Do i need permission to insulate garage?

[dubcat]

Hi

I have a double garage separate from my house. I want to insulate it so I can use one half of it as a workshop (to build model planes) and also as a gym. The other half will still be used as a garage or to store gardening stuff in. My preference is NOT to separate the two halves as I like the open space.

I will start a separate discussion to get advice on how to do this but in general I was simply going to insulate by building a stud wall and fixing insulation, a polythene vapour barrier, and finally sheet plywood to it. I was going to put insulation in the roof resting on boards sitting above the beams and also on the garage doors to do a best effort insulation of those.

Would I need planning permission to do this?

If I went one step further and separated the two halves of my garage with a wall (stud + ply and/or plasterboard) and also built a wall behind one of the garage doors (again stud + ply and/or plasterboard) would I now need planning permission?

Thanks in advance
Dub

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Provided you keep it as a workshop you can do what you like.

It is only when it becomes a habitable room eg play room that Planning may come into play. Even then it is similar to your new garage: Provided you do not live in a conservation area, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, your house is listed or you have not had Permitted Development Rights removed etc etc http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/public/buildingwork/projects/workcommongarageconversion/ http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/public/buildingwork/projects/workcommonoutbuildings/ (It would probably be wise to contact your Planning Authority and just run it by them and they will tell you if there are any reasons why not).

It is the same with Building Regs, once it becomes habitable you will need to get building Regs but no need for a workshop.

Refer to this thread for a mix of views/approaches for insulating the walls: //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=233260

 

[dubcat]

Freddy - thanks a lot mate. I will check that thread you linked to in a min.

I was confused as to whether a gym is habitable. I will never sleep in there if that is what habitable means. There won't even be a sofa in there. Just my cross trainer, a weights bench, and my work bench for building radio control planes on.

Dub

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I knew you'd ask that, a habitable room is normally a bedroom or a living room, a gym may be considered habitable by some and not by others. Only a call to your Planning Authority and Building Control would confirm one way or the other. In any case I doubt anyone's gonna send the Police round to arrest you though if you expect to sell in a few years it may be advantageous to get regs approval.

 

[dubcat]

Ah got it Thanks Freddy. I will give them a buzz once I have cleared out the horrendous mountain of 'stuff' that is in there now. Clearing the garage out is the first step in proving to myself that i am serious about doing this lol

Cheers,
Dub

 

[mattylad]

When your clearing out, you can get rid of a lot of the old stuff on your local Freegle group.

Isnt there some black waterproofing stuff that can be painted on the walls?