Hi all...

Bought a house last year and I am lacking a garage facility.

I was originally thinking of building a garage, around 6x5m externally to avoid planning permission, but realistically it's going to be around £10k... Which kind of seems a lot for a house I may not be in for that long.

Have been thinking this evening and thought about buying a second hand sectional garage, you can pick them up or often get for free if you take them down etc.

I would need a base which I would ensure is plenty good enough and insulted, potentially even including footings if I were to want built in future.

May look into fitting a roller door and new window/door into garden.

Has anyone ever lined a sectional garage? I know sealing them can be a pain but would incorporate methods of sealing on assembly. I would probably build some kind of frame internally like stud wall fixed to the wall, with insulation, then line with ply or plaster board or whatever, this then adds a nice surface, insulation, better walls to fix things to, house electrics etc.

I think for a few grand I could create a nice garage which even though sectional, would be functional, appear ok and be a lot cheaper than a custom built brick edition.

Any thoughts? Just thinking out loud and someone may care haha

I would go with a brick garage with a pitched roof with footings. Might work out more now but in the long run will be cheaper. I would construct so that if you wanted to build above the you could.

Which part of Coventry you in, go there for work a fair bit.

Well the thing is I don't know how long I'll be in the house, could only be 5-10 years which may not be worth it.

Erm not too far from Allesley Park

Dad bought a second hand concrete sectional, and it wasn't a bad option by a long way. Things you've got to bear in mind:

Getting a base laid to put it on (same as you would with a brick built)

Mark everything up well before you take it down, or you end up shifting lumps of concrete around trying to get them in the right order.

They, and the base they're on, need to be dead level.

Roofs on older ones can be asbestos, so you could end up having to dispose of this and replace it. However - and everyone's going to have a health and safety kitten about this - we kept the asbestos roof as it's a modern asbestos and is in good condition. We've sealed it inside so there's no chance it it dropping dust. It really keeps the heat in well.

They are fucking heavy. So you either want one that's really local, or a wagon to move it (I think dad's double garage was two runs with a 7.5T)

You can't really insulate the walls as they're single skin, so insulation would make them sweat. That said, dad's isn't cold by any means and he only heats it with a gas bottle wood burner.

Yeah aware of roof issues and stuff, thats why I'd have to weigh up what'd need spending on it or whatever.....

I may want to play with the layout of it anyway, lots are just a generically sized section so you can assemble sides/doors in different places etc, but I get where you're coming from regarding getting it wrong, isn't something you want to be lugging around unneccessarily!

I was more fussed about having a nicer finished wall and somthing to attach shelves etc to...would an air cavity be ok? Literally like a 3x2'' frame fixed to the concrete outer, then boarded onto the frame, so obviously you'd lose maybe 6'' LxW internally but could make it a lot nicer...and the fact that sectionals are often a lot thinner than brick built.

My parents have a sectional garage which is years old now, they got it second hand maybe 20 years ago or longer...and that was just thrown up, it does get cold and damp but literally no effort went into trying to seal it etc anyway....just a nice space where I can have a bench, some equipment and work around a car in there will be sufficient!