Renovation Project - To garage or not to garage, that is the question

Renovation Project - To garage or not to garage, that is the question

We need to get the house ready to move into, the first thing that is required is to get some running water, John cuts a small piece of pipe and connects it to the meter so that we can have some running water to make a drink.

It is surprising how exciting a little bit of pipe is but now we can make a drink whilst we are here and use the water.

The house is cleaned (well as much as a dusty, empty house can be) John also removes all the belongings of the old owners too the garage.

Normally these would have been removed before we moved in, but because the owners are not local, we agreed that they could leave them here and collect them at a convenient time.

We also talk about what we want to do with the property as we are changing our minds with each visit.

The garage is huge, but the drive is not really big enough for a car.

Do we actually want the garage?

If we remove it, we will have space for a garden and the little stone house will be exposed, currently it is partially covered by the garage and the beautiful stone can not be seen.

But if we do remove the garage we will not have the terrace from the bedroom

If we keep the terrace the properties will not be very private as they can both be seen by each other,

If we do remove it, it will mean a lot more work, and going through the planning permission process.

But removed we will have a garden

This is one of the trickiest decisions we have to make


Doing a project like this, you will have many decisions. some we had not even considered before, but as we have said the house will dictate to you what needs to be done, never go in with set ideas, allow room for change as the more time you spend in the property the more you will see what can be done.

We also have to be be very realistic on the resalability of the property as this will not be our forever home. We have to ensure that whatever we do will appeal to the majority of people, and whilst a garage is useful, there is no problem with parking around the property. So a garden maybe better.

Top tips:

• If you are doing a renovation property, do not have set ideas
• Spend time in the property and let it tell you what needs to be done
• If your project is not your forever home, ensure it appeals to as many people as possible
• Do your research on what sells in  your chosen area