House extension above a garage

One of the most common types of extension especially to estate built properties is the first floor house extension over an existing single storey attached or unattached garage. In many cases the house extension above the garage cannot be built without complete removal and rebuilding of the existing garage to provide adequate support for the new room over.

Another way to support a house extension above the garage is to structurally upgrade localised areas of the existing garage wall and foundations to provide the required beaming support for example. In many cases it is cheaper to fully remove the garage and start again. Fresh building works rather than altering existing structures can be more economic at times.

Many house extensions over a garage require to be inset from the boundary by at least 1M to comply with Planning design guides or policy. Given that many single garages are less than 3M wide this can make for a very small first floor extension and not suitable as forming a brand new extra bedroom.

However, the house extension above a garage could be utilised for adding an en-suite or dressing area or simply extending the size of an existing bedroom. The scheme may also be merged with another extension at the rear for example forming just part of the works. The variety of uses are endless for a house extension above a garage.

Regretfully many house extensions above a garage can end up looking a bit disjointed or ‘bolt on’ simply due to the compromises required by the existing garage structure that had been retained when a knock down and rebuild of the existing garage would have allowed far better use of the space and final design of the whole extension. Sometimes building over an existing ground floor structure can be the worst compromise a home owner can make and this is where your experienced home extension designer can make all the difference by the design skills he can bring to the table and other options that you may not have considered.