Advice please on what I can do with this garage/shed to make

[jamieuk23]

Hi people I have all ways dreamed of having my own home cinema room for my self to escape to from the Mrs as I am all ways forced to watch all the soaps on the TV and never get chance to chill with my mates and play some games or watch some movies.

Any way in 8 weeks time I will moving in to my new house and at the back of the property there is a garage/shed which I am wanting to convert in to a home cinema room for my self.

Now I went round to the house today to take a look off the inside of the garage and I wasn't really that impressed as there is loads of gaps in the tinny roof and I am unsure if this garage is something I can build on or would I need to knock it down and start a fresh.

As I am totally useless with DIY I cant really understand were I stand with this garage to work out what my options are, so I thought I would take some pictures and let the pro`s on here advise me on the best way to go about it.

I would defo like to extend the garage thou as it just seems so small inside and I dont see the point in doing a half job as its something I can enjoy for the rest of my life.

They say a picture says a thousand words so I have uploaded some pics, so you guys can see what i am dealing with here.

All so do you think I will need planning permission ?

thanks for any help people !!

EXTEND THE GARAGE TO WERE THE BLACK LINE IS

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[Richard C]

If you want a half decent environment to run a high end AV system, I think you'd be best to knock it down & start again. You could line it I suppose but something like that will give totally naff sound characteristics even with the system I have; it will also be cold, damp & noisy. Building a half decent AV/play room isn’t going to be cheap either & watching action films & playing games into the night can get very noisy! A decent bass system will drive your neighbours nuts so you will need some serious sound insulation in there or you run the risk of becoming the neighbour from hell with frequent visits from the environmental police!

As far as PP goes, normally it’s not a problem but you appear to have a very limited amount of space there. There is a limit to how much of it you can fill & your proposed play room would appear to take up most of the space you have left so I would advise you speak to your local planning dept.

 

[Fluffster]

Jamie
I like your idea wish I could have the same. The existing garage appears to be made from asbestos cement panels not very good for sound control insulation etc.
I would also advise knocking it down too and using lightweight single skin thermal blocks which are easy to handle and give good noise and thermal values.
Buy some off the shelf pvc windows and door frames and make the openings to suit to save on bespoke units.
Pitch the roof and use a good quality felt with rockwool inside for insulation and noise control.

Since you are close to the house run power and maybe even a cold water outlet for drinking with basin could even stretch to a toilet so you are really self contained away from the mrs lol.

Good luck it seems like a great project only wish I had time to do one myself.
Pete

 

[Deluks]

I have a similar prefab garage which I'm turning into a rehearsal studio. The difference is that mines a bit bigger and I am using same footprint. What I will do is replace the roof with a higher one supported on steelwork, brick up the main door internally and build an inner stud wall room which is 2 inches thick. After rendering the inside of the existing.

None of this applies to you though, I'd stick the garage on eBay (buyer to collect and dismantle.) Hire a breaker to smash up the old concrete base which can then be used as hardcore for a new base. Then build off of that. For soundproofing you will need to build a room in a room, ceillings and all.

You will need planning permission for a solid structure, but a timber building will be classed as a shed and shouldn't need planning if under 4m high. With this in mind you could get planning for a brick/block structure, and stud wall/plasterboard the inside for soundproofing.

...or, skip planning, and build a timber framed structure on a small (2 courses) wall. Put a couple of layers of 18mm ply/osb on the outside, then cladding. Once this is built you knock up the inner walls of blockwork (concrete, not thermalite/breeze), no one will ever know

Bear in mind that a soundproof room-in-room construction will require special thought to ventilation. You can't use standard airbricks or window trickle vents (they will leak sound, more than you'd expect), and you also need to breathe. Basically you need ducted fans in and out, each one in a soundproof box.

 

[jamieuk23]

thanks for all your input guys. I think I have decided to knock it down and pay out for a brand new garage to be fitted and erected for me. have a good friend who is a joiner so I can get him to plasterboard the inside with loads of sound proofing material behind it.

I all so plan on carpeting the walls to make it that little more sound proof, my best mate is a electrician so everything on that side of things will just cost me at cost.

this is the garage I am thinking of buying http://www.concrete-garages-pudsey.co.uk/rangespecifications-16-concrete_garages_ultimate_pent.aspx

looking at costing me 2k which is fully erected.

I will need to extend the concrete base thou when I take my old garage down as my new garage will be bigger.

Is extending the concrete base as easy as digging the ground out just poring in cement which I make from the mixer ??

 

[Deluks]

Carpet on walls is considered bad practice. It will add little soundproofing and will be a fire risk.


Concrete doesn't stick very well to old concrete. You'll probably have to prime it or something and drill into the existing and use rebar.

Will that garage thing be big enough?