Converting a garage into a man cave/games room

[NW_Hoopz]

when I lived in Acton, the Polish landlord next door, converted his garage and six fellow
countrymen moved in. I'll give you his No. if it's any help

Also a very popular home improvement project in Southall, though mainly designed as 'sheds' at the bottom of the garden.

[W12_Ranger]

am thinking of turning my garage into a man cave or games room and bar.

It is just a single car size garage and it backs onto my garden.

Has anyone on here done this and if so any advice you can give me.

How much am I looking at?

One issue I do have is an asbestos roof that I thought I could get away with, ie, put a ceiling underneath it but someone at work told me today that I might have to get the roof removed.

Any information or advice would be greatly appreciatd

Leave it as there is nothing wrong with it, contary to belief not all asbestos is high risk. I asked the same question back in the summer before I renovated my garage for food and tool storage. The type of asbsetos youll have will be a type of white asbestos, its only hamful when it breaks down and is inhaled / ingested as dust particles. the cheapest most sensible option would be to seal the asbestos with PVA glue. Get a cheap disposable spray gun, 5 litres of PVA, a 3M respirator as a precaution and a white disposable suit as it will get messy. Let the PVA dry and fix your ceiling as this will be good for insulation.

your council will probably chargearound £300 to remove the panels after you have taken them down for them, then you have the cost of building a new roof. FYI the most dangerous type of asbestos is blue asbestos which I think they mine in eastern europe.

Another bit of advice is drill some ventilation holes as chances are there is none at present , you won't notice it in the summer months but your garage may be suseptible to some minor damp, also don't let your guttering block up with leaves as water may over flow and find a way into your newly renovated garage through drill holes in the roof which maybe worth siliconing up to be sure.

[Bigdave]

Leave it as there is nothing wrong with it, contary to belief not all asbestos is high risk. I asked the same question back in the summer before I renovated my garage for food and tool storage. The type of asbsetos youll have will be a type of white asbestos, its only hamful when it breaks down and is inhaled / ingested as dust particles. the cheapest most sensible option would be to seal the asbestos with PVA glue. Get a cheap disposable spray gun, 5 litres of PVA, a 3M respirator as a precaution and a white disposable suit as it will get messy. Let the PVA dry and fix your ceiling as this will be good for insulation.

your council will probably chargearound £300 to remove the panels after you have taken them down for them, then you have the cost of building a new roof. FYI the most dangerous type of asbestos is blue asbestos which I think they mine in eastern europe.

Another bit of advice is drill some ventilation holes as chances are there is none at present , you won't notice it in the summer months but your garage may be suseptible to some minor damp, also don't let your guttering block up with leaves as water may over flow and find a way into your newly renovated garage through drill holes in the roof which maybe worth siliconing up to be sure.

Interesting.

I have spoke to an asbestos removal company on the phone who said it would cost around £7-800 to remove the roof. The problem I have with that is even though my garage is at the back of my garden, it is at the end of a line of 6 garages belonging to various neighbours and the guy on the phone said these roofs are quite brittle and removing mine might damage others.

Another thing is the roof leaks so one way or another I need to stop that, I thought that I could just put up a ceiling underneath the roof. Is that do able without drilling into the asbestos roof?

[TheLagosExpress]

Dave have you got space in the garden to consider a man cave somewhere else from scratch?

[MattyRangers]

Leave it as there is nothing wrong with it, contary to belief not all asbestos is high risk. I asked the same question back in the summer before I renovated my garage for food and tool storage. The type of asbsetos youll have will be a type of white asbestos, its only hamful when it breaks down and is inhaled / ingested as dust particles. the cheapest most sensible option would be to seal the asbestos with PVA glue. Get a cheap disposable spray gun, 5 litres of PVA, a 3M respirator as a precaution and a white disposable suit as it will get messy. Let the PVA dry and fix your ceiling as this will be good for insulation.

your council will probably chargearound £300 to remove the panels after you have taken them down for them, then you have the cost of building a new roof. FYI the most dangerous type of asbestos is blue asbestos which I think they mine in eastern europe.

Another bit of advice is drill some ventilation holes as chances are there is none at present , you won't notice it in the summer months but your garage may be suseptible to some minor damp, also don't let your guttering block up with leaves as water may over flow and find a way into your newly renovated garage through drill holes in the roof which maybe worth siliconing up to be sure.

Beat me to a similar post. Asbestos, when left, is fine. Near enough every single old office or school we work on is loaded up with asbestos, so long as you're not breaking it up & making the fibers airborne, it's fine.

[W12_Ranger]

Interesting.

