Why the garage has to be empty first
A garage conversion starts with an empty shell. Before anyone can insulate the walls, lay a new floor or put a window where the up-and-over door used to be, every box, bike and shelf has to go. Builders work fastest in a clear space, and most expect it emptied before day one.
That's the job we do. We clear garages in Dublin and right across Leinster ahead of conversions into home offices, gyms, spare bedrooms and granny flats. We also take the things an ordinary clear-out leaves behind: the racking bolted to the wall, the old workbench, the kitchen presses that were moved out here when the kitchen was last done.
If you simply want the garage back as a garage, our main garage clear-out page is the better place to start. This page is for when the space is about to become a room.
Back to bare walls: what "everything out" means
Half-empty isn't good enough when the plasterer is coming. Here's what we take:
- All the loose contents. Boxes, bikes, tools, garden furniture, the spare fridge and everything put out here "for now".
- Shelving and racking. Freestanding units are taken apart, and shelves fixed to the wall come down too.
- Workbenches and vices. Dismantled where they were built in place, carried out whole where they weren't.
- Old presses and units. Freestanding ones go straight out. Anything plumbed in needs a plumber first.
- Hooks, pegboards and wall cupboards. Along with whatever screws come out cleanly.
- A swept floor. The builder starts on bare concrete, not on years of dust and sawdust.
Some things stay because they belong to the trades who follow us. We don't touch the fuse board, the gas meter, the boiler, pipework or wiring. If a washing machine and dryer are plumbed in and going, have them disconnected before we arrive.
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Timing it with your builder
The clearance is the first job on the schedule, so fit it around the builder's date rather than leaving it to the last weekend. A timeline that works for most people:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Two to three weeks before the start | You send photos, we send a fixed price, and you pick a date |
| The week before | You set aside what's staying, empty and defrost any freezer, and have plumbed-in machines disconnected |
| Clearance day | Everything goes, fixings included, and the floor is swept |
| A few days later | The builder arrives to an empty shell |
A gap of a few days between us and the builder gives everyone breathing room. It also stops the garage quietly filling up again, which happens more often than you'd think when the rest of the house is being reshuffled for the works.
If the start date moves, tell us and we'll move the clearance with it wherever we can.
Home office, gym, bedroom or granny flat
The kind of room you're making changes what you keep, not how thoroughly we clear.
- Home office. People often keep a filing cabinet or a desk that's been stored out here. Mark it and we'll leave it.
- Gym. If some equipment is staying, we work around it. Old exercise bikes, rowing machines and weight benches that aren't staying are taken apart and removed.
- Bedroom or granny flat. These usually mean insulation, a new floor and plastered walls, so nothing can be left propped against the walls.
- Part-utility conversions. If the washing machine and dryer are staying in a corner, we clear around them.
Whatever the plan, decide early where the things you're keeping will live during the build. The attic, a shed or a spare room all work, and we can carry them there while we're on site. If the attic is full too, an attic clear-out on the same visit solves two problems at once.
Converting your garage? Send a photo from the door, a couple from inside and the builder's start date. We'll come back with a fixed price and a clearance date that fits.
Where everything goes
We sort as we load. Bikes, tools and furniture in decent condition are set aside for reuse where possible. Metal racking, broken tools and appliances go for recycling, and fridges and freezers go for specialist appliance recycling. The rest goes to licensed waste facilities. Spotless is an authorised waste carrier (permit NWCPO-25-13287-01) and fully insured on every job.
It's tempting to fill the builder's skip with the garage contents instead. It rarely works out: skip firms often restrict fridges, mattresses and electricals, and a skip full of household contents leaves less room for the building waste it was hired for.
Garages hold more than their share of paint, chemicals and fuel, and we can't take any of them. Take them to a civic amenity site or a hazardous waste collection, and we'll clear the rest. Our garage clear-out page covers what we can't take in more detail. Older garages sometimes have roof sheets that may contain asbestos. We don't touch those; that's a job for a specialist contractor, and worth raising with your builder early.
How it's priced
A conversion clearance is priced on the same things as any clearance: how much there is, how far it is to the van, any items needing special handling, and how much dismantling is involved. Conversion jobs tend to have more of that last one, so we price it up front rather than surprise you on the day.
A photo from the door and two or three from inside are usually enough. Include the walls, so we can see what's fixed to them. If other rooms need clearing while the builders are in, see house clear-outs in Dublin, or our main house clearance page for a whole property. For one or two bulky pieces only, furniture removal may be all you need.
Before we arrive
- move the car out, if it still fits
- empty the freezer and switch it off a day or two ahead
- put a note or tape on anything that's staying
- have plumbed-in appliances disconnected if they're going
- take paint, fuel, chemicals and gas cylinders to a civic amenity site, as we can't take them
- leave the key, or the remote for an electric door, where we can find it
If you'd like to make a start on the sorting yourself, our garage clearance guide has tips. And if the shed out the back is going as part of the same project, shed clearance covers emptying it or taking it down.
