Sorry to resurrect an old thread that I totally forgot to check. Thanks both for suggestions :-). We did eventually put a door from hall into garage to get things moving in the right direction but life gets in the way. We now want to extend the kitchen into the passage that runs down the side of the kitchen, which is just part of the garage so we can create a U shape kitchen with breakfast bar. The kitchen had already been extended into the garage by 1.5m when we moved in, so the wall we want to knock down is non supporting. The extension would only be 1 x 3m into the garage, we'd brick up on both sides to block from garage and the bit that juts out onto the patio. Would need pipes & electrical cables re-routing and all the works associated with making it into a liveable area. It would also mean we'd need to knock through to the patio from the kitchen, the existing window is 1.2m wide and 2.05m from floor to lintel, figured we wouldn't have too much trouble replacing this with a door? Looking for an idea of cost really if anyone has any idea? We are Midlands based. Any advice much appreciated :-)

Outside definitely does not need treating unless you want to stain or paint it. My house is larch cladding and is silvering nicely at 4 years old. Insulation should be relatively simple to install. What is the inside composed of? We have a timber garage which has insulation and plywood over it internally. Decide how you would get the most use from it first for example if it was to become an office you would need wifi and maybe additional sockets. How much you can do yourselves depends on how much building experience or time and youtube videos you could watch for advice. I love the idea of doing a lot yourselves. It makes a space yours.

Hi there! Yes, there are a few ways to improve the thermal performance of your garage floor without completely digging it up or raising it too much: Thin insulation layers above the slab – High-performance rigid boards (like PIR) combined with a thin screed or floating floor system. This only raises the floor by 20–30 mm in some cases, so it often still works with existing door and skirting heights. Surface treatments – Products like insulated coatings or dense rubber mats don’t perform like full insulation but can make the floor more comfortable without any level change. Perimeter and draft sealing – Sometimes, improving the perimeter insulation and sealing air leaks helps retain heat even if the main slab stays uninsulated. Regulations also play a big role here – for example, in the UK, Building Regulations require a damp-proof membrane and insulation for certain conversions, while requirements in the US or elsewhere may be different. And in many cases, a U-value calculation will be required, especially if you’re using non-standard products or aiming to meet specific thermal performance targets. The good news is that most suppliers can run these calculations for you and advise on the right build-up to meet code.

So looking for some advice as I'm stuck on possible ways of making the garage conversion flow better and create more room in the bedroom as well as the ensuite. We're wanting to close off the existing entrance to the room that takes you from the kitchen to the boiler room and changing it to having them both combined and further down so that the bedroom gets more space and the ensuite too. Does anyone have any ideas of how to lay it all out? We just want it to have more space, seems wasteful at the minute with how it is currently as there isn't really enough room for a deep standard wardrobe.