Wooden deck with natural knots and grains

DIY | GARDEN

Build your own decking and save £££

When we started house hunting in 2023, we’d just had our daughter and were by no means anticipating starting a huge renovation project. I think my words were ‘I’ll paint and do flooring but I don’t want to be ripping out a kitchen.’ Little did I know, after months of browsing Rightmove and scrolling straight past our house thinking ‘no way,’ we’d eventually view it and both immediately see it’s potential.

Join us as we learn new skills, rope in family and friends to help, get creative and turn this old house into our family home - on a budget!

Backyard with paved patio, grass, children's toys, wooden garden bench, shed, and fence, labeled "before."

The garage was a space that we quite quickly decided we would convert, after seeing that our next door neighbour had done so and that it was a great use of an otherwise dead space. Some of my family were dubious about the size and how it would work as a living room, as it’s quite a narrow space, but we were sure it could work. (Although halfway through the build I was anxiously thinking - is this a really stupid idea?!)

The garage floor was lower than the rest of the house so we had to create a new sub floor structure, which was then boarded.

The old garage door was boarded up and a new window installed.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest

thought that opening up the ceiling with a skylight would be a great way to add height, make the room feel bigger and add some extra light.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest

Deck construction project using Kreg 2-inch deck screws and a Kreg jig. Images show wooden deck frame and planks being installed, with tools like a drill and jig visible. Background includes a fenced yard.

intro

One of the main parts of our renovation - the garage conversion. From planning permission, uncertainty, doubting the design then finally starting the build, join us on the journey to turn this dark and disused space into the heart of our family home.

he garage was a space that we quite quickly decided we would convert, after seeing that our next door neighbour had done so and that it was a great use of an otherwise dead space. Some of my family were dubious about the size and how it would work as a living room, as it’s quite a narrow space, but we were sure it could work. (Although halfway through the build I was anxiously thinking - is this a really stupid idea?!)

The garage floor was lower than the rest of the house so we had to create a new sub floor structure, which was then boarded.

The old garage door was boarded up and a new window installed.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest

thought that opening up the ceiling with a skylight would be a great way to add height, make the room feel bigger and add some extra light.

The garage was a space that we quite quickly decided we would convert, after seeing that our next door neighbour had done so and that it was a great use of an otherwise dead space. Some of my family were dubious about the size and how it would work as a living room, as it’s quite a narrow space, but we were sure it could work. (Although halfway through the build I was anxiously thinking - is this a really stupid idea?!)

The garage floor was lower than the rest of the house so we had to create a new sub floor structure, which was then boarded.

The old garage door was boarded up and a new window installed.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest

thought that opening up the ceiling with a skylight would be a great way to add height, make the room feel bigger and add some extra light.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest

Collage of DIY garden project with leveling tool, gravel, and concrete bag

The garage was a space that we quite quickly decided we would convert, after seeing that our next door neighbour had done so and that it was a great use of an otherwise dead space. Some of my family were dubious about the size and how it would work as a living room, as it’s quite a narrow space, but we were sure it could work. (Although halfway through the build I was anxiously thinking - is this a really stupid idea?!)

The garage floor was lower than the rest of the house so we had to create a new sub floor structure, which was then boarded.

The old garage door was boarded up and a new window installed.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest

thought that opening up the ceiling with a skylight would be a great way to add height, make the room feel bigger and add some extra light.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest

Wooden deck frame with landscape fabric and scattered gravel; boards and construction materials nearby.

The garage was a space that we quite quickly decided we would convert, after seeing that our next door neighbour had done so and that it was a great use of an otherwise dead space. Some of my family were dubious about the size and how it would work as a living room, as it’s quite a narrow space, but we were sure it could work. (Although halfway through the build I was anxiously thinking - is this a really stupid idea?!)

The garage floor was lower than the rest of the house so we had to create a new sub floor structure, which was then boarded.

The old garage door was boarded up and a new window installed.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest

thought that opening up the ceiling with a skylight would be a great way to add height, make the room feel bigger and add some extra light.

We opened up the ceiling (which I was nervous about) as it’s a small room and we wanted to maximise the space where possible. We also installed a skylight as it’s a north facing room, so this added extra light and interest