Garage Conversions

Why not add space AND value to your existing property or even create a separate dwelling to sell or rent. For relatively minimal cost.

Some potential ideas to transform your garage could be:-

GARAGE ADJOINED TO PROPERTY:

• Granny Annexe, Extra Bedroom, Family room, Playroom, Study, Shower Room, Extra bathroom, Dining Room, Kitchen, Utility room, Home Cinema, Student Accommodation or Half garage Half New Space.

GARAGE DETACHED FROM PROPERTY:

• New Dwelling, Granny Annexe, Teenagers Flat, Business Office, Summer House, Playroom, Student Accommodation or Half garage Half New Space.

More and more people are finding that increasing the value of their current property by extending far outweighs the cost and turmoil of moving house entirely.

Procurement of Planning Drawings, Making Planning Applications, dealing with Planning Officers and Building Regulations can sometimes be an extremely daunting task.

Let Camplans deal with all of this for you. We will meet with you, at a time convenient to you, for a free 'No Obligation' meeting to discuss your project requirements, listen to your ideas, put forward some ideas of ours, advise whether planning permission is required or not and provide a quotation for our services.

In most cases Planning Permission is not required due to the properties permitted development rights still being intact. Permitted Development is a category of works that the government has deemed can be undertaken without the need for Planning Permission.

Therefore if the garage to be converted was for example attached to the current dwelling and the conversion works were simply to increase the existing habitable space footprint of the property then Planning Permission would probably not be required.

However, if the garage to be converted was 'Remote' or 'Detached' from the current property, for example at the bottom of the garden and potentially accessed via a neighbouring street or road, and the intention was to create a new separate dwelling or annexe then Planning Permission would almost certainly be required.

Due to the high demand of all Local Authorities at present for more and more 'Affordable Housing' combined with the recent 'Relaxation' of planning policies, most garage conversions to new dwellings sail through and gain Planning Permission with relative ease.

The majority of construction works of any kind are required to be carried out in accordance with the latest Building Regulations even if Planning permission is not required.

Camplans, as part of our standard service, provide a full set of Building Regulations plans with detailed sections and a full building specification ensuring that your proposed works fully comply with all relevant regulations. Once the plans have been approved by Building Control and upon commencement on site, your chosen contractor will arrange all building Control site inspections as normal practice, as the works progress through to completion.

Upon completion of the works, Building Control will carry out a final inspection and issue their Building Regulations Completion/Compliance Certificate. It is very important to keep this certificate in a safe place as you will need this if you ever decide to sell the property.

Please note that if Building regulations approval is not gained then Building Control have the powers to force you to reverse any works that do not meet the necessary regulations.

The service we offer covers all steps of the process

• A 'No Obligation' free site visit/evaluation meeting with you the client to discuss potential schemes and ideas.

Once appointed by client:

• Carry out a full site and property measured survey.
• Produce existing site, floor plans and elevations using AutoCAD.
• Meet and agree proposed scheme with you the client.
• Produce all proposed site, floor plans and elevations using AutoCAD, filling out all relevant application forms and collate planning application package (if planning permission is required).
• Submit your application once scheme approved by you the client.
• Monitor your application as it progresses through the planning system and report back to you the client with regular updates.

Please note that it is worth pointing out that under normal circumstances most contractors would not be prepared to provide you with a quotation to carry out your project based on Planning drawings. However, I have found with the level of detail & information my planning drawings show, many contractors are more than happy to provide an approximate quotation at this stage. The benefit of this is that you are able to ascertain relatively accurate costs whilst your scheme is proceeding through the planning process.

Once Planning Permission has been granted:

• Produce more detailed Building Regulation plans, sections and a building specification using AutoCAD to comply with latest Building Regulations.
• Collate a Building Regulations package ready for submission for plans approval.
• Submit your Building Regulations application for plans approval.
• Amend plans if required to address any Building Control queries to obtain Building Control Plan Certification.