West-Sussex building regulations and converting your garage
By changing the use of your garage, our skilled engineers will then need to ensure that the conversion is within the building regulations. Sometimes when undertaking a complicated conversion, it is recommended to have complete structural plans drawn up before you begin.
Once we have completed detailed structural plans, our reliable team will pass them to building control to be inspected who will then make sure that your conversion conforms to all the regulations. Within your conversion the key areas a building inspector will be interested in include electrical and plumbing, fire safety (including escape routes), structural protection, damp proofing, ventilation, insulation and energy conservation.
Garage conversion considerations and key works in West-Sussex
Garage conversions cannot begin until the walls and roof have been completely sealed and made watertight, so this is the first step. Most of the work will then be conducted by our expert team, inside the existing garage space.
By stripping back the main structure of the garage to expose the foundations and the walls, we can ensure that these can be strengthened primarily to avoid any unforeseen issues further down the line. Here are some of the highlights
Floor evaluation
Unless there is a pre-existing structural problem, the concrete floor in your garage should be solid enough to accommodate whatever use you are planning for your conversion. However, to achieve sufficient thermal efficiency, it will need to be levelled (consider a self-levelling liquid screed), damp proofed with an acceptable membrane (lapping into the walls dpc) and insulated. The floors of the main house are probably higher than those of your garage, which means that we can achieve full insulation of the garage floor and the result will simply raise the floor to meet the floor of the main house, producing a step free barrier.
What work will be necessary for my basement conversion?
It is very important to ensure that the foundations of a basement are watertight As a basement is generally low in a property, it is very important to build it up to ensure that your new conversion is not affected by groundwater. By installing a cavity drain membrane system, our expert team will ensure that moisture or flowing water will continue to pass behind the cone. Luckily, our proficient team can install a cavity drain system without any major disruption.
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Infilling the door
Our industry professionals would generally suggest a masonry infill completed and bonded into the existing brickwork as a dependable option to replace the main garage door. Garage conversions can create additional loads to be supported by the foundations of the building, this will be carefully assessed during the design stage to ensure that your garage foundations can withstand it. Our innovative team of designers will carefully assist you to, for example add windows or a glazed access door to the conversion which can increase the natural light in the room and also lighten the load placed on the foundations.
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High-quality wall insulation
Usually integrated garages are designed to the same level as the main building, so the walls do not require improvements. If your property has an attached or detached single skin garage, our dedicated team of tradesmen can erect a stud wall inside the garage, allowing it to be insulated internally. Don’t worry about losing any precious floor space by insulating your walls as our skilled team can blow insulation into the gap in your existing cavity walls.
