FL4 Group Carpentry & Renovations Specialists
Borehamwood
Borehamwood
FL4 GROUP Carpentry & Construction
Our skills include a full range of building services and trades including carpentry, heating installations, electrics, kitchen and bathroom fitting and more.
We take on projects from new design & builds
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How can someone tell if their Garage is suitable for conversion?
Before you go ahead with your garage conversion, you need to know all the legal issues involved. There are three main things that you need to check first - if you go ahead without permission you could be forced to return everything to its original condition, at your own cost.
Restrictive clauses in your lease - You need to check your property deeds for any restrictive covenants. Some developers place a restriction on any building work that will affect the external appearance of the house. If there is such a clause, contact them, as it can often be circumvented for a fee. Your other option is to convert the inside of the garage without changing its external appearance. This is often achieved by keeping a front portion of the garage for storage space and converting the rest. Of course, the suitability of this option depends on your intentions for the garage.
Planning permission - You usually only need to apply for planning permission to convert a garage when you intend to extend the actual size of the garage. However, check with your local authority as the precise rules do differ.
Building Regulations - If you plan to convert any part of your house into a room to be used as habitable space, you will need to comply with government building regulations. A building control officer will probably need to check your conversion a number of times during construction. More information can be found on the relevant section of the government's website. Again, rules differ so you need to check with your local council. There are some instances where permission to convert your garage may be denied such as:
You live in a listed building or neighbourhood - It is very likely in this case that the external appearance of the house must be maintained as it is.
Your garage conversion would affect drainage - If you plan on concreting over your garden or anything similar, thus putting extra pressure on the existing drainage in place, you may need to invest in a solution to allay the potential for flooding or blocked drains.
Additional insulation is needed - Some councils will allow you to simply add the extra fill to the existing construction, others demand that you dig up the floor and insulate it as if building from scratch. This will affect your budget, so always check first.
Parking restrictions - In some cities where there is a particular shortage of parking spaces such as London, councils can refuse permission to convert your garage from a place where a car is kept.
Run us through the different stages of the Garage conversion process - what's involved?
ou must ensure the foundations are strong enough to carry any additional masonry loads. A new inner skin on the external wall or filling in the garage door with brick & block and a window will all add extra weight. Check the condition and suitability of the existing foundation or floor when the door infill area is excavated. If there isn't a foundation below the existing garage door you could carry the new wall off a suitable lintel - talk to your building control surveyor.
1. Walls
Check the existing walls for stability and make sure there aren't any defects. If satisfactory, then your building control surveyor is likely to consider it suitable for structural purposes. If it's single skin with piers and the piers are being removed, the wall will be weakened and should be tied to a new inner leaf using remedial wall ties.
2. Weather
If you're dealing with a wall of single leaf construction, you must treat to make it weatherproof. Treatment options include tanking the wall using a vapour permeable membrane linked to a damp proof course or membrane at floor level, or providing a lightweight blockwork inner leaf with insulation in the new cavity. In all wall types, care must be taken to ensure the floor membrane laps with the DPC in the existing walls.
3. Insulation
You must insulate the walls, roof and floor to habitable standards, your building control surveyor or designer will help you choose the right insulation. Remember that you may need to add or increase ventilation to the roof voids. Where lining the garage with an independent stud partition, the insulation should be fitted tightly between the studs - using insulated plasterboard is best to avoid cold bridging.
4. Ventilation
Windows must have openable vents of an area equal to 1/20th of the floor area of the room. You also need 5,000mm2 of trickle vents to provide background ventilation. And if the new room can only be accessed via another room, a window with a clear opening of 450 x 733mm is a must for means of escape.
5. Sound
Any party wall between the garage and an adjoining property will need to be insulated to stop sound transmission. Check the existing wall construction - anything less than 200mm of dense blockwork will usually need further work, which may include additional masonry or specialist independent acoustic partitions – your building control surveyor will be able to advise you further.
6. Electricity
The requirements of Part P - Electrical safety in dwellings will apply to the new conversion, so ensure any installations are compliant and certified to BS 7671.
Your building control surveyor should be able to provide practical guidance on site
How can someone tell if their loft is suitable for conversion?
Measure the head height. The minimum height you need for a loft conversion is 2.2m, and you can easily measure this yourself. Take a tape measure and run it from the floor to the ceiling at the tallest part of the room. If it's 2.2m or more, your loft should be tall enough to convert.
Run us through the different stages in the loft conversion process - what’s involved?
Structural strengthening and support steelwork, joists and floors.
Put in the windows to bring daylight into your loft. These can be Velux or dormer or a combination.
Made to measure the staircase fitted to give you access to your loft.
First fix electrics and plumbing installation.
Install insulation to ensure that your loft doesn’t lose heat.
Fit internal partitions to create the rooms you want.
Plasterboard and plastering.
Create access into the eaves to ensure you don’t lose any valuable storage space.
Fix carpentry: doors, architrave, skirting, handrails and spindles to stairs then fix electrics: light switches, power sockets, lights, TV points, mains smoke detectors.
Fix plumbing: radiators, bathroom suite, underfloor heating if required. Fix wall tiles and floor tiles.
How long have you been in business?
Fl4 Group Carpentry & Renovations Specialists established 2013
What guarantee does your work come with?
Warranty Depending on Service
Between 12 months - 60 month
What do you love most about your job?
I managed to combine passion with earning and therefore work is not something boring and tedious for me.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I wanted a life that I could manage for my family. Working 9-5 didn't provide that for me. So I started my own business. It's definitely had the ups and downs, but I did it so I had more time to do what I love with the people I love.
Why should our clients choose you?
Reliable, Trustworthy, Experienced company in London and surrounding areas.
FL4 Group provide you with a personal professional service.
House Extensions
Extending your home has been fast and simple solutions for a lot of homeowners who have a growing need for more space. It can be anything from extending a kitchen to having a new living area for the family.
Refurbishment
Whether you’re looking to refurbish one or two rooms, or need to completely renovate your property, our extensive experience of refurbishing London homes means we can design, build and manage the entire process to help you create a better version of your home.
We are able to undertake your project from start to finish, as we have a full-time staff of skilled tradesmen including carpenters, joiners, plumbers, tilers, electricians and decorators.
If you are looking for home improvements in London and surrounding areas, then FL4 Group is your premier choice.
Not only do we cover full house renovations, house extensions, and loft conversions, but we also fit in brand new wardrobes, Bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms.
We are also able to take on smaller-scale projects such as painting & decorating, tiling or plastering.
Bespoke Furniture - Wardrobes, Kitchens, Bedrooms
FL4 Group offers best-fitted furniture products for your home all backed with a top-quality planning & installation service.
We specialize in Fitted Bedrooms, Kitchens, and Wardrobes, offering full design planning and a dedicated installation service Contact us for a No obligation Free Quotation service.
We're not only known for our superior and quality work, but also for our reasonable pricing and flexibility to meet all types of budgets.
Property Maintenance / HandyMan service
Get professional help from a skilled, fully equipped handyman.
Handyman Services for professional assistance when you need something repaired, improved, installed, or uninstalled.
Be it flat pack furniture assembly or leaky tap repairs, you can consider it done.
Skilled, fully equipped handyman to your home or workplace who will handle everything quickly and efficiently. Especially when it comes to odd jobs around the home and office such as:
▪Loft ladders installation
▪Picture and mirror hanging
▪TV mounting
▪Fitting locks and new handles
▪Fitting rails, tracks, curtains, and blinds
▪Mounting cabinets and shelves
▪Plumbing handyman services
▪Kitchen repairs
▪Bathroom repairs
▪Furniture assembly
▪Electrical work
▪Appliance installation
Painting & Decorating, Wallpapering
Residential and Commercial work undertaken.
Services in—Painting and Decorating:
Interior and Exterior Painting and Decorating
Minor Spraying
Metal Paint Stripping&Painting
Fencing and Decking paint
Damp, Mould & Stain Treatments&Repairs
Services in—Wallcoverings
Install all types Wallcoverings
Vinyl wallpaper, Solid Sheet Vinyl,Vinyl Coated Fabric,Vinyl Coated Paper,Non-Woven Wallpaper,Easy-Walls Wallpaper,Prepasted Wallpaper
Stripping Wallpaper
Lining paper Stripping&Installation
