In need of extra space in your home?

Struggled to pack your large family into one room over Christmas? Then you're not the only one! It's not an uncommon sight, cramming 14 people round a table, banging elbows, banishing your Nan to eat in the corner, sitting on a stool, for most of us this is what Christmas day is like. There's simply not enough room, with nieces and nephews springing up everywhere, where do you put them?! People seem to be finding a solution though, garage conversions.

Garage Conversions

Photo Credit: Jon Large

After the Christmas period we've noticed a surge in demand for garage conversions. For some it is an unused space, but what many are realising it has the opportunity to provide an alternate living/dining area for when the 'family' comes round. If you're undecided about whether or not you should fork out for one, here are some reasons For and Against.

For:

Extra Living Space

"If only I had one more room!" Well you can, garage conversions, but what would you turn it into? Think of the possibilities!

• Extra living/dining space
• Mancave (we all need one)
• Somewhere to store your shrine to Freddie Mercury, (just me?) 
• Your own bar
• Play area for the kids (probably not with the bar)
• Another bedroom
• Study
• Office
• Home Gym
• Home Cinema/Games room

If you have a growing family you may feel the pressure of having to move to a larger, new house. By utilising your garage you eliminate the problem and the stress of having to move home. Not to mention the significant amount of money you will save converting your garage.

Increase the Value of Your Home

By converting your garage, you could actually add extra value to your home – the value of your conversion will rise in tandem with the price of your home. Obviously, in very uncertain financial times, it's vital to add value to your home wherever possible. Also, if your garage is attached to your house, you can expect to 'brighten up' your home, using glazed doors for access and letting more light into the adjoining room.

To simply put it, if your garage is a 100sq.ft and local prices are £100 per square feet, then converting your garage for extra living space adds an extra £10,000 on your property value. The price for a garage conversion varies from company to company, but you can get free quotes from our quoter website www.garageconversionquoter.co.uk from real garage conversion companies in your area. 

Against:

Getting Past the Red Tape

Photo Credit: McBeth

It is very important to check if planning permission is required before you commence with any conversion work on your garage. If you fail to do this, and find out at a later date that planning permission was required – you may be required by law to reverse any work that you have already completed. This must be done at your own cost so it can obviously be a very expensive and time-consuming task. Your local authority should be able to answer any questions that you have about planning permission in relation to your conversion, however, only around 10% of all garage conversions will require local authority planning permission. 

At the End of the Day...

At the end of the day you're increasing your property's value, and providing an extra living area to accommodate your growing/larger family. If you're interested it's definitely worth your time looking into yourself. Use our garage conversion quoter websites to get free quotes from the top three companies in your area based on past customer feedback. Click here to go to our website.