By the Bouwsector België team, 97 in-house tradespeople · reviewed by Geert Jan Hendrik, director · updated
Converting a garage of about 20 m² into living space costs on average around €18,500 at typical 2026 prices. A simple conversion, where the floor, walls and roof are already in good condition, can start from about €5,500; with a lot of glazing, heavy insulation and new installations it rises to around €37,000.
The biggest items are the new façade where the garage door was, the insulation and the heating. At Bouwsector België our own contractor teams do the structural work, and our plasterers, wallpaper hangers and painters finish the new room at fixed prices per m². You will hear your exact price after a free consultation.
From garage to a proper room? Request your quote
After a free consultation you receive a plan and a quote for the conversion and the finishing, carried out by our own people
These are the typical amounts per item for a garage of about 20 m², from basic to extensive:
Item
Typical price, 20 m² garage
Garage door removed, façade with window frame and glazing installed
between €3,500 and €7,500
Insulation of floor, walls and roof, with vapour barrier
between €2,000 and €4,000
Structural work, such as a lintel or a new low wall
between €2,000 and €5,000
Floor, raised if necessary
between €1,800 and €4,500
Electrics
between €1,200 and €3,000
Heating and ventilation
between €2,000 and €6,000
Design and permit
between €1,200 and €2,500
Interior finishing
between €2,000 and €5,000
Indicative guide prices for 2026, taken from public price overviews, excluding VAT and without a bathroom or kitchen unit. For the renovation of a home over 10 years old, 6% VAT often applies, otherwise 21%. You will hear your exact price after a visit or in your quote, following the free consultation.
Keep around 10% in reserve in your budget for unforeseen work. In a garage that is often the floor: an uninsulated concrete floor usually sits lower than the floor of the house and has to be built up.
If you also want a bathroom in it, the same overviews quote €6,000 to €13,000 extra. Water and drainage then have to run from the house to the garage, and that is often the trickiest part of the conversion.
What needs to happen to turn a garage into a room?
A garage is built to keep your car dry, not to live in. The difference comes down to five steps, and we keep to this order:
Step
What happens
Why
1. Façade
The garage door comes out; a window frame with glazing and, if needed, a low wall go in
Daylight and a closed, insulated façade
2. Floor
Damp-proofing, insulating and raising to the level of the house floor
A garage floor is often lower and cold
3. Walls and roof
Insulating, usually with an internal lining wall
A garage is rarely insulated
4. Installations
Electrics, heating and ventilation
A living space has to stay warm and fresh
5. Finishing
Plaster the walls and ceiling or apply fleece wall liner (renovlies), paint, then the floor and skirting boards
Only once everything behind it is done
An insulated lining wall makes the room 10 to 15 centimetres narrower per wall, just as when you have an interior wall insulated in the rest of the house. If both long walls of a garage 3 metres wide get a lining wall, you are left with 2.70 to 2.80 metres.
Pipes and sockets go into the lining wall before it is closed. If a glued vinyl floor is going in, the new screed has to be flat enough, and that often calls for a levelling layer.
Do you need a permit to convert your garage?
That depends on what changes, on your region and on your municipality. Three things matter here:
The use. If the garage becomes a room in your own home, the use changes from storage to living. Such a change of use may require a permit, and your municipality’s planning rules may have conditions, for example if the garage counts as a parking space.
The façade. If a window frame replaces the garage door, the appearance changes. At the front of your home, municipal rules often apply.
A self-contained dwelling. If you want to turn it into a separate home, for example to let, you need an environmental permit (omgevingsvergunning in Flanders; a permis d’urbanisme in Brussels and Wallonia).
So first check with the planning department of your municipality, and consult the Omgevingsloket (the Flemish online permit portal). Even without a permit, the conversion has to comply with the applicable building regulations and the EPB (energy performance) rules.
You apply for the permit yourself; the fees differ per municipality. If you are planning more than the garage, such as removing a wall or adding a dormer, check item by item whether your renovation needs a permit.
