In a bid to reduce the spread of coronavirus, companies across the UK have switched to home working and many remote-work novices are trying to figure out the most efficient and comfortable way to work under these unusual circumstances. At S M Berry Building Contractors we offer two solutions to creating a comfortable and affordable home office environment quickly and efficiently.

Lets consider both options that will help you achieve a home office that best emulates an office environment so that you can comfortably work from home over the coming weeks, months or maybe even years to protect yourself and your family during this pandemic.

OPTION 1.

GARAGE TO HOME OFFICE CONVERSION

What do you use your garage for? Has it become little more than a store room rather than a safe spot to park the car? This is the time to consider making better use of such a valuable asset.

A garage conversion is one of the speediest and most affordable routes to adding floor space: a typical scheme creating a new home office can often be completed in little more than a week or two and the mess of creating your new office space is minimised as the work that needs to be done is completed with hardly any impact on your existing home environment!

Plus, of course, you won’t need to resort to moving to get a house that suits your family’s needs; so you’ll save on fees for stamp duty, solicitors etc. What’s more, unlike a conventional home extension, it won’t eat into your garden. Of course another bonus is that a garage conversion can also increase your home’s value. Virgin Money estimates that you can net around a 10%-20% return by taking on a well-considered project that enhances the usability of your home.

In order to ascertain the feasibility of the garage to office conversion our first step would be to conduct an assessment of the existing structure, in particular the soundness of the foundations, walls and roof. This will go a long way to revealing the extent of works required to create a comfortable home working environment. If the building is in an especially dilapidated state, it may be cheaper to knock it down and create a home office in your garden (see option 2 below - HOME OFFICE IN THE GARDEN).

If it’s integrated or attached, the garage should be fairly easy to work into the main accommodation by knocking through the wall to join up with an existing part of your home perhaps enlarging your hallway.

A single garage will offer around 15m2 of floor space and a double garage considerably more at around 30m2. This gives you more flexibility meaning that you could retain a single parking space by erecting a suitably insulated and fire-rated partition, and fit-out the rest as your home office.

DO I NEED PLANNING PERMISSION TO CONVERT MY GARAGE INTO A HOME OFFICE?

With many garage conversions – particularly integral or attached spaces – most of the work is internal (with the exception of changing the frontage and adding a window or two).

This is likely to be considered Permitted Development (PD), so it won’t usually need formal planning consent.

In some cases, such as in conservation areas, PD rights for this change of use may have been removed and some modern builds are subject to restrictive covenants requiring the garage to be retained as parking, although in some instances this may be discharged.

DO I NEED BUILDING REGULATION APPROVAL TO CONVERT MY GARAGE INTO A HOME OFFICE?

As this type of conversion involves a change of use, a garage conversion will always be subject to the Building Regulations.

The good news is that for straightforward schemes to convert your garage into a home office, the building notice route may be sufficient, whereby we will inform the local authority of your intent to start work 48 hours prior to commencing on site.

NEED MORE HELP OR ADVICE ON YOUR HOME OFFICE PROJECT?

CONTACT SCOTT FOR FREE, EXPERT ADVICE.

S M Berry Building Contractors New Home Office Space - Making your plans a reality!

In a just a few weeks you can start working from home!

Working from Home - the new normal. Helping to keep your family Covid free.

OPTION 2.

HOME OFFICE IN THE GARDEN

An outbuilding can provide the perfect space to work from home and setting up a home office in a separate structure from your house could be the ideal way to keep you and your family safe during these unprecedented times.

DO I NEED PLANNING PERMISSION FOR MY HOME OFFICE IN MY GARDEN?

Many people working from home do so alone, in which case planning permission for an office isn’t usually needed.

The building must be single storey and must not cover more than 50% of the original house’s outdoor space to count as Permitted Development.

At S M Berry Building Contractors we have several options for you to choose from so why not give us a call and make your Home Office plans a reality!

NEED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT A HOME OFFICE IN YOUR GARDEN?

CONTACT SCOTT FOR FREE, EXPERT ADVICE