Adding an attached garage to a semi detached

DanTheMan · 8 Apr 2020 at 20:32

So we're looking at adding an attached garage to the side of our house and I'm wondering if anyone here has first hand experience of the process? There's obviously lots of information online but I'm looking for opinions on the following:

- The space at the side of our house is 213cm wide. I'm wondering how much space there would be internally if we left a 3cm gap between the garage and boundary?

I don't think we will go for cavity walls for the exterior as we are never planning on it being converted into living space (unless there's a very good reason to do so).

I've roughly worked out that we would lose 10cm either side for brickwork and 3cm either side for plaster, if it required only a single layer of brick either side. Is this hopelessly optimistic?

- How is the garage attached to the house? Does it require another layer of brick on the house side?

- Anyone have first hand experience of cost per sqm? It's roughly 2m x 10m, I've seen figures of £1200 per sqm for brick garages with a pitched roof. Does this seem about right?

Thanks!

Derek W · 8 Apr 2020 at 20:55

At 2130 mm wide I take it you're not hoping to fit a car into the garage?

bremen1874 · 8 Apr 2020 at 20:55

DanTheMan said:
213cm wide

AFAIK a standard single garage is 2.4m wide and they're too small to fit a normal-sized modern car.

DanTheMan · 8 Apr 2020 at 21:20

bremen1874 said:
AFAIK a standard single garage is 2.4m wide and they're too small to fit a normal-sized modern car.

Not looking to fit a car into it at any point!

We actually have a double garage behind the house, directly behind where this garage would go. I have no idea why it was built as it's twice as wide as the drive leading up to it. It also takes up a huge amount of the back garden which is why I was looking to knock it down and attach the garage to the side of the house instead.

It will be used as storage for bikes and paint / general diy things and the rear of it will be used as a utility space for the washing machine, chest freezer etc.

bremen1874 · 8 Apr 2020 at 21:28

So are you calling it a garage in the hope that you'll be able to build something at a lower cost than a proper extension? No idea if building regs would let you get away with that or not.

DanTheMan · 8 Apr 2020 at 21:46

bremen1874 said:
So are you calling it a garage in the hope that you'll be able to build something at a lower cost than a proper extension? No idea if building regs would let you get away with that or not.

No, I want it to be an integral garage, not habitable by any means. The utility element will just be the washing machine, dryer and freezer shoved in a corner with maybe a sink too. It won't be glamorous, just the same as our current garage.

It will be done alongside a rear kitchen / living extension so we will be expanding the habitable part of the house too.

samcat · 8 Apr 2020 at 22:17

Attached brick built shed then.

If your going to spend the money, get quotes for how your think you want it and also for it built to full habitable standards, add an internal door. It gives options for the future, home office, Additional downstairs mini guest room, crafting room etc.
The difference might not be a lot.

Psycho Sonny · 10 Apr 2020 at 16:04

DanTheMan said:
We actually have a double garage behind the house, directly behind where this garage would go. I have no idea why it was built as it's twice as wide as the drive leading up to it. It also takes up a huge amount of the back garden which is why I was looking to knock it down and attach the garage to the side of the house instead.

this seems like the biggest waste of time and money to me.

you already have a double garage. you want to knock that down and build a tiny garage joined onto the house.

it would be cheaper to just move house and buy a bigger one IMO.

b0rn2sk8 · 10 Apr 2020 at 16:41

You'll be spending a load of money and devaluing your house at the same time, it's a double whammy on costs and something to consider. Double garages are pretty sort after by a lot of people and pretty rare on new estates, having a back garden that can take a double garage is even rarer.

For once I agree with Psycho, if your property no longer meets your needs then these days you are almost always better off moving than making any significant alterations. You'll be lucky to add even half the cost of an extension to the value of a house and then you'll loose a shed load by knocking down a double garage. It doesn't sound like you have enough space to do it either which is why the garage is round the back. Sounds like you'll also be cutting off access to the back garden and would have to go through the garage. That would be a right PITA to move anything lager than the size of a standard door in and out.

Is it a ugly grey concrete thing? Have you thought about tiding up the outside instead (e.g. render or cladding), it can make all the difference.

DanTheMan · 10 Apr 2020 at 22:23

b0rn2sk8 said:
You'll be spending a load of money and devaluing your house at the same time, it's a double whammy on costs and something to consider. Double garages are pretty sort after by a lot of people and pretty rare on new estates, having a back garden that can take a double garage is even rarer.

For once I agree with Psycho, if your property no longer meets your needs then these days you are almost always better off moving than making any significant alterations. You'll be lucky to add even half the cost of an extension to the value of a house and then you'll loose a shed load by knocking down a double garage. It doesn't sound like you have enough space to do it either which is why the garage is round the back. Sounds like you'll also be cutting off access to the back garden and would have to go through the garage. That would be a right PITA to move anything lager than the size of a standard door in and out.

Is it a ugly grey concrete thing? Have you thought about tiding up the outside instead (e.g. render or cladding), it can make all the difference.

I think part of the issue with our garden is that it is over two tiers and the garage takes up half of the bottom tier, making it feel bigger than it is.

You're probably right about it not adding any value getting the work done. There's quite a few properties around here that have had side garages added and I often wonder about access to the back garden. It would certainly be annoying having to carry stuff through the house to get it to the back garden.

The garage is pebble dash so would be a right pain to render. I've seen it done but one half of the garage is very close to the boundary and there's no way to access it.