Determined lad builds own £15k home in parents garage

A determined lad managed to build his own home in his parent's garage using YouTube videos.

Josh Jones transformed the garage space in his parents house into a stylish one-bed apartment in just eight months learning from videos posted on the online media website.

Not wanting to shell out hundreds a month for a rental, the 21-year-old used his savings, £4,000 in cash, intended for a house deposit, to instead convert the garage attached to his family's four-bed home in Tunbridge Wells, the Mirror reports.

Josh had been in the building trade since he was 16 but learned how to build his very own property with tips sourced on YouTube.

"The project cost almost £15,000 on materials and did all the work himself, which included stripping the garage roof, levelling out the floor, adding drainage, building a kitchen, and installing a bathroom and a bedroom.

After starting the venture in January 2023, this month, he finally moved in with his girlfriend and says his parents are "happy for him". Josh, a landscaper, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: "Renting is ridiculously expensive. I was living with my mum and dad and I knew renting could never be an option.

"As I was still living at home it was a no-brainer really. I learned to do it all on YouTube, as I have been in the building trade since I was 16. I knew what to do with most bits but I used YouTube for anything I didn't know about."

In December 2022, Josh approached his mum and dad with the idea to transform their garage into a small home. He says to start with his parents weren't into the idea but Josh was able to win them around.

He said: "Initially, they were not on board. I kept going on and on about it. The garage was full of c**p from over the years and I think dad realised that it was a serious situation when I started to take stuff out of the garage."

The builder started stripping it of all the items and fixing the roof. From there he levelled the garage floor, added drain work and damp-proofed the structure.

He explained: "I had to completely strip the garage roof, repair it and then insulate it. I levelled out the garage floor, we damp-proofed it and added drainage. I added walls, a kitchen, bathroom and living room."

Josh admitted that the hardest part of the project was the drainage. He explained: "We had to dig a six-foot deep hole and I dug too far down and broke a pipe that I didn't need to so I had to replace that. The most challenging part of the project was the drainage - it is very complicated."

Josh revealed his favourite part of the build was putting in his kitchen. He said: "I love my kitchen, it was second-hand from Facebook Marketplace and so cheap - costing £500. The most exciting part of the build was when I put in the window and doors.

"It felt like I was getting somewhere." Josh said he will be in the property for the next 10 years due to the state of the rental market. He said: "Renting is ridiculously expensive and never an option for me as I didn't want to be paying someone else's mortgage.

"I can see myself living here for the next 10 years - I don't see why not. When I told my friends what I was doing, they were gobsmacked - they are super impressed." After the success of his garage renovation, Josh is now wanting to go into business with his brother and dad to do garage conversions and development.

Breakdown of spend

Architect fees and building control - £850

Raising garage roof - £1150

Drainage - £450

Door, window, timber and brickwork- £470

Stud Wall - £240

Plumbing - £750

Roof repair - £500

Plasterboards - £650

Electrics - £3750

Bathroom - £570

Kitchen - £500

Flooring - £520

Decorating - £700

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