[soupdragon]

hi guys

just completed my 1st home cinema inside my house - its a stop gap until i complete my garage conversion. i moved into this house last summer and nearly had an accident in my pants when i seen the garage they built

its a storey and a half, 19'6" x 13'2". the upstairs has a 7ft high ceiling.

its my expectation that i'll be starting this project in 2011, but the planning is very important, so i'm starting this now. there is a lot of experience on these forums, this type of project is new to me, so i would be grateful to people for their expertise and ideas, along with estimates of how much things cost (i've no idea yet of how much the conversion will cost)

a few questions:

the garage walls have no cavity, built with breeze blocks on inside and screened - do i need additional insulation to keep the heat in?

the oil burner is in the garage, can i just feed some radiators of this?

the garage has a seperate fusebox, can i just rip this out and put in a bigger one for my lighting, plug points etc..?

theres a drain under the gutter spout, is it ok to feed toilet waste into this?

the walls have a harsh, cement type screening on them, can i just pin plasterboard onto this, or do i need to build a stud wall 1st?

thats a lot of questions, if you can help me with even 1 of the questions, i would be very grateful as my knowledge in this area is not good at all!

my current cinema link:

my 1st home theatre

Edit: My 2nd home theatre (which means garage is now going to be No3!) Here

pics...(plan is for the cinema upstairs and below will be the pool room/bar)

[deefadog]

That's a great space! - BatBarn 2 in the making. I would search for the batbarn thread as it looks very similar to what you have, i am sure all your answers will be in there or just ask the op

[soupdragon]

Originally Posted by deefadog

That's a great space! - BatBarn 2 in the making. I would search for the batbarn thread as it looks very similar to what you have, i am sure all your answers will be in there or just ask the op

thanks deefadog

thats a gr8 thread, especially like the subs

i've edited the original post to leave only my unanswered questions...

any help is appreciated

[albriscoe]

Originally Posted by soupdragon

a few questions:

the garage walls have no cavity, built with breeze blocks on inside and screened - do i need additional insulation to keep the heat in?

I think you mean screeded mate not screened

I am sure that if you don`t build an internal stud and plasterboard wall with insulation, at least 100 mm you`ll wish you had. This is also same for the roof as well as all your expensive heat will go out through their.

Also in doing this its a chance to run and hide all your cables as well.

Originally Posted by soupdragon

the oil burner is in the garage, can i just feed some radiators of this?

Don`t see why not, you might want to pump it separatley so you don`t have it heated when not in use, not a difficult job really but cost effective in the long term.

Originally Posted by soupdragon

the garage has a seperate fusebox, can i just rip this out and put in a bigger one for my lighting, plug points etc..?

Depends really, you`ll have to find out how its fed and what with,ie. size of cable and circuit breaker.

Originally Posted by soupdragon

theres a drain under the gutter spout, is it ok to feed toilet waste into this?

Only if you want to end up in court for pollution

If your house has a combined drainage system then it is possible to allow fowl water to go into the existing drains but only done with proper underground soil pipes ie. 4".

You will also need inspection chambers as well for rodding purposes.

If it has like most houses a separate clean water and fowl water system then you must not under any circumstances put fowl water into the clean water drainage and will be severely fined if caught doing it.

Originally Posted by soupdragon

the walls have a harsh, cement type screening on them, can i just pin plasterboard onto this, or do i need to build a stud wall 1st?

As in answer 1 I would build a stud wall first. this will also help with damp problems as well.

2 other questions now for you

What size ceiling joists are up their at the mo, are they up to spec for having a proper floor and furniture on them and correctly spaced.

And last but not least, when you`ve spent all this money on the conversion and your chuffed to bits with it you will make sure that the local council have passed it all for change of use and req`d planning consent has been aquired.

I`d hate to happen to you mate so have a think about it.

cheers Al

PS. You owe me a pint

[soupdragon]

gee thanks albriscoe - thats a comprehensive answer to my q's

in terms of beam widths i'm not sure but it was built with the purpose of an additional storage - i guess i'll need to go out and measure them...

in terms of planning permission....

thanks for the advise there....could have been costly!

