After moving home last year I'm finally approaching the end of the renovations we needed to make. This is now clearing the way for me to start
thinking about building a garage as currently all my tools and stuff is crammed into an 8x6 shed. At the side of our house we have an area around
14' x 22'. I have 2 options for the build.
1. Build onto the side of the house with block and render to match. With this option the Mrs has stipulated a small utility room so would lose 4 ft in
length but could build up to or just inside the boundary to maximise width.
2. Lay a slab and build a timber garage. No utility room and would lose a little width, but still enough for maybe 10-11 feet wide leaving a gap
either side.
Now obviously there will be a substantial cost difference. I suspect I'm looking at 10k minimum with me doing a lot of the work and getting the
materials trade from the Mrs work for the block option. Timber wise I think I could build a good spec one for 2k which means I could afford to do it
this year.
If it were your choice which would you do? Would a proper attached garage add any value to the house over a detached timber one?
Any thoughts welcome!!
A proper attached garage will always add more value. How long do you plan to stay there? If you were selling the house an estate agent would be
marketing a properly built, attached garage as another potential room in the house as most seem to get converted these days [maybe that's just
round here though]. It will also be more secure.
As a third option, what about a lean to against the house? I recently put up a car port with a polycarbonate roof that goes between our house and the
neighbours garage as their garage wall in on the boundary.
With some timber walls you could make a really cost effective attached garage if built as a lean to.
If staying long term I'd go with a proper block garage though.
Stu
[Edited on 29/4/15 by whitestu]
Proper garage. Money spent on property is not wasted.
Build it so that it can be easily converted to living accommidation, will add ££££££££s to the value.
quote:and make any garage 'footings' suitable for another storey
Build it so that it can be easily converted to living accommodation,
Cheers. We have no intention of moving in the next 5 years or so. Your right about the conversion. We actually converted the integral garage as we
needed the 4th bedroom and couldnt afford to buy a 4 bed house in the area we wanted. The garage itself was next to useless as it was so narrow.
I was always swaying to the proper attached option but I'm just an impatient bugger.
Why not build the footings as per a garage that could be extended ontop, lay the slab and the first course of bricks. Then put a wood sides and proper
roof. Its a half way house that gets you a garage quicker. You could then in a few years, upgrade the walls to brick, reuse the roof and conviently
forget about the utility whilst its made of wood
If you're going to DIY the block build version then it should be nowhere near 10k. Even with a pitched roof for some nice storage, tiles, etc, I'd say you could get it in below 6k, even with the building regs apps, deep footings, etc. Obviously it depends exactly how DIY it's going to be though...
I agree with all the above by saying build a block garage to current building regs that will allow you to convert it to a room at a later date.
HOWEVER the fact that the missus requires a utility room that takes up garage space is a dealer breaker for me. I might build a base to current regs
and then build from wood. In my mind every sq ft of garage space is worth triple of 'house' space.
Having said that my missus is a garage/tool nazis. If I leave one tool in the house then there is trouble! However her hobbys (our kids - hehehe)
stuff is literally strewn all over the place! She's been like that ever since she stubbed her toe on a V8 cylinder head that I had left on the
bedroom floor. I was putting it up in the loft at the time.
I had thought of a timber structure adjoining the house but fear will open a can of worms being built of a non combustible material with building
regs.
The utility room doesn't bother me as we really could use the extra kitchen space by getting all the appliances out of the way. Even with the
utility I should still get a decent 13 x 18 foot garage which is a lot bigger than I've previously possessed.
As for diy. My plan would be to get a contractor to do the footings and the slab then I would diy the block work. Maybe get a little help with
getting the roof sorted. I already have a tame sparkie and my son's an apprentice plumber to sort the electrics and heating out. I really need to
sit down and work out some prices to get a better idea I think.
13ft is quite wide. My current garage is only a measly 8ft and my car is 6ft wide. Bigger is always better!
[Edited on 30/4/15 by Irony]
If you build it to house style building regs, with house style insulation, you could even extend to central heating out there and have a warm garage in the winter. Pure luxury!!!
Do it once, do it right. Don't kid yourself the timber one will be 2k, it wont be!
I've done a couple timber ones now. And my mrs works in the trade so I get plenty of discount
There's been a twist in the scenario now. we've discovered there are 2 sewers running down the side of the house one waste and one runoff.
Scottish water have been out to survey it as it was missing off their drawings. They don't envisage an issue with building over however the pipes
are 8ft down and would need to dig down below that to install supporting lintels. Ie a huge cost.
I did ask would they be happy with a slab laid then a timber garage and they ummed and aahhhed and said they would get back to me.
A pain in the arse in proceedings.
My plan is a 45' container. They are around £1200 plus a bit more for delivery.
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
My plan is a 45' container. They are around £1200 plus a bit more for delivery.
Couldn't you insulate the outside?
quote:
They don't envisage an issue with building over however the pipes are 8ft down and would need to dig down below that to install supporting lintels. Ie a huge cost.
To be totally honest I'm starting to "forget" it's there and lay a slab and build a decent well insulated timber garage. If the worse comes to the worse and they need access they'll have to dig through. The surveyor bloke told me that the likelihood hood of any issue with the sewers in the next 20 years is remarkably low as they are only 15 years old.
I have used these in the past. excellent quality and a good price. Although is is a concrete panel garage I have boarded it out with OSB
http://www.lidget.co.uk/our-buildings
only took a day to put up.
you can have them any width, length and pitch you like.
One minor comment-
Utility/tool storage/part cleaning room
don't forget planning permission
quote:
Originally posted by brookie
don't forget planning permission