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Building and renovation

Garage conversion

Turning a garage into a room, including floor, insulation and openings.
Post a task Garage conversion by county

Whether this needs a licence in Ireland

Ireland

No licence required

Taken from the statute below; not yet reviewed by a lawyer

Irelandwww.cru.ieChecked

Garage conversion: what the job involves

Turning an integral or attached garage into a room — a bedroom, playroom, office or utility. The garage door opening is built up with a window, and the floor, walls and ceiling are insulated and finished so it is warm and dry like the rest of the house.

Also asked for as: convert garage to bedroom · garage to room · garage conversion builder · integral garage conversion · garage into living space

How the job is usually done

  1. Survey: floor level and damp, walls, roof, existing services, and whether the garage is attached to the side or rear.
  2. Check planning: conversion of an attached garage is covered by the extension exemption within its limits; a garage at the front or detached may need permission.
  3. Build up the garage door opening on a foundation, with a window or door and a damp-proof course tied into the walls.
  4. Insulate and raise the floor with a damp-proof membrane and screed or a timber floor, and insulate walls and ceiling.
  5. First fix of electrics, heating and any plumbing; ventilation for the new room.
  6. Plaster, second fix, door through to the house and finishes.

Garage conversion: what is included

Usually included

  • Infilling the garage door opening with block and a window
  • Insulating floor, walls and ceiling
  • Plastering and making good
  • A new internal door into the house where needed

Usually not included — agree it separately

  • Electrics by a registered electrician, unless included
  • Radiators or heating connection, unless included
  • Flooring, decoration and furniture
  • Relocating a boiler, oil tank or meters from the garage

Materials and who supplies them

  • Block, lintels and damp-proof course for the infill wall
  • Rigid insulation, damp-proof membrane, screed or timber floor
  • Window, plasterboard and skim

How long it takes

Typically three to six weeks; a boiler or meters to move, a damp floor slab or a new window opening add time.

When to book

Any time of year, since most work is under cover; the external infill wall is best done in dry weather.

Garage conversion: the rules in Ireland

What the official sources say, checked against them on the date shown. A summary, not legal advice — follow the link to read the rule itself.

  • Converting a garage attached to the rear or side of a house for use as part of the house is within Class 1 and counts towards the 45 m² limit with any extensions built since 1 October 1964. A garage at the front, a detached garage or a protected structure needs planning permission.

    Applies to: the homeowner

    Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026, S.I. 338 of 2026, Class 1 · gov.ie · Checked 9 October 2026

  • A converted garage used as a room must meet the building regulations, including insulation under Part L and, for a bedroom, an escape window and smoke alarm under Part B.

    Applies to: the builder and the homeowner

    Building Regulations — Technical Guidance Documents B and L · gov.ie · Checked 9 October 2026

Grants

  • Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability

    Up to €40,000, or 100% of the approved cost if lower, for works such as converting a garage into a ground-floor bedroom or accessible bathroom; the percentage paid falls as household income rises.

    Who qualifies: Owners and certain tenants where a member of the household has a disability and the works are needed; applied for through the local council before work starts.

    citizensinformation.ie · Checked 9 October 2026

What garage conversion costs, and why

What jobs on Talqero came to

Not enough comparable jobs yet to publish a range here. Talqero shows a price range only once at least five comparable jobs, agreed prices or offers exist — a range from fewer would describe a handful of jobs, not the market. Post your job and compare the offers you get.

What affects the price

  • Size of the garage and the condition of the floor, walls and roof
  • Insulation to the building regulations for a habitable room
  • Moving the boiler, meters, oil tank or washing machine
  • New windows, heating, plumbing and electrics
  • Whether planning permission is needed
  • VAT: building work on a home is charged at the reduced 13.5% rate by a VAT-registered builder, unless materials are more than two-thirds of the price (Revenue’s two-thirds rule)
  • VAT: building work on a home is charged at the reduced rate of 13.5% by a VAT-registered business — unless the materials come to more than two-thirds of the price, when Revenue’s two-thirds rule applies the goods rate to the whole job. Ask whether a quote includes VAT.

Paperwork to ask for at the end

  • A written opinion on compliance with planning and building regulations, needed when selling
  • Electrical Completion Certificate for new circuits
  • Window and insulation product details, for the BER

Safety

  • A boiler or oil tank in the garage needs safe clearances and ventilation if it stays; get the heating engineer’s advice before closing it in.
  • Old garage roofs and ceilings may contain asbestos-cement sheets or boards; have them checked before cutting.
  • A garage converted to a bedroom needs an escape window and smoke alarm.

Garage conversion: before you hire

Questions to ask a tradesperson

  • Does my garage conversion need planning permission?
  • How will you insulate and damp-proof the floor?
  • Are heating and electrics in the price?
  • Is VAT included?

What you can do yourself

Clearing the garage and deciding the use are homeowner tasks; the infill wall, insulation and services are not DIY.

What to put in your task

  • What kind of garage is it?
  • What will the room be?
  • Roughly how big is the garage floor?
  • What is in the garage now?

Photos that help

  • The garage door from outside
  • Inside the garage, all four walls and the ceiling
  • The floor, showing any damp or a step down from the house
  • The boiler, meters or tank if they are in there

Garage conversion by county

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Questions about garage conversion

Does garage conversion need a licence in Ireland?

No licence is required for this work in Ireland (source: www.cru.ie). Ask instead for references and photographs of similar jobs.

Does a garage conversion need planning permission?

Converting a garage attached to the side or rear of the house is generally exempt within the same 45 m² limit as an extension. A garage to the front, a detached garage, or a house where a planning condition requires the garage to stay as parking may need permission.

Will a converted garage be cold?

Not if it is insulated properly: the floor, the walls and the ceiling all need to reach the building regulations for a room, and the old door opening built up with a damp-proof course. Many garages have no insulation at all to begin with.

Can the boiler stay in the garage?

Often, if it is boxed in with the clearances and ventilation the maker requires, and an oil boiler with its flue in the right place. A heating engineer should check before the room is closed in.

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