Garage conversions in Edinburgh

How to choose a garage conversion contractor in Edinburgh

Standing on a cold concrete floor, it can be hard to picture your garage as a room you’d use every day. Start by comparing what each contractor has checked, what they still need to find out and exactly what their quotation includes.

At Sweet Homes, we look at floor levels, visible moisture, structure and services before agreeing the work. We’d suggest asking each firm to explain what they know about your garage before talking through the finishes. If an answer leaves you unsure, ask them to talk you through it.

A comparison sheet to keep with your quotations

Give each contractor the same brief, then use this sheet to record their answers. Leave anything unanswered marked “not confirmed”.

Part of the garage: __________
Contractor and quotation date: __________

Use a separate copy for the floor, walls and roof, front opening, services, and finishes. Keep the drawing references alongside it. If one firm has an older drawing, send them the current version before comparing prices.

Some answers will need to come from your appointed designer. Ask the contractor to identify those questions, so you know who to speak to next.

Start with the floor

The slab is the existing concrete floor. An older slab may have no effective damp-proof membrane, the layer that resists moisture from below. The floor and the way moisture will be managed need looking at together.

Ask how the garage floor level compares with the house. What do we know about what’s underneath? Which layers of flooring and insulation are proposed? Put any checks still needed on the sheet.

Take this made-up example. One quotation says “floor appears dry”. That may be what the contractor saw on the day, but it doesn’t tell you whether there’s an effective membrane below it. Another quotation includes an investigation before the floor work is agreed. Ask what that investigation involves and what it will help them decide.

You can put the same question to both firms: what do you still need to find out before you can specify this floor? Keep their replies with the quotations. There’s no need to fill the gap yourself by assuming the two prices cover the same work.

What stays, and what are you changing?

Look at the drawings with the contractor. If the garage door is coming out, ask what will replace it, including the wall and window specification. For the walls and roof, check which parts stay and what insulation and moisture-control work is included. Any missing design information should go on the sheet too.

Tell each firm how you’ll use the room. An office and a utility room have different needs for heating, ventilation and drainage. If you’re adding plumbing, the design and drainage route need to support it. Where a connection hasn’t been checked, ask who will check it.

We supply and fit the agreed work. If you’ve already chosen products, we’ll check availability and suitability before confirming them in the quotation. Send product codes where you have them. Check how far the finishing work goes too: plastering, skirting, decoration and final fittings should be clear in the specification. If you haven’t chosen something yet, leave that choice marked as undecided.

Read the price with the sheet beside it

The published budget is a guide, not a quotation for your garage. Work that needs a building warrant is priced from the approved drawings. The quotation depends on the measured property, its condition, the agreed work and your chosen specification.

Before choosing on price, go back through the exclusions and checks still to be done. If a price assumes something about the garage that hasn’t been confirmed, ask the contractor to explain it. Two quotations may allow for different work. Ask each firm about its own figure rather than asking it to guess what another contractor has included.

Warrants, access and booking the work

Sweet Homes advises on building warrant requirements. We don’t apply for warrants. Ask who will provide the drawings and handle the application, and whether anything is still missing for the quotation.

Work requiring a building warrant must wait until it’s granted. Planning permission is a separate check, as Edinburgh Council explains in its building standards questions. Your appointed professional should confirm what’s needed for your conversion, including any planning or listed-building questions.

We’d also talk through access early. If your garage opens onto a shared lane, explain how you use it and ask where deliveries and waste removal will happen. If it serves a tenement flat, mention any shared stair or factor arrangements that might affect the job. Our working process includes discussing shared access and neighbours where relevant.

We book works at least four weeks out from first contact. That’s a minimum lead time, not a promise to start in week four or a timetable for council approval. We’ll speak on the phone first and arrange a site visit afterwards where useful. Any required approvals must be in place before the relevant work starts.

If a check changes the work

Ask what happens if an investigation turns up something that changes the proposal. At Sweet Homes, we pause the affected work, explain what we’ve found and set out the options. Changes need written approval. Ask each contractor how they would agree any effect on the work, price and timing, and check that against their contract.

Keep that answer with your sheet. Before agreeing the job, also check what happens at handover and how you’ll report snagging, the items that still need attention.