Garage Conversions in Liverpool

What is a garage conversion?

A garage conversion takes a space built to store a car, and more often these days bikes, boxes and a chest freezer, and makes it part of the home. Once it is finished, the room should feel like any other room in the house: insulated to current standards, dry underfoot, heated, properly lit and ventilated, with a front wall where the garage door used to be and, usually, a floor at or close to the level of the rest of the house.

That is the difference between a proper conversion and a garage with a carpet thrown down. A garage is built as an outbuilding. Its walls are often a single skin of brick, the floor is bare concrete with no insulation and often no damp-proof membrane, the roof may be thin felt or sheeting, and the door is a large uninsulated panel. Turning it into a habitable room means dealing with every one of those things, and doing it in a way that building control will accept.

For many Liverpool households a conversion is a way of getting an extra room without building outwards. The footprint already exists, the roof is already there, and the work happens largely inside the existing walls, so it is often simpler than an extension. It is not always simple, though, and the details matter. That is what this page, and the rest of this site, is here to explain.

Who is a garage conversion for?

We hear from people in very different situations. Some of the most common:

• Growing familiesAnother child on the way and no spare bedroom, or teenagers who need their own space.
• Working from homeA separate room away from the kitchen table, with good light, sockets and a door that shuts.
• Older relativesA ground-floor bedroom, or a self-contained annexe for a parent who needs to be close by.
• More living spaceA snug, playroom or bigger kitchen without the cost and disruption of moving house.
• Practical needsA utility room, a downstairs shower room, or somewhere to train that is not the spare bedroom.

If your garage is only used for storage, or the car has not been in it for years, it is worth at least finding out what a conversion would involve. If you rely on the garage for parking, or a planning condition requires it to stay available for a car, that changes the picture, and it is something we raise early.

What type of garage do you have?

The type of garage affects the build more than almost anything else, so it is the first thing we ask about.

Integral garages

An integral garage sits within the main footprint of the house, usually with a room or bedroom above it and a door through to the hall or kitchen. They are common on houses built from the 1960s onwards and on many newer estates around Liverpool. Because the walls and roof are shared with the house, an integral garage conversion is often the most straightforward type, but the fire separation between the garage and the house, and the room above, need careful thought.

Attached and linked garages

An attached garage is built against the side of the house, often with its own flat or pitched roof. Some are linked to a neighbour’s garage, sharing a wall. An attached garage conversion usually involves more work to the roof and walls than an integral one, and a shared wall can bring sound insulation and party wall matters into play.

Detached garages

A detached garage stands on its own in the garden or at the end of the drive. Converting one means insulating the whole structure from scratch and bringing power, water and drainage across from the house. There are planning questions too, because how the room will be used matters. Our page on detached garage conversions covers these differences in detail.

Double garages and part conversions

A double garage conversion gives enough floor area for a large room, two rooms, or a small annexe, and may need a wider infill or a structural check on the beam over a double opening. If you want to keep some storage or a bay for bikes and tools, a part garage conversion converts the back section into a room and keeps a smaller garage or store at the front, with an insulated wall between the two.

What can you turn a garage into?

Almost any room that would sit comfortably on the ground floor of a house can go into a garage. Each one has its own needs, and those needs shape the layout, the windows, the heating and the services.

• A bedroomA garage to bedroom conversion needs a safe way out in a fire, usually an escape window if the room is reached through another room, plus smoke alarm cover, good insulation and ventilation.
• A home officeTurning a garage into a home office is about daylight, enough sockets in the right places, a good data connection and a room that stays comfortable all day.
• An annexeA garage annexe conversion creates a bedroom, living space and shower room for a relative, which brings drainage, planning use and council tax questions.
• A bigger kitchenA garage kitchen extension opens the garage into the existing kitchen, which usually means structural work to the dividing wall, plus extraction and new drainage.
• A living room or snugConverting a garage into a living room gives a second sitting room or TV room, where warmth, lighting and sound between rooms matter most.
• A playroomA garage to playroom conversion needs a warm, durable floor, safe glazing, plenty of light and a layout that can grow with the children.
• A utility roomA garage to utility room takes the washing machine and dryer out of the kitchen, which needs a water supply, waste route and ventilation.
• A shower room or WCAdding a shower room or WC in a garage depends on getting waste to the drains with the right fall, plus extract ventilation.
• A home gymA garage to home gym conversion needs a floor that can take weights and impact, good ventilation and enough ceiling height.

Plenty of conversions combine two of these, such as a bedroom with a shower room, or a utility room at the back of a garage that becomes part of the kitchen. We plan the layout around how you will use the space.

What does the building work involve?

Every garage is different, but most conversions involve the same main elements. Knowing what they are helps you understand a quote and ask the right questions.

Filling in the garage door opening

The old door comes out and the opening is built up with a new wall, usually with a window and sometimes a door. A new foundation may be needed for that wall, or in some cases it can be carried on a suitable beam or lintel, with the method agreed with building control. The new wall has to keep out rain and match the house as closely as possible. Our page on garage door infill explains the options.

Raising and insulating the floor

Garage floors are usually lower than the house and are often uninsulated concrete. The conversion normally adds a damp-proof membrane linked to the damp-proof course in the walls, then rigid insulation and a screed or timber floor to bring the level up and remove or reduce the step. See garage floor insulation and levelling for how this is done.

Insulating and weatherproofing the walls

Many garage walls are a single skin of brick, which lets in damp and loses heat fast. They are usually upgraded with a new insulated inner leaf or a framed inner wall with insulation and a membrane, so the room meets Part L of the Building Regulations. Our garage wall insulation page covers the different approaches.

