Garage facelift

You would probably ask yourself why do you need a facelift for
your garage. It is only a garage! But what if you have a
two or more cars garage? The garage doors take up a
significant portion of the front of the house. What is the use in
having a great design for your house but having only generic
garage doors?

Nowadays the garage door trends are to incorporate the doors
into the design of the house. For example you could choose
carriage-style doors(look like they open like old-fashioned
doors in carriage houