I have a double garage with the house above, built in to the side of a hill.
I want to convert one of the garages in to a den / office. There are garage doors to the front and two exit doors at the rear, one for each garage. Both are fire doors. The garages are already partitioned.
The doors lead to stairs that take you to the ground floor of the house (level 1 of building if the garages are on level 0).
A builder has told me that to get buildings regulations approval I will need to build a vestibule between the existing fire door at the back and the stairs - a bit like an air lock.
I have not seen this in any other house where garages have a door to the house. Is this a new thing - I can't seem to find any reference on line?
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Buildings regs -
Integral Garages and Fire Safety
Internal doors to integral garages should be FD30 fire doors, and include smoke seals and self-closing devices. (These are the only doors inside a dwelling that require self-closing doors.)
Garage floors should also be sloping outwards or at least 100mm lower at these doors to prevent fuel spillage leaking in to the home.
I suspect the vestibule will need to have a floor 100mm higher because your garage floor does not "slope" correctly
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Thanks Zero,
The current garage floors do slope away to the front of the building and there is a step (about 4 inches) to the house.
But one of the garages isn't going to be a garage so as I see it, it will be ok to do without the fire door (actually will probably leave the existing one in place as it's in decent nick).
It should also be OK to level off the floor as the room will no longer be a garage.
I still can't see the need for a vestibule? It's quite an expense adding yet another door between the stairs and the existing doors.
Z
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Best bet is to check with building control at your local council. They will give advice free of charge.
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A son converted one of his garages into a playroom maybe 5/6 years ago - lots of insulation, plasterboard, raised flooring, power & central heating to be linked.
Cost about £8K with all fees. etc - Aberdeen pricing is higher than some parts of the country.
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Converting a Garage to a Den - Zero