Upgrading the roof

Integral garages share the house roof or have a room above. Attached and detached garages often have flat felt roofs or single-skin pitched roofs that need rebuilding or insulating. Older garages may have cement sheet roofs that could contain asbestos, which must be tested and, if needed, removed by a specialist before any work. The garage roof upgrade page goes into the details.

Electrics, heating and plumbing

A habitable room needs sockets, lighting, and often a new circuit. That electrical work falls under Part P and is carried out by a registered electrician who issues an Electrical Installation Certificate; our page on electrics for garage conversions explains the paperwork. Heating can often be extended from your existing system, and any new sink, shower or WC needs a route to the drains. See plumbing and heating for garage conversions for the options.

Do you need planning permission or Building Regulations?

These are two separate things, and people often mix them up.

Planning permission is about whether the work is allowed. The Planning Portal says planning permission is not usually required for a garage conversion, provided the work is internal and does not enlarge the building. But permitted development rights have been removed on some properties, often by a condition on the original planning permission for a housing estate, or by an Article 4 direction. New estates and conservation areas are where this comes up most. Using a detached garage as self-contained living space is also likely to need permission. Always check with your own council, which for our customers means Liverpool City Council, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens, Wirral or Halton. Our page on planning and permitted development for garage conversions explains how to check.

Building Regulations are about how the work is done. Turning a garage into habitable space will normally need approval under the Building Regulations, from your council’s building control team or a registered building control approver. The parts that usually matter cover structure, fire safety and escape, damp, sound, ventilation, drainage, insulation (Part L) and electrical safety. Our Building Regulations approval page explains the routes and the inspections.

Most conversions also need drawings. Where a job needs them, they are prepared by an architect or architectural technician, showing the layout, the build-ups for the floor, walls and roof, and the structural details. Our page on garage conversion design and drawings covers what they show and when you need them.

What happens when you call us?

1. A first conversation. We ask what type of garage it is (integral, attached, detached, single or double), roughly how old the house is, what you want the room to be used for, and whether you know of any planning conditions on the house.
2. A look at the garage. We arrange to see the walls, the floor level, the roof, the existing door opening and where services such as power, water and drains run.
3. Layout and approvals. We talk through layout options and what drawings and approvals will be needed, and explain whether a planning check or application is likely and which Building Regulations route makes sense.
4. Drawings. Where the job needs them, drawings are prepared by an architect or architectural technician.
5. A written quote. You get a written quote based on what we have seen and what the room needs to be.
6. The build. Work follows the agreed drawings, with building control inspections at the usual stages. Electrics and plumbing are done by suitably qualified trades who issue the relevant paperwork.
7. Completion paperwork. At the end you should receive the building control completion certificate and the electrical installation paperwork. Keep them with your house deeds; a buyer’s solicitor is likely to ask for them.

How long does a garage conversion take?

Rated People’s guide puts an average garage conversion at around three to six weeks on site, with simpler bedroom-only jobs nearer two to four weeks and conversions with heavy structural or plumbing work taking longer. Those are averages, and your own timescale depends on the garage, the room and the approvals. Drawings and approvals also take time before work starts, so it is worth allowing for that when you plan.

How much does a garage conversion cost?

The cost depends on the type and size of garage, how much structural, roof and floor work is needed, what the room will be used for (a shower room or kitchen costs more than a bedroom), the finish you choose, and the fees for drawings and building control. We do not publish a price list, because no two garages are the same. Our garage conversion cost guide sets out published averages from national sources and explains what pushes the figure up or down, so you can make sense of any quote you receive.

What goes wrong with garage conversions?

Many of the calls we get are about older conversions that were done without proper detailing. Damp along the bottom of the walls where the floor membrane was never linked to the damp-proof course, cold single-skin walls with mould behind furniture, a step down into the room, an infill wall built straight on the slab that has started to crack, a bedroom with no escape window, overloaded electrics, and no completion certificate when the house is being sold. Our garage conversion problems guide explains the signs, the likely causes and what can be done, whether you are planning a conversion or living with one that is not right.

Where do we work?

We carry out garage conversions across Liverpool and Merseyside, covering homes in Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and the Wirral, plus Widnes. We focus on the suburbs and towns where most houses have garages, because that is where conversions happen.

In south Liverpool, homes in Woolton, Gateacre and Allerton include many inter-war and post-war semis and detached houses with side or rear garages, and both Woolton and Gateacre villages have conservation areas, which matters if the front of the house is changing. Further east, Hunts Cross and Halewood have plenty of later estate housing with attached and integral garages.

In the east of the city, West Derby has a broad mix of semis and detached houses, while Croxteth Park is a large private estate with many integral and linked garages, where checking the original planning conditions is particularly worthwhile. Over into Knowsley and St Helens, we cover Huyton, Prescot and Rainhill.

North of the city, Sefton’s suburbs and towns include Crosby, Formby, Maghull and Southport, where coastal exposure means infill walls and new windows have to cope with wind-driven rain. Across the Mersey, larger homes in Heswall often have double or detached garages suited to annexes, and we also work in West Kirby and Bebington. To the south-east, we cover Widnes. The full list is on our areas we cover page.

Why talk to us about your garage?

We focus on garage conversions rather than general building, so the questions that come up on these jobs are the ones we deal with every week: where the floor level should finish, how the new wall meets the old foundation, whether a bedroom needs an escape window, how to keep a single-skin wall dry, and what paperwork you will need at the end. We explain things plainly, put the quote in writing, and work to the approved drawings with building control inspecting at the usual stages.

We will also tell you when something needs checking before anyone can give you a firm answer, such as whether your house has lost its permitted development rights, whether a shared wall brings in the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, or whether an old roof sheet needs an asbestos test. It is better to know those things at the start than halfway through the build.

You can read more about us, browse our garage conversion guides for more detailed advice, or get in touch by phone, email or the form on any page.