How would you decorate this room?

[Manbatius]

I say decorate, it may be more refurb. Or actually finish...
The room in question is our utility:





So its half plasterboard walls across.
Concrete floor (with 3 different coloured carpet tiles down)
No finished ceiling as can be seen in photo 2
Wall at the back next to fridge is just a very thin plaster one, it seems this was put up to extend the utlity. The other side of this is half a garage.
All wires are visible high up for switches etc (well some covered with plastic strips a the bottom)

Other than replace the door and window with upvc I have no idea where to start and need some ideas!

No budget yet as so unsure what to do. We do not have a dining room though.

 

[pitchfork]

Box in the pipework, board the ceiling and skim the lot.

Then prep and paint everything appropriately, lay down a nice bit of carpet.

No need to replace the windows and door, I think PVC looks stupid in anything other than modern houses, just give them some tlc, nice paint job etc.

 

[ci_newman]

What is the remaining garage space used for? Is it big enough for a car or just storage?

Since half of it is converted anyway, could you convert the rest of the garage to make a utility then use this room as a dining room?

Are the windows and door double glazed? I can't tell from the photos.

 

[bitslice]

No need to replace the windows and door, I think PVC looks stupid in anything other than modern houses, just give them some tlc, nice paint job etc.

Very insecure though,
had a door just like that when I lost my key,
popped the bottom panel out with just a light kick and I was in.

Shattering glass attracts attention, splintering wood goes unnoticed.

 

[pitchfork]

Strictly speaking any old idiot can doof off the panelling of a pvc door as well.

Shattering glass goes just as unnoticed for the same reason unlinked house alarms are a waste of money. People assume it's nothing to worry about "Oh someone just dropped a glass blah blah blah" "Oh the alarm must have tripped"

PVC might be a bit more secure but it's **** ugly by comparison to a proper door.

 

[Manbatius]

Box in the pipework, board the ceiling and skim the lot.

Then prep and paint everything appropriately, lay down a nice bit of carpet.

No need to replace the windows and door, I think PVC looks stupid in anything other than modern houses, just give them some tlc, nice paint job etc.

Unfortunately the outside windows frame ledge is shot, the guttering was damaged above and left. The bottom part of the door frame is rotten also. I do not think it is salvageable. Believe me I would rather save that money.

Thanks for the ideas.

What is the remaining garage space used for? Is it big enough for a car or just storage?

Since half of it is converted anyway, could you convert the rest of the garage to make a utility then use this room as a dining room?

Are the windows and door double glazed? I can't tell from the photos.

The windows and doors are not double glazed.The door leading through into kitchen is also lockable. Though maybe that is because the previous owners had no working lock on that external door.

There is also no radiator in the room, it gets super cold. On the second pic you can see the oil filled radiator on timer.

The garage really is a half garage, length ways no car would fit. Even if I returned it to a proper garage width wise my fiesta would not fit even with wing mirrors in.

Some pics, essentially I have stored on the plastic stand, car cleaning stuff and diy tools. The benches, one has garden stuff under and the other car tools. There is nothing of expense I would worry about putting in a shed though.

 

[Participant]

Ok, so that is more of an attached shed than a garage. I agree with pitchfork's assessment, in that his comments were almost exactly what I was going to type, except I'd tile the floor rather than carpet.

Carpet in a utility is not something I'd go for as the room has to be hard-wearing, with water and dirt being the general themes in most utility rooms, at least if ours is anything to go by what with wellie storage and muddy clothes being chucked on the floor!

 

[Schizo]

Wall in between the garage/utility=take plaster board off and see if it insulated,if not,insulate it,will make the room a bit warmer.

Tile the floor,it will make the transition between the garden/house a lot easier concerning mud ect.

Ceiling,insulate it and board it up with some led spotlights.

Walls,prep and paint them.

Window and door,you might be lucky and find some 2nd hand bits if you look around.

 

[pitchfork]

Ok, so that is more of an attached shed than a garage. I agree with pitchfork's assessment, in that his comments were almost exactly what I was going to type, except I'd tile the floor rather than carpet.

Carpet in a utility is not something I'd go for as the room has to be hard-wearing, with water and dirt being the general themes in most utility rooms, at least if ours is anything to go by what with wellie storage and muddy clothes being chucked on the floor!

It's horses for courses, some hardwearing office carpet is going to be cheap and chips to pick up and lay, then replace every so often, tile is better for the install but it's very expensive.

I suppose the middle ground is lino.

 

[Zairs]

insulate all the walls if you want to use it as a dining room
What is you roof made of, might not want to spend mega bucks if its gonna leak in a couple of years

 

[Psycho Sonny]

insulate all the walls if you want to use it as a dining room
What is you roof made of, might not want to spend mega bucks if its gonna leak in a couple of years

Waste of time and money IMO if the room is that small and has no plumbing for radiator, etc. Plus with the garage right beside it cold is going to get in from there and it's basically just a large cold storage room beside a small cold storage room.

