The Garage - The New Space Converter

The garage may not be used for housing the new Audi, bike storage or even that extra freezer anymore. It would appear that times are changing. Pantries, outdoor lavatories and coalholes are all things of the past, rooms that were at one time vital but are now confined to history. The garage in terms of its use may be going the same way.

More than one in ten of homeowners have converted or plan to convert their garage for some other use than keeping the Bentley warm and dry. Garages are now being converted into an extra bedroom, studio or that all-important home office. More people than ever are working from home. It has been estimated that with 3 million now working from home, the garage provides workspace for approximately 500,000 home offices.

On average the typical garage conversion costs around £6,000 but it is thought to add an extra £7,000 in value to the property. At the height of the credit crunch, contractors noted a rise in requests for garage conversions, the new mantra being ‘improve don’t move.’

We are now seeing ‘green shoots’ within the housing market. Activity levels are still a way off where they need to be. The banks are still not lending anywhere near enough money out to potential homeowners, deposits required are high and of course there is tremendous job insecurity nationwide. These factors certainly prohibit many people moving simply for that extra room.

Homeowners, are turning to the less traditional areas of their abodes to create that much needed workspace etc. It seems like the next step after converting the loft and basement is to look to the garage for this extra space. It is no longer a necessity to house the family car within a garage as they are now far less likely to rust. We are also a lot less precious about our vehicles. Parked on the front drive is now the norm, there are various methods of ensuring your cars security without having to lock it away from sight.

Those of us who drive the big gas guzzlers are also very aware that parking these ‘homes on wheels’ in a somewhat restricted indoor space is no mean feat!!

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