Garage conversions and the Party Wall Act

Usually no notice needed

• Replacing the garage door with a wall and window at the front
• Insulating, plastering and fitting out the inside
• Garages that stand on their own, away from the boundary

Often needs notice

• A shared garage wall: raising it, cutting into it, or resting beams on it is party wall work.
• New footings for the infill wall: digging within 3 metres of the neighbour's building and below its foundations needs an excavation notice.
• Building over: adding a storey above a garage on the boundary usually means raising or thickening a shared wall, or a new wall at the boundary.
• Underpinning: weak garage foundations are sometimes underpinned before conversion.

Link-detached houses

Some houses are joined only by their garages. That shared garage wall is a party wall, even though the houses themselves stand apart.