I would knock the wall down. Get rid of the garage doors and brick it all up and stick a window in. I would then insulate all the walls now and get plumbing and electrical done at the same time, etc.

I would then turn the garage into a dining room if you really need one, otherwise use it as a games room (pool table or poker table which can double up as a dining table) with a small mini bar in the corner for socialising.

I don't really like dining rooms to be fair, i've never seen anyone use a dining room regularly enough to justify it being there over something else which could double up as a dining area if need be.

 

[Manbatius]

Zairs The roof is made of felt, the roof is slightly angled with it being flat.
I had the felt replaced last year nice £650!

Psycho Sunny
Some houses in the street have done just that! There are still some with just garages but no one uses it for their car.
If I did do this I would do it all at once as you say. Would debate on moving the boiler as its just stuck in the kitchen. On the other side of the wall where the sink is.

How would I cover up the internal window, Brick? then board it?
It is above the washing machine it leads into the pantry (under the stairs)


I would prefer games rooms, mrs dining room hah ! Her parents have every meal in the dining room, think thats why she likes the idea.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

i need to see a floor plan because i cannot get the layout in my head right from a couple of pictures and without knowing how it's connected to your home and how it looks from the outside, etc.

do it right and properly (costs money) and it will add value to your home, do it on the cheap and try and be smart, you will actually decrease the value of your home.

you need to make sure the floor is 100% level (garages are never built to the same spec as a house).

you need to fully insulate it all, stick a large window in, get radiators and electrical sockets, decent lighting, etc installed.

this is all going to cost a lot of money like £10K easily if you want it done right. it should however add double that to your home if done right, do it on the cheap and your throwing money away as well as decreasing the value of your home as it would be considered useless space if it's not up to spec.

 

[pitchfork]

Getting rid of the garage will knock money off your home though, even if it has a dining room. They don't add as much value as say a bedroom would.

If you were to convert the garage and build a seperate large shed out back with access for a car, that would add value.

Also if you were to insulate it all and add in a rad then it wouldn't be an issue to use it as a dining room. Probably looking at cavity insulation on the exterior if possible, alternatively you could dryline the exterior with insulated board then stud wall between the garage and room, with heavy rockwool.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Getting rid of the garage will knock money off your home though, even if it has a dining room. They don't add as much value as say a bedroom would.

If you were to convert the garage and build a seperate large shed out back with access for a car, that would add value.

Also if you were to insulate it all and add in a rad then it wouldn't be an issue to use it as a dining room. Probably looking at cavity insulation on the exterior if possible, alternatively you could dryline the exterior with insulated board then stud wall between the garage and room, with heavy rockwool.

nobody uses garages for cars these days.

IMO it's just a storage room for most people.

I think adding another room to the home far outweighs a storage room.

 

[Participant]

nobody uses garages for cars these days.

I do. I've got a powered and lit double garage with an electric door that I use for one car and for my man cave activities such as DIY.

It has many advantages, in particular the advantage of not having to defrost your car on a frosty morning (striaght out of a warm house into the garage and off you go, yes please), I can wax my car even when it's raining, you can get out of the car in terrible weather and be bone dry and just walk into the house, increased car security if that's a factor, more spaces on the driveway for guests, and still store loads of tools and crap in there.

It's just better, if possible, to have a garage and stick your car in it. Pretty all big / decent houses do, and it's for a reason.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I do. I've got a powered and lit double garage with an electric door that I use for one car and for my man cave activities such as DIY.

It has many advantages, in particular the advantage of not having to defrost your car on a frosty morning (striaght out of a warm house into the garage and off you go, yes please), I can wax my car even when it's raining, you can get out of the car in terrible weather and be bone dry and just walk into the house, increased car security if that's a factor, more spaces on the driveway for guests, and still store loads of tools and crap in there.

It's just better, if possible, to have a garage and stick your car in it. Pretty all big / decent houses do, and it's for a reason.

i don't know a single person that uses their garage for their car, even people who have 5+ cars in their household and have double garages, etc.

ours is my home gym, so is my mates double. another mate has converted his triple garage into a games room with a full size snooker table and a pool table as well. in laws use theirs for storage.

it's very rare that anyone uses theirs for cars these days, people just don't like the hassle of getting it in and out i imagine even with electric doors. as other cars in the household would end up being parked in front of the garage, etc.

 

[Jez]

I garage all my cars, as do most of my friends who have space to do so. It keeps your cars dry and frost free all year round. One of my cars (an SL500) i would never leave outside as consistently doing so can cause extensive damage to the roof.

So yeah, people do use their garages for cars

 

[LeeUK]

Lots of people round my area still use the garage for their car or one of their cars. Apart form a small new build estate I lived on for a short while where the garages were far too skinny even for my 206.

Using your garage to wash and wax your car only works if you have a large double garage.