I have spoke to an asbestos removal company on the phone who said it would cost around £7-800 to remove the roof. The problem I have with that is even though my garage is at the back of my garden, it is at the end of a line of 6 garages belonging to various neighbours and the guy on the phone said these roofs are quite brittle and removing mine might damage others.

Another thing is the roof leaks so one way or another I need to stop that, I thought that I could just put up a ceiling underneath the roof. Is that do able without drilling into the asbestos roof?

depends on the extent of the leaks tbh silicone might work, there are hydrophillic mastics which react with water which should be able to plug 10-20mm anything more and uou might need ti replace a panel.

if you don't want to drill the roof you might be able to brace off the walls and hang the ceiling of the bracing a false ceiling would be FA loading

worse case scenario take the roof down yourself bag it up and contact the council to take it away and save yourself £500 at least

[Ramsey is god]

depends on the extent of the leaks tbh silicone might work, there are hydrophillic mastics which react with water which should be able to plug 10-20mm anything more and uou might need ti replace a panel.

if you don't want to drill the roof you might be able to brace off the walls and hang the ceiling of the bracing a false ceiling would be FA loading

worse case scenario take the roof down yourself bag it up and contact the council to take it away and save yourself £500 at least

take it down, burn it - save a small fortune.

[Bigdave]

Dave have you got space in the garden to consider a man cave somewhere else from scratch?

Yes mate, that is our other option, getting a summer house / games room. Have seen a few I like ranging from £2-3500, the missus would rather one of those but for me converting the garage would mean we keep the space in the garden.

[TheLagosExpress]

That's what I did mate as seemed the easier option...just use the old garage for work stuff n storage!

[Nick]

Dont mean to hijack the thread but while on the subject, quick question....

Got a 2 bed detached bungalow and looking to go up into the loft. Do I need any sort of planning etc?? Im putting in 2 bedrooms and an en-suite. Theres ample room in the loft so no need for dormers, just veluxs and Ive already had the all clear to install them.

[MattyRangers]

Dont mean to hijack the thread but while on the subject, quick question....

Got a 2 bed detached bungalow and looking to go up into the loft. Do I need any sort of planning etc?? Im putting in 2 bedrooms and an en-suite. Theres ample room in the loft so no need for dormers, just veluxs and Ive already had the all clear to install them.

If you want to sell it as a 4 bed after you're done, you will need planning permission. Will also need permanent stairs fitted (not fold down / access hatch jobby) and have to have various aspects comply with Building regs (to do with clearance areas around stairs I think it is).

You can create bedrooms or whatever in your loft space with planning permission ( i think anyway) but you can't then sell it as a 4 bed. Some of the builders on the thread may correct me , but I think the above is correct anyway.

[loneranger]

Dont mean to hijack the thread but while on the subject, quick question....

Got a 2 bed detached bungalow and looking to go up into the loft. Do I need any sort of planning etc?? Im putting in 2 bedrooms and an en-suite. Theres ample room in the loft so no need for dormers, just veluxs and Ive already had the all clear to install them.

No planning required at all. You crack on with the work. Any form of comeback you just show them this legally binding forum post and you will be sweet as a nut.

[W12_Ranger]

Dont mean to hijack the thread but while on the subject, quick question....

Got a 2 bed detached bungalow and looking to go up into the loft. Do I need any sort of planning etc?? Im putting in 2 bedrooms and an en-suite. Theres ample room in the loft so no need for dormers, just veluxs and Ive already had the all clear to install them.

matty knows his building regs on the structural side

i think you will do as you are changing the living space 2 bed to a 4 bed so when you come to sell you maybe confronted with a sticky situation. in recent years planning has been relaxed on some ground floor extensions and Porches but not into the roof. if i want to take a supporting wall down on the ground floor I will require planning consent but not necessarily if I want to extend the back of my house. when you structurally alter the existing structure this I believe needs to be documented as in the case of your roof I believe the roof beams will need to be changed from 5 x 2 to 7 x 3 (though best to confirm that with a chippie). my advice would be to get a reputable builder in to have a look provide a quote and free advice.

[Itsonlyagame]

Nick, if your not altering the exterior appearance, apart from a couple of velux's, you shouldn't need planning.
You will definitely need building regs though.
Planning is only usually required if you extend the property ie a dorma.
Change of use also requires planning ie turning your house into a bedsit or commercial premise.
Your house will still be a domestic property after the works so you don't fall into this category.

[Nick]

Thanks for the replies lads... Thats what was confusing me, the fact that from the outside the property will look exactly the same (bar the veluxs), so didnt think I needed planning. I'll certainly start looking into it now though (building regs) as W12 said could came across some sticky questions when selling.