If you wish to convert garage to living space, there are some points that you need to consider before you set to work. What will you use your new living space for? Will you require water, gas, and electrical installations? The easiest garage conversions are those where the space is used for an office, store room, or a guest room. Here, you don’t have the additional expenses of adding a bathroom, kitchen, or other plumbing installations.
Convert Garage to Living Space : Lighting
A legal and professional garage conversion will receive certification on completion. An inspection will be carried out before the space will be certified as living space. You cannot include the new floor area on your home plans unless it is officially registered. So, in order to make sure your garage conversion passes all the inspections, you need to make sure that there is ventilation, light, damp-proofing, and more. Lighting does not just mean adding extra lights and plug sockets to your garage. Your garage must have a window if it is to be used as living space. It will also need a door, and an escape route.
Heating
Unless you are only going to use your garage conversion for occasional use or for storage, you will need to think about heating. Having plug-in heaters is really not satisfactory, and you will need to extend your existing central heating so that it covers your garage space. This is a job that should be done only by the professionals, and before work commences, your garage needs to be correctly insulated. If your garage is not insulated already, you will need to add insulation to your walls and roof. This will be the case if your garage is of the older style, and is situated to the side of your home instead of underneath the first storey.
Damp Proofing
To convert garage to living space, you will also need to ensure there is a damp course present. In older style garages, this is unlikely, and one will need to be added, in between the original and new stud walls. This will make your garage space smaller, so if your garage is already narrow, this is something that you must think about carefully. The floor of your garage will generally be concrete, and will often be lower than the floor of your home. This needs to be brought up to the correct level, and treated for damp where required.
Remember that in older style homes, your garage was designed only to store cars. Having said this, converting garage space to living space is relatively easy, and cheaper than converting a loft or basement. But, to ensure the best results, always use the services of a garage conversion in Bristol team. Do not be tempted to carry out the work yourself, as your finished build will almost certainly not meet the strict regulations required in order for it to be classified as real living space.