IS A WOODEN GARAGE LEGALLY A GARAGE?

IS A WOODEN GARAGE LEGALLY A GARAGE?

Author
Discussion

bigairbox

Original Poster:

51 posts

253 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
quotequote all
Hey guys, this sounds simple maybe tis, maybesno....you tell me!!!

Im talking of the really long car size shed basically!!

dontlift

9,396 posts

258 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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Yes they are!

jaydee

1,107 posts

269 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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Looks like a garage, smells like a garage, is a garage. There's no legal definition AFAIK, planning referring to size, not function, for outbuildings.

bigairbox

Original Poster:

51 posts

253 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
quotequote all
AFAIK...whats that?
cheers for the good news by the way!!!

jaydee

1,107 posts

269 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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As Far As I Know. Why the worry ?

bigairbox

Original Poster:

51 posts

253 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
quotequote all
it great to know someone else is keeping an eye on the replies around keen to add their own cheers!

Id like a nice car in august and need to keep it somewhere and lower my insurance premium!!

jaydee

1,107 posts

269 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
quotequote all
In that case, check with the insurers. They may not give as big a discount on a wooden garage as on a brick built one (because they're all @rses and they can get away with it) but it should still be better than leaving it on the path.

Planman350i

599 posts

253 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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Makes no difference if its wood or not. Before you purchase I'd strongly advise popping into your local planning department with a sketch plan of your house and the brochure of the proposed garage and ask a Planning Officer for his/her view on whether planning permission is likely to be forthcoming.

Its worth asking if planning permission is necessary if it will be built to the rear of the front building line of the house (you may have 'permitted development rights' to build a certain amount of floorspace), however this will be largely dependant on whether you have already extended the property by this route, and whether permitted development rights were removed when planning permission was originally obtained for your house.

Sorry to use jargon - hope this is of some use.

Mark

davidy

4,459 posts

284 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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I'd agree with jaydee and planman350i. Having built a 400sqft wooden garage at a previous property, I had no issues with either planning (it was built at the back of a long garden (with rear access) and not visible at all from the road frontage.

There are local rules regarding permitted development, ie not above a certain size (volume), height of roof line etc, which mean that you could find out how large you can go before you need Planning Permission.

Useful Hint No. 1.

Nosy Bu**ers who happen to ask 'Does that need planning permission during construction' - can easily be silenced with its a wooden building and therefore a temporary structure! - it worked for me.

Useful Hint No. 2.

As far as insurers go it is a 'purpose built garage', however some insurers quiz you on the construction methods - maybe its time to move to one who asks - is it garaged in a purpose built garage.


My biggest grief came not from anyone official but from the guy who 'owned' the access track at the rear of my and adjacent properties, who as we erected the building tried to claim that the track was 25 foot wide at that point and therefore he was entitled to 6 foot of my garden. Several months later and about an inch of paperwork he gave up!!

Its possibly a good idea to discuss with your neighbours what you intend to do as well.

davidy

outlaw

1,893 posts

266 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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i got away with one with out a roof and no doors with inshrance company once.

the wording was the car was keeped locked in a garage.

the car was locked lol
they tryed it on but i won
the policy never said any thing about having a roof or doors

david010167

1,397 posts

263 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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They really said "keeped"

AnarchyStorm

943 posts

256 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
quotequote all

Hey guys, this sounds simple maybe tis, maybesno....you tell me!!!

Im talking of the really long car size shed basically!!


From what insurers call garages - it has to be closable. i.e have a door. Otherwise it is called a carport. We have one of those and when my insurance compnay came out last year to value my dad's car and other things he informed us that ours was infact a carport but would still get the discount for the insurance as it was well away from the road.

Could be wrong though - insurance people, never trusted them!

JonRB

74,534 posts

272 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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Isn't a garage without roof and doors simply a fence?

We'd like to erect a wooden garage. However the only logical area is immediately in front of the house between the house and the road. I understand this is a no-no even though the house isn't visible from the road because of trees and thick bushes.

The only other option is perpendicular to the house on the boundary between our house and our neighbour. However we like our neighbour and chat to him over the low fence and we don't really want to put a sodding great garage between us.

MikeyT

16,534 posts

271 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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The only other option is perpendicular to the house on the boundary between our house and our neighbour. However we like our neighbour and chat to him over the low fence and we don't really want to put a sodding great garage between us. (


Come on Jon, erect the enormous garage between you and your neighbour, but with a side window - so you can be polishing the old cars and chatting to him through the open window - even put in some french doors so he can come in and help.


manek

2,972 posts

284 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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I wouldn't put up a garage though just to lower my insurance premium. When I found a garage to rent for my Chimaera, the refund for the year was £32. Go figure.

andyf007

863 posts

258 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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I'm having a 5.5 x 6.5 mtr concrete sectional one put up and although it's classed as a temporary building it does need planning consent. It is down to the base size or internal volume, anything over 4 x 4 or 5 x 4 I think. It also varies by council, so you would have to check locally.

Andy

bugmeister

812 posts

284 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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manek said: I wouldn't put up a garage though just to lower my insurance premium. When I found a garage to rent for my Chimaera, the refund for the year was £32. Go figure.


But it will add several thousand to the value of the house

incorrigible

13,668 posts

261 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
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Looking at this from the other angle

Can I build a large brick shed without planning permission

Shed would be about car sized, anyone know the rules

CarZee

13,382 posts

267 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
quotequote all

manek said: I wouldn't put up a garage though just to lower my insurance premium. When I found a garage to rent for my Chimaera, the refund for the year was £32. Go figure.
That'll vary wildly between insurance companies. Besides, there's also the added peace of mind in respect of security and indoor strorage will always be better for the car - especially a ragtop where water ingress can be a problem.

JonRB

74,534 posts

272 months

Friday 2nd May 2003
quotequote all

CarZee said:Besides, there's also the added peace of mind in respect of security and indoor strorage will always be better for the car - especially a ragtop where water ingress can be a problem.
And hood fading. And body colour fading. And keeping it cleaner - the amount of dust and crap we get on the cars in the car port is incredible.