Earley, Reading RG6
Conversion of the garage of a detached house into a playroom, with a new front window in place of the garage door and the existing ground floor reorganised around the new room.
34 Shepherds Hill is a detached house in Earley, in Wokingham Borough. The family needed a playroom on the ground floor, close to the kitchen and garden, and the attached garage offered the space without building an extension.
The proposed ground floor shows the former garage converted into a playroom alongside the kitchen, with the hallway, porch and WC at the front of the house and the living room to the rear. Upstairs the bedrooms and bathroom are unchanged. Converting rather than extending kept the garden intact and the work simple.
The garage door is replaced with a window that lines up with the existing windows, and the new brickwork matches the house. The proposed elevations show the change from every side, together with the roof plan, so the case officer could see that nothing else on the house alters.
Large parts of Earley and Lower Earley were built under planning permissions that removed permitted development rights or required garages to be retained for parking. Where that applies, a planning application is needed even for a conversion that looks minor. We prepared existing and proposed elevations and floor plans, existing and proposed block plans showing the driveway parking, a location plan and the CIL form for Wokingham Borough Council.
The block plan shows that the driveway continues to provide off street parking after the conversion, which is the main point Wokingham checks on garage conversions. Showing this clearly at the outset avoids requests for further information during the application.
The former garage floor is raised and insulated to meet the level of the hallway, and the new wall under the window is built with insulation behind the matching brick. A door from the hall keeps the playroom close to the kitchen, so children can be supervised easily while the rest of the house is in use.
We have prepared many applications in Earley and Lower Earley. Our Earley area page explains the local planning position, including the estate conditions that often apply to garages.
The brickwork under the new window is toothed into the existing walls so the joints line up, and the window frame matches the colour and profile of the existing windows. From the street, the garage door simply becomes another window in the elevation. The drawings note these requirements so the builder can price and build them correctly.
Replacement two storey dwelling · Earley, Reading RG6
New detached dwelling in side garden · Woodley, Reading RG5
Roof extension, dormers & rear extension · Winnersh, Wokingham RG41
Two storey side extension & porch · 3D visuals · Winnersh, Wokingham RG41
Tell us about your project for a free, no obligation quote.