[MarkP80]

the garage walls have no cavity, built with breeze blocks on inside and screened - do i need additional insulation to keep the heat in?

- Are you sure about the construction? The photo of the wall taken showing the doorframe looks rather thick.....

along with estimates of how much things cost (i've no idea yet of how much the conversion will cost)

- usually at least twice what you think it will cost when you first start, in my experience!!!!

Cheers,
MarkP

[albriscoe]

The door openings Mark are usually double brick to support a lintel above, I know what you mean though they do look to be cavity width

[Paul_T]

Think i'll be subscribing to this thread - has the potential to be an epic.

[Paul_T]

Originally Posted by albriscoe

The door openings Mark are usually double brick to support a lintel above, I know what you mean though they do look to be cavity width

Surely there is a cavity in the majority of the wall though - I'd have thought that the door jambs would have been built up as piers to support the lintel (is it one steel beam as I can't quite tell from the pics) along with a padstone.

It's quite common in garages though to have double skin on the front and rear walls and only single skin for the sides.

[albriscoe]

Originally Posted by Paul_T

Surely there is a cavity in the majority of the wall though - I'd have thought that the door jambs would have been built up as piers to support the lintel (is it one steel beam as I can't quite tell from the pics) along with a padstone.

It's quite common in garages though to have double skin on the front and rear walls and only single skin for the sides.

You`ll have to ask the owner this but to save material costs and labour they might only be pillars to support the lintel.

ie; a brick and half or 2 bricks square.

Its also common to have vertical pillars along the length of a long wall but its not always seen.

The most important factors this guy has got is a. permission b drainage.


the rest can be overcome with time, effort, money and a bit of common sense

But it should make a great addition to his home if done correctly and from what I can see in the pics it looks like its been contructed to quite a high standard.

[soupdragon]

hi guys

there is definately no cavity, next door is part completed, built to the same spec and there is no cavity - looks like i'll have to make a stud...

as mentioned earlier, this will give me cable hiding options as well as insulation so i'm not totally upset by this.

i hope it does make a good read! i won't access any major funds until 2011 so progress will be slow until then

no harm in starting to plan though!

[deansocial]

do it in metal and insulate behind to lose the least room

[soupdragon]

Originally Posted by deansocial

do it in metal and insulate behind to lose the least room

hi

this may seem daft but...do what in metal? i don't understand what you mean..

[deansocial]

create a cavity with metal studdiing

[deansocial]

Lafarge Plasterboard UK : Home > Project Type

like this

[soupdragon]

oh yes, i see what you mean...thanks for that...

[soupdragon]

Bump to keep thread alive! 2011 is when it all begins so only 1 more year to go Still thinking long and hard about this and with the upcoming 3D revolution, hopefully we'll know what mainstream kit will be the standard by then.

I've spoken to a few people around pool/snooker tables, I reckon I can pick up a regulation 9 ball pool table 2nd hand for approx £500

There is also a site next door which is at foundation level (been that way for over 1.5yrs) so with a bit of luck, the builders will be back on site when I'm doing my conversion so I can get the guys to do a few "homers" on the cheap

[WeegieAVLover]

Looks like a good space...

Good luck man.

[illingworth22]

Originally Posted by soupdragon

Bump to keep thread alive! 2011 is when it all begins so only 1 more year to go Still thinking long and hard about this and with the upcoming 3D revolution, hopefully we'll know what mainstream kit will be the standard by then.

I've spoken to a few people around pool/snooker tables, I reckon I can pick up a regulation 9 ball pool table 2nd hand for approx £500

There is also a site next door which is at foundation level (been that way for over 1.5yrs) so with a bit of luck, the builders will be back on site when I'm doing my conversion so I can get the guys to do a few "homers" on the cheap

You should get one for less than 500 quid! Phone the local Fruit Machine companies (Bell Fruit, Music Hire Group... cant remember any more it's been so long) they may sell you one!