Case study: Garage to kids' playroom in Worsley.
A growing family needed more living space. We took an underused garage, bricked up the garage door front, fitted a new front door, rear door and window combination, and turned it into a properly insulated kids' playroom. £15,700. Two weeks on site.
Project at a glance Verified Wolsten build
- Property type
- Integral garage · Worsley
- Conversion type
- Single Room Conversion
- Time on site
- ~2 weeks
- Fixed price
- £15,700 all-in
- Use
- Children's playroom
- External work
- Bricked-up garage front
- New openings
- Front door + rear door + window
- Built by
- Three founders on site
Why they called us.
A growing Worsley family. The garage was sitting under-used -- the family's car never went in it, the floor was uneven, an old rotten partition wall split the space in two, and there were gas pipes running across the wall that needed re-routing. What they actually needed was a proper indoor space for the kids to play in, free from cold concrete floors and cardboard-box storage piles.
The brief was clear: turn it into a kids' playroom. Properly insulated. Properly heated. With its own front door and rear access to the garden so the kids could run in and out. And make the front of the house look like it had never been a garage in the first place -- which meant bricking up the garage door opening.
We surveyed, gave a fixed quote at £15,700, and started two weeks later.
What we did.
The standout decision was committing to brick up the garage door front rather than keeping the door for "resale flexibility". For a kids' playroom you want proper wall, proper window, proper insulation. A retained garage door always reads as a converted garage -- and it leaks heat and noise. The brickwork was a one-day job that completely transformed how the front of the house looks.
The build sequence took around 2 weeks on site:
- Stripped the garage back to the structure
- Removed the old rotten partition wall
- Took out the uneven floor
- Laid a highly-rated vapour-protected insulation on the floor + new 18mm chipboard floor build-up
- Redirected the gas pipes routed across the wall -- previously inaccessible behind the partition
- First-fix electrics: ring main, lighting, switching, heating point plumbed in
- Stud work for the new internal walls and ceiling
- Installed a brand new front door
- Rear door + window combination installed -- gives the kids access to the garden and floods the new playroom with natural light
- Bricked up the front where the garage door used to sit -- the room is now a proper insulated wall on the street face
- Plasterboard, plaster, two-coat paint
- Final clean-down, Building Regs sign-off, walkthrough
End result: a warm, dry, light-filled room that the kids can use year-round. From the street, the house no longer reads as having a garage at all.
The whole build, in four shots.
Real photos from the actual project -- garage to kids' playroom.
Inside the garage as found. Bare floor, old partition, gas pipes running across the wall.
Structure stage. Garage door bricked up, new front door + rear door + window openings formed, stud walls up.
First-fix complete. Insulated floor build-up down, plaster on, electrics in, doors hung.
Finished playroom. Warm, dry, light-filled, kid-ready. From the street, the house no longer reads as having a garage.Every detail of the Worsley build.
The full set of photos taken throughout the project.
For the discerning homeowner.
What we actually built into this conversion.
Bricked-up front -- the right call vs keeping the garage door
Some clients want to keep the garage door visible for "resale flexibility". For a habitable kids' playroom we recommended the opposite: brick up the opening properly. Reasons: (1) a retained door leaks heat -- the new room would always feel colder than the rest of the house; (2) acoustically it's a weak point; (3) visually the property reads as "still a garage", which actually hurts perceived value in this kind of conversion. The brickwork was one extra day in the schedule and transformed the front of the house.
Vapour-protected floor insulation
The old garage floor was uneven and at one point ankle-deep in pooled damp. We broke out the existing slab back to its sub-base, laid a fresh damp-proof membrane, installed high-spec vapour-protected insulation on top, then an 18mm chipboard deck. Result: a properly insulated, dry, warm floor that won't transmit cold from the concrete pad below.
Gas pipe re-routing -- behind the old partition
The garage had gas pipes running across the wall, originally accessible only from behind the rotten old partition. We re-routed the pipes during the strip-out phase so they no longer cross the new room cleanly, with all valves accessible. Done at first-fix so they're chased and hidden in finished walls.
Front door + rear door + window combination
Three new external openings: new front door (replacing the garage door footprint), rear door + window combination at the back giving the kids direct access to the garden and a generous source of natural light. All triple-glazed where appropriate, all properly flashed and weather-sealed.
Building Regs route -- full sign-off
Habitable conversion = Building Regs required. We submitted, attended inspections, achieved full sign-off (structural, thermal, electrical, fire safety, drainage). Planning not required -- garage conversions on this Worsley property fell under permitted development.
Three founders. No subcontractors.
Liam, Ryan and Paul on every job.
Liam
Led the project from survey through sign-off. Handled the first-fix electrics personally -- ring main, heating control, lighting positions.
Ryan
Time-served bricklayer. Handled the bricking-up of the garage front opening + the structural openings for the new doors and window.
Paul
Fitted the new front door, rear door and window combination. Every cut on site, every seal detailed personally.
Worsley · Salford
Worsley is a Salford village with a substantial mix of family homes including many with integral garages that families have outgrown. Most of the area sits under permitted development for garage conversions; Worsley Village conservation area is small and central. We've worked across Worsley and the wider Salford / Manchester area for years.
We're based in Westhoughton, about 25 minutes from Worsley.
Questions homeowners ask about projects like this.
Should I keep the garage door or brick it up?
For a habitable room -- almost always brick it up. A retained garage door is a thermal and acoustic weak point, and visually keeps the property reading as a converted garage. The brickwork is usually one extra day in the schedule and transforms the look of the front of the house. The Worsley project did this and the result is a house that doesn't look like it ever had a garage.
Can I get a Worsley garage conversion for around £15,700?
This Worsley project came in at £15,700 fixed -- includes the bricked-up front, new front door, rear door + window combination, full insulation, electrics and finishes. Typical garage conversions on similar Worsley properties sit in the £10k-£22k range.
What about the gas pipes in the garage?
Almost every integral garage has at least one service running across it -- gas, electrical or both. We re-route or chase these into the new wall structure during first-fix, with valves accessible. Adds nothing significant to the cost on a typical job.
Do I need planning permission for a Worsley garage conversion?
Rarely. Most Worsley garage conversions fall under permitted development. Exceptions: listed buildings, properties inside the Worsley Village conservation area, or properties under an Article 4 direction. We'll flag any planning requirement at the free survey.
How long does a Worsley garage conversion take?
The Worsley playroom took 2 weeks on site. Standard garage conversions typically run 2-4 weeks. Single-room conversions like this one are at the quicker end.
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