Is an extension not better than sacrificing your garage?
An extension gives you extra space without losing the garage, but per m² it costs roughly three times as much. Anyone who has an extension built pays between €2,500 and €3,500 per m² with a standard finish.
Converting a garage of 20 m² at an average of €18,500 works out at about €925 per m².
The difference lies in what is already there. A garage already has foundations, walls and a roof, and with an extension you pay for those all over again.
On the other hand, you lose the place for your car and your storage. If the bikes and garden things are in the garage now, think beforehand about where they will go.
How do you have your garage converted by us?
For the finishing we charge the same fixed prices in a garage as in the rest of your home. An example for a garage of 20 m², with 40 m² of wall and 20 m² of ceiling. The measurements are an assumption.
Finishing
With fleece wall liner and 1 coat of paint
Plastered, primed and painted
Walls, 40 m²
€759.60
€1,679.20
Ceiling, 20 m²
€529.80
€879.60
Protective floor runner, up to 60 m² of floor
–
€199.99
Call-out fee, one-off
€99.99
€99.99
Total
€1,389.39
€2,858.78
Prices from our 2026/2027 price list, valid from 1 September 2026: fleece wall liner on walls €18.99 per m² (30 to 100 m²), on the ceiling €26.49 per m²; plastering €22.99 and €23.99 per m², priming and painting €18.99 and €19.99 per m². Prices exclude VAT.
That falls within the interior finishing item of €2,000 to €5,000 in the table at the top, and with fleece wall liner even below it. At 60 m² the job stays above 50 m², so there is no small-job surcharge.
On new plasterboard, fleece wall liner is the fastest route, because you do not wait for a plaster coat: according to Knauf, gypsum plaster needs about four weeks to dry before paint can go on.
Request a quote or call us on weekdays between 9:00 and 17:00. Send the dimensions of the garage, a photo of the garage door from outside and inside, and what you want to do with it. In a free consultation we discuss the plan, and then you receive a tailored quote.
If you agree, we take measurements and check the walls. The final price and schedule are then fixed, and we start on the day we agree together. You pay 50% on the first working day, once all materials are on site and we have started, and 50% on completion.
The structural work is done by our four in-house contractor teams of four people each, and the finishing by our 97 in-house craftspeople: 40 wallpaper hangers, 32 plasterers and 25 painters. For a renovation of the whole home we take on the complete renovation as contractor. We work throughout Belgium: Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.
Want to know what converting your garage into a room will cost?
For a garage of about 20 m², around €18,500 on average is typical, without a bathroom or kitchen unit. A simple conversion can start from about €5,500 if the floor, walls and roof are already in good condition; with a lot of glazing and new installations it rises to around €37,000. You will hear your exact price after the consultation.
Can you convert a garage into a bedroom without a permit?
That depends on your region, your municipality and what changes. The use changes from storage to living, and a window frame where the garage door was changes the façade. Check with the planning department of your municipality; for a self-contained dwelling you always need a permit.
How do you make a garage warm enough to live in?
By insulating the floor, walls and roof and adding heating and ventilation. On the inside this is usually done with a lining wall, which makes the room 10 to 15 centimetres narrower per wall. For insulation with a vapour barrier, public price overviews quote €2,000 to €4,000 for 20 m².
Can you put a bathroom in a garage?
You can, but according to public price overviews expect €6,000 to €13,000 extra. Water and drainage have to run from the house to the garage, and the drain needs a fall. We look at that in the consultation.
What does the finishing of a converted garage cost?
At Bouwsector België, a garage of 20 m² with 40 m² of wall and 20 m² of ceiling costs €1,389.39 with fleece wall liner and one coat of paint, or €2,858.78 plastered, primed and painted with a floor runner. Both amounts include the call-out fee and exclude VAT.
By the Bouwsector België team, 97 in-house tradespeople · reviewed by 
