers of the floor. Fire regulations may require a step in a raised timber floor at doorways, to prevent fire spreading under fire doors by burning of the floor timbers.

WALLS IN Garage Conversion External walls are covered by building regulations and must meet requirements in terms of moisture-proofing and insulation. If the garage is integral to the house the exterior walls will usually meet building regulations. Otherwise consider a second block wall, or a stud wall, inside the existing exterior wall. Insulation and power and water lines can be put behind this wall. Note that this will decrease the interior dimensions of the space.   Interior walls between rooms in the conversion must meet building regulations’ requirements for fireproofing. This can mean one or two layers of fireproof plasterboard on stud walls. For block walls this is unnecessary. Doors through interior walls need to be fireproof, with a 30-minute rating. Additionally, building regulations may require a step in the floor at the doorway to prevent fire spreading along the floorboards.   If the garage conversion will see a lot of use, especially if it is external to the house, consider additional insulation. This will decrease cost long term. Additionally, the insulation requirements for buildings have been rising and will continue to rise; over-insulating now will make your property more saleable later when building regulations may require it, and it’s cheaper to add while the walls are under construction. Replacing the garage door with an infill wall will require investigating the foundations to confirm their depth. Shallow fill foundations may require improvement to support the additional weight. Consider replacing the door with a large window and panelling. The adjoining room to the door can be a store room, or the window can be the ‘front’ of the conversion. By saving the expense of reworking the foundations these options can be considerably cheaper. Some owners report having built an interior-style block wall behind the existing garage door and insulating this, leaving the exterior appearance of the garage unaltered.