Turning a Sydney Garage into a Workshop: Lessons from Australia's Homebuilt Aircraft Pioneers
In late 1983 a Melbourne couple began building an aeroplane in their own workshop, and in April 1985 it flew. The full story is told in The Ligeti Stratos history, and it holds surprisingly practical lessons for anyone planning to turn a Sydney garage into a real working space. Charles and Helena Ligeti laminated wings, built moulds and ran an engine in a domestic setting, so their experience covers almost every problem a home workshop throws up: space, power, fumes, dust, storage and keeping the rest of the household happy.
This guide walks through a garage-to-workshop conversion in the order the work should actually happen, from council rules to the last power point.
1. Decide what the workshop is for
A workshop for furniture restoration needs a different fit-out from one for car work or composite layup. Before you buy a single sheet of plywood, write down the three largest things you will build or repair, the heaviest machine you will own and the messiest process you will run. The Ligetis started with radio-controlled models and a foot-launched glider before committing to a full-size prototype; scaling up gradually told them what their space really had to do. Plan the same way.
Typical Sydney single garages are about 3 by 6 metres; doubles are roughly 5.5 by 6. A double garage comfortably holds a bench, a table saw or drill press and an assembly area. A single garage can work, but only with wall-mounted storage and tools on mobile bases.
2. Check the council and strata rules first
In New South Wales, using a garage as a hobby workshop generally does not need approval, provided the structure is not changed and the use stays domestic. Approval questions arise when you:
- remove the garage door and replace it with a wall or window (a change to the façade);
- add plumbing, a mezzanine or a new slab;
- run a business from the space, with customers, staff or deliveries;
- install equipment that creates noise or fumes affecting neighbours.
Many small changes fall under exempt or complying development, but the rules differ between councils and between freestanding houses and strata townhouses. If you live in a strata scheme, check the by-laws: some prohibit workshops outright because of noise. A call to your council's duty planner takes ten minutes and avoids an expensive reversal later.
3. Floor: the foundation of everything
Most garage slabs are sound but dusty, oil-stained and cold. The best upgrade for the money is a two-part epoxy coating: it seals the concrete, makes spills easy to clean and brightens the room. Grind or acid-etch the slab first; coatings fail when applied over sealer or oil. If the slab has cracks that move, fix them before coating.
Anti-fatigue mats in front of the bench and main machines make long sessions far more comfortable. Avoid carpet and timber flooring in any space where you will cut, weld or use solvents.
4. Power: plan for machines, not for lights
A standard garage has one light and one or two power points on a shared circuit. A workshop needs:
- a dedicated 20-amp circuit for machines, with outlets every 1.5–2 metres along the bench wall;
- outlets at bench height (about 1.1 metres) so cords do not trail across the floor;
- a separate lighting circuit, with LED battens giving 500 lux or more over work areas;
- residual current (safety switch) protection on every circuit;
- 15-amp or three-phase supply if you plan a serious compressor, welder or dust extractor.
Electrical work in NSW must be done by a licensed electrician and comes with a certificate of compliance. Keep it: it matters at sale time and for insurance.
5. Ventilation and fume control
This is where the aircraft builders have the most to teach. The Ligetis worked with fibreglass, resins and fuel, and Scott Winton built the Facet Opal using foam sandwich and vinyl ester resins in a shared shed at Ballina (his story is in Scott Winton: 25 years since). Those materials release styrene and solvent vapours that are both unpleasant and flammable.
At minimum, a converted garage needs cross-ventilation: an exhaust fan on the wall opposite the roller door, rated for the room volume, and a way to bring fresh air in. For painting, resin or solvent work, add a dedicated extraction point at bench level and never run a fuel-burning heater in the same room. Keep solvents in a steel cabinet, away from any ignition source, and install a smoke alarm and a dry-powder extinguisher by the door.
6. Dust: the quiet health problem
Fine timber dust and sanding dust from composites are respiratory hazards. A shop vacuum with a HEPA filter connected to each machine handles most of it; a ceiling-mounted air filter running during and after work catches what escapes. Hardwood dust in particular is a recognised carcinogen, so treat dust control as seriously as fume control.
7. Layout and storage
Garage workshops fail when the car still needs to come in. Decide early whether the car stays or goes. If it stays, use the walls: French cleats or slatwall for hand tools, overhead racks for long timber, and machines on castors so they roll into the car's space when needed.
Workflow matters more than square metres. Place the bench under the best light, the saw where long stock can pass through the roller door, and the assembly area where it will not block the exit. The Ligetis needed room to build a 6-metre wing in a space meant for a family car; they did it by building in stages and storing finished components vertically.
8. Insulation, noise and the neighbours
Sydney garages are uninsulated and brutally hot in January. Insulating the ceiling and the back of the roller door, and adding a ceiling fan, makes summer work possible. Acoustic insulation in the walls and a rubber seal around the door cut noise to the house and the neighbours; councils receive more complaints about workshop noise than about anything else. Keep machine work to daytime hours and tell the neighbours what you are doing.
9. Insurance and resale
Tell your insurer that the garage is now a workshop and list major tools on the contents policy. If you later sell the house, a well-finished workshop with compliant electrical work is a selling point; an unapproved habitable conversion is not. Keep the garage door in place if at all possible, because a garage that can still be a garage keeps the widest pool of buyers.
Budget guide for Sydney (2026)
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Epoxy floor, double garage | $2,500 – $4,500 |
| Dedicated power circuit and 8–10 outlets | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| LED lighting (4–6 battens) | $600 – $1,200 |
| Exhaust fan and ducting | $500 – $1,500 |
| Ceiling insulation and fan | $1,200 – $2,500 |
| Bench, storage and dust extraction | $1,500 – $5,000 |
A thorough conversion of a double garage therefore lands between $8,000 and $18,000, well below the cost of a separate studio or shed. Charles Ligeti's aircraft company was launched from a space like this. Yours does not need to build aeroplanes, but if it is planned with the same care it will be a room you use every week instead of a storeroom with a bench in it.
See also: about Home Renovation Sydney and the archived Stratos page at Ultralight Aircraft Australia.