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When Design Consultant Serena Edwards went to see this garage in Surrey, it was just the standard brick walls, concrete floor and was in need of some storage. Whilst talking to the client, Serena found out that they would like to transform it into a beautiful home gym, as well as being able to be used for storage purposes.

So Serena went to work on the Design…

With a full design created in accordance with the client’s preferences, the plan was: –

• to completely panel all three walls with our FlexiPanel
• storage accessories including shelving and hooks would be added
• install base metal cabinets in Anthracite Grey along with a workbench for DIY purposes
• lay dark grey floor tiles to create a nice new and robust floor
• the ceiling was also to be re-done with spotlights through a qualified Electrician

With the recent fuel crisis just behind us and the 2030 ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars looming, it is no wonder that there are more and more people opting for an electrical vehicle.  According to website nextgreencar.com to the end of May 2021, there were more than 600,000 plug-in vehicles on Britain’s roads with nearly 300,000 of these being pure-electric models.

And with electric cars comes the issue of charging.  So with our garage hat on we wanted to look into this in a bit more detail to determine what the options are for charging your vehicles at home and how it all works.

We asked our friends over at Carter Electrical, a family run business operating in the Thames Valley and established in 2008, for their insight into how it all works.  Jon Carter, a Director at Carters Electrical told us:

It is best to charge an electric car at home using a dedicated home charger which needs to be installed by a qualified electrician with experience in this area.

This is the safest option which also benefits from faster charging speeds and built-in safety features.  It is much like charging your mobile phone – plug it in overnight and it is ready to use the next day.

Certain electricity tariffs offer much cheaper electricity at specific periods (usually late at night) and scheduling to charge your car, either via an App or the car itself, can save you money.

How to charge an electric car at home

To charge an electric car at home you should have a home charging point installed, where you park your electric car. You can use an EVSE supply cable for a 3-pin plug socket as an occasional back up.

A home charger is a compact, weatherproof, unit that mounts to a wall with a connected charging cable or a socket for plugging in a portable charging cable.

An electric car will have either a Type 1 or Type 2 connector and you will need to choose a home charger that’s compatible with your model.

Cost of installing a dedicated home charger

A fully installed home charging point costs from £600 – with the government OZEV grant. Installation costs vary depending on how easy it is to get a supply cable from your fuse board to the charger location.  Electric car drivers benefit from a £350 OZEV grant for purchasing and installing a home charger.

Once installed, you only pay for the electricity you use to charge.  The typical electricity rate in the UK is just over 16p per kWh*, while on Economy 7 or EV tariffs typical overnight electricity rate in the UK can be as low as 5p per kWh*.

*As of April 2020 according to Energy Saving Trust.  Although it is worth mentioning that although prices are likely to rise, EV’s will still be much cheaper to run than petrol or diesel vehicles

Incorporating them into a Garageflex Installation

One thing worth mentioning in addition to the great insight from Carter Electrical, is that chargers can be placed and so used both inside the garage or on an outside wall so you just need to decide on the most appropriate place for charging to take place.

We have worked on a number of garage installations that have electric car chargers as part of the garage make-up.  And below are some examples of how they have been incorporated into the overall garage scheme.

We hope you have found this useful and informative so do let us know if you have any questions.

Complete with brick walls and a concrete floor, the owners of this typical double garage wanted to upgrade the space whilst adding in flexible storage.

Managing Director and Designer Alastair Broom went along to find out what we could do to help them with the space.

All walls were clad in our FlexiSmooth panel with areas of FlexiTrack installed to provide storage options. Metal Cabinets were installed, floor tiles laid and a new ceiling with loft hatch added.

A lovely space that is now bright and clean with storage options and a great looking floor.

This garage in Caterham, Surrey was in a pretty typical state with a concrete floor and skimmed walls but with lots of pipework and metres on show.

One of the main focus points for this renovation, as well as making it look beautiful, was to hide all the unsightly wall items.

Design Consultant, Abigail Leonard created a new space that hid the pipework with newly created cupboards.

All walls were panelled with our FlexiPanel, storage units for golf clubs, bikes and other items were added along with floor tiles to the floor.

A stunning garage renovation completed by the Garageflex team.

Click here to see the full case study and images.

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A few months ago we mentioned that we were moving to new premises shortly. Due to roof material shortages, it has been a big longer than anticipated but we are pleased to share the roof is now on!

The new premises will not only house our staff with new office space but will also feature a beautiful new showroom, we can’t wait to invite you over!

Our e-store has had a complete overhaul and we would love you to take a look.