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What changes the price of building a garage?
The price of building a garage in Cheshire turns on size, whether it is attached, the roof shape, and which permissions apply. This guide does not print a build figure, and it sets out the tests a quote should answer before you compare totals.
Last reviewed:Attached or standing on its own
A new garage is either built against the house or set apart from it. That choice changes both the planning tests and the building regulations tests. The Planning Portal treats garages as outbuildings for the planning limits [S1]. A new garage attached to an existing home would normally need building regulations approval, while a detached garage can fall outside approval in the cases that guidance sets out [S2]. This guide does not print a price for either kind. It is written first for plots in Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach.
The planning limits, in the order a quote should answer them
The Planning Portal says outbuildings and garages are to be single storey, with maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of four metres with a dual-pitched roof or three metres for any other roof [S1]. Within two metres of a boundary of the curtilage, the maximum height is 2.5 metres [S1]. No verandas, balconies or raised platforms, and a platform must not exceed 0.3 metres [S1]. No more than half the area of land around the original house may be covered by additions or other buildings [S1]. The original house means the house as first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 if it was built before that date [S1]. Nothing should be built on land forward of a wall forming the principal elevation [S1].
On designated land, buildings at the side need planning permission, and in national parks, the Broads, areas of outstanding natural beauty and World Heritage Sites the area covered by buildings more than 20 metres from the house is limited to 10 square metres [S1]. Within the curtilage of a listed building, any outbuilding will require planning permission [S1]. An Article 4 direction, or a condition on a previous permission, can remove these rights [S1]. The allowances apply to houses, not to flats and maisonettes [S1].
If the garage fails any of those tests, the Planning Portal says an application is required. Do not ask a builder to "just start" while you see if anyone complains.
GOV.UK: find your local council for building control. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
The building regulations tests are not the same numbers
The Planning Portal says building regulations will not normally apply if the floor area is less than 15 square metres and there is no sleeping accommodation [S2]. Between 15 square metres and 30 square metres, you will not normally need to apply if there is no sleeping accommodation and the building is either at least one metre from any boundary or constructed substantially of non-combustible materials [S2]. A detached garage of less than 30 square metres follows those same tests [S2]. A new garage attached to an existing home would normally need approval [S2].
Sleeping accommodation takes the building out of those exemptions. If anyone might sleep there, say so at the start. A hobby room that is not slept in is still something to describe accurately, because the exemption the page gives is about sleeping, not about every other use [S2].
Electrical work in the garage has to comply with the building regulations even when the shell is exempt [S3]. In England, special locations are the spaces around baths and showers, not garages as a class, but a new circuit is notifiable and a registered competent person can self-certify [S3]. This guide does not tell you to wire the garage.
Electrical Safety First: find a registered electrician; NICEIC; NAPIT. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
What the quote should state before the total
Citizens Advice says some traders charge for quotes, so ask first, and to get written quotes from at least 3 traders [S4]. A quote is a fixed price and an estimate is a rough guess, with a breakdown of materials [S4]. If a deposit cannot be avoided, do not agree to more than 25%, and get a receipt [S4]. You can offer to buy materials yourself rather than pay a deposit for them [S4]. A business registers for VAT when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or is expected to in the next 30 days [S5].
| Line | Why two quotes diverge here |
|---|---|
| Attached or detached | Approval normally applies if it is attached [S2] |
| Floor area | The 15 and 30 square metre tests [S2] |
| Distance to the boundary | Planning caps the height within two metres of a boundary [S1]. The 15 to 30 square metre case uses a one-metre test [S2] |
| Roof | Dual pitch or another roof, because the height cap differs [S1] |
| Forward of the principal elevation | No outbuilding on that land under these limits [S1] |
| Half the plot | Other buildings count [S1] |
| Listed or designated land | Permission is a different answer [S1] |
| Electrics | A separate competent-person line [S3] |
| VAT | Beside £90,000 [S5] |
The base, the door, and the neighbour
A quote that excludes the base, the door and the surface water is not the same building as one that includes them. Ask. If the foundation is near a neighbour's foundation, GOV.UK says the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 covers excavation near to and below the foundation level of neighbouring buildings, and that this is separate from planning permission and building regulations approval [S6]. Where that applies, the neighbour is told by a party wall notice. This page does not set the timetable.
Do not dig a trial hole on the boundary to "check the depth". Describe the site: slope, trees, manhole covers, and which wall of the house the garage would touch if it is attached.
Doors, the base, and water that has to leave
The door is a large part of what a garage is for, and it is often missing from a shell price. An up-and-over door, a roller door and a pair of timber leaves are different openings, different lintels and different clearances inside. Ask the quote to name the door, who supplies it, and whether the frame is in the wall price. A shell "ready for a door later" is a legitimate way to phase the job if the paper says the opening size. It is a gap if you thought the car would go in on day one.
The base is the other silent exclusion. A concrete slab, the hardcore under it, and the joint to the house if the garage is attached should be named. If the quote says "base by others", you are hiring a second trade. Say whether you want one contractor for the lot.
Rain from the roof has to go somewhere that is not the neighbour's foundation and not back against the house wall. Ask where the downpipe discharges. A soakaway or a connection to a drain is extra work. Leaving it as "to be agreed on site" is how the total moves. If the plot slopes toward the house, say so in the post. A level sketch from you is less useful than a sentence: "the garden falls toward the back door".
Access for delivery matters on a terrace with a narrow side passage. A garage kit that cannot reach the back garden is a different method from one built in small pieces. Mention the passage width if you know it, without turning the post into a construction plan. The builder should say how materials get there.
Power and light, if you want them on day one, belong in the electrician's line already covered by the building regulations point [S3]. A shell with a draw wire is not a finished circuit. Say which you are buying.
Say what the garage is for. A car, bikes only, or a workshop changes the door width and whether you need a personnel door in the side wall as well as the vehicle door. A side door is another lintel and another place for weather to get in. If you want a window, say which wall, because a window facing the neighbour is a planning conversation as well as a building one. This page does not set a distance for that window. It tells you to put the wish in the quote so it is not drawn in later as a favour.
The path from the side gate to the slab is part of making the building usable. If that path is mud, materials and the car will suffer. Ask whether a short path is in the price or left as the garden you already have. Leaving it out is fine. Forgetting to say so is how the invoice grows on the last day.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- Detached single garage at the rear, more than two metres from the boundary, dual-pitched roof. Ask the builder to say whether the floor area sits under 15 square metres or between 15 and 30, and which permission they think applies [S1] [S2].
- Garage attached to the side of the kitchen. Ask them to treat building regulations approval as part of the brief [S2]. Say if the side faces a highway.
- You are in a conservation area. Ask them not to assume permitted development [S1].
Anyone in the UK can post or register. QuoteZila is a new, early-stage project, so replies depend on who has joined near you [QZ5]. Up to five matched local businesses can quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
A total that is a lot lower may not be the same building [S4]. Check area, attachment and who makes the applications. Pay by card, in stages [S4].
When approval applies is explained on GOV.UK building regulations approval.
This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
Posting a job is not open yet
Builders put garages up. Electricians do the circuits. Turning a garage you already have into a room is a garage conversion. All services.
Questions about building a garage
How much does it cost to build a garage?
This page does not print a figure. A detached single garage at the back of a house and an attached double garage on the boundary are different buildings. Compare quotes that state the floor area, the roof shape, the distance to the boundary and who is applying for any permission.
When is a detached garage allowed without a planning application?
The Planning Portal says outbuildings and garages should be single storey, with eaves no higher than 2.5 metres, and an overall height of four metres for a dual-pitched roof or three metres for any other roof. Within two metres of a boundary the maximum height is 2.5 metres. They must not sit forward of the principal elevation, and with other buildings they must not cover more than half the land around the original house.
When do building regulations apply?
The Planning Portal says a detached garage under 15 square metres with no sleeping accommodation would not normally need approval. Between 15 and 30 square metres, approval is not normally needed if there is no sleeping accommodation and the garage is at least one metre from any boundary or is built substantially of non-combustible materials. A new garage attached to a home would normally need approval.
Do the same rules apply to a flat?
No. The Planning Portal says the permitted development allowances for outbuildings apply to houses and not to flats and maisonettes. A listed building's curtilage is also different: any outbuilding there will require planning permission.
Does QuoteZila check builders?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
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Related pages
- Building a house in Cheshire: the cost drivers. What changes the cost of building a house in Cheshire: the site, the specification and the permissions. No build price per square metre is printed.
- Bungalow loft: what changes the price. In Cheshire, a bungalow loft price turns on roof height, the new stair and the floor structure. No pound figure is printed. See the rules and the quote lines.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ.
- QZ5: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila home callout.
- S1: Planning permission: outbuildings, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/outbuildings/planning-permission/
- S2: Is building regulations approval needed for an outbuilding?, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/outbuildings/is-building-regulations-approval-needed-for-an-outbuilding
- S3: Building regulations: electrics, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/electrics/building-regulations-general-information/
- S4: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S5: When to register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
- S6: Preventing and resolving disputes in relation to party walls, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-resolving-disputes-in-relation-to-party-walls