On this page
Our garage conversion service across Newcastle
Convert Garages turns integral, side, detached and back-lane garages in the city into home offices, bedrooms, snugs and playrooms. That can be a full conversion, or a partial garage conversion that keeps a store for bins and bikes behind the existing door. A garage at the end of a Newcastle terrace yard and one built under a bedroom on a newer estate need very different work, so the outline stays the same while the detail changes.
We start by assessing the walls, floor, roof, door opening and services, and for a garage away from the house, working out how power and data will reach it. The room is then planned around how it will be used, from where a desk catches the light to where a bed and wardrobe fit. Planning and building regulations requirements are established before work starts, and we agree who prepares the drawings, submits applications and arranges inspections. You receive a written specification and a quote showing what is included. The work follows a sequence agreed with you, and the finished room is checked with you at handover, together with the building control completion.
As a customer you can expect a clear quote, responsibilities and the order of work agreed before anyone starts, and any change discussed with you before it is made. Our process page explains each stage in more depth.
Home offices, bedrooms and second living rooms
Desks for hybrid working
Plenty of people who work in central Newcastle now spend part of the week at home, and a kitchen table soon stops working as a desk. A converted garage gives you a room with a door that shuts and nobody else's meals or sleep in it. Sockets, a wired network point and winter heating are planned around how you actually work. An integral garage off the hall is a natural fit, because callers on video never see the rest of the house.
Bedrooms, snugs and playrooms
A side or integral garage can become a ground-floor bedroom for a teenager or a visiting relative, or a second living room that takes pressure off the main one. Our page on extra bedrooms and living space covers the layouts that tend to work.
Matching the work to your type of Newcastle house
Back-lane garages in Heaton and Jesmond
Victorian and Edwardian streets in Heaton, Jesmond and similar districts were laid out with back lanes. Where a garage exists, it is usually a later addition at the end of the yard. Tyneside flats add a further question, because the yard and any garage may belong to one flat or be shared between both. Before design work starts, we ask you to confirm from your title deeds who owns the building and who has access.
Many of these garages are single-skin brick or blockwork with a lightweight roof. The assessment tells you whether the structure can be upgraded or whether parts need rebuilding, and how services will reach a room that sits away from the house.
Side and detached garages on Gosforth, Fenham and Kenton semis
The interwar and post-war suburbs are where most attached and side garages in Newcastle are found. A side garage usually joins the house through a new doorway into the hall or kitchen. The floor is often lower than the house floor and needs raising and insulating, and single-skin walls need an insulated inner lining. We also check the ground under the old door opening before a new wall and window go in.
A detached garage at the end of the drive suits an office or a home gym, with electric heating and power run underground from the house. If you want it as a bedroom, say so early, because fire safety and escape then need more thought.
Integral garages on newer estates
On newer developments, including Newcastle Great Park, the garage is usually integral. Structurally these are often the simplest conversions, since the walls, roof and foundations are already part of the house. There is frequently a bedroom above, so fire separation between the new room and the rest of the house is built into the specification. If your house fits one of these patterns, request a quote and tell us which.
Which approvals does a Newcastle conversion need?
Newcastle City Council is the local planning authority. A conversion that stays inside the existing garage, with no enlargement, does not usually need planning permission. Several things can change that, and Convert Garages checks them before construction rather than after:
- conditions on the original permission for your estate, which may keep the garage for parking or remove permitted development rights
- conservation areas, which cover parts of Jesmond and Gosforth among others
- Article 4 directions, which apply in some parts of the city
- listed status, which brings most works into listed building consent
Swapping the garage door for a wall and window is an external change, so in a conservation area we prepare for the council wanting to see how the new frontage will look. Building regulations approval is a separate matter and is normally needed whenever a garage becomes habitable space. It can go through the council's building control service or a registered building control approver.
Can the garage be let or made self-contained?
Sometimes, but this is where Convert Garages slows things down. A self-contained unit with its own kitchen and bathroom normally needs planning permission as a separate dwelling. Letting rooms to several unrelated people can change how the property is classed, and parts of Newcastle have controls on shared housing. If letting is the aim, see our page on rental unit conversions and we will talk through the planning position before anything is drawn.
Sending us your details for a quote
These details let us give a useful first response:
- your postcode, so we can look at the street and any designations
- photos of the garage inside and out, including the door, floor and roof
- rough internal measurements
- whether the garage is integral, attached, detached or on a back lane
- what the room will be used for, and whether you want to keep any storage
Homeowners south of the river can see our Gateshead page, and every other location is listed under areas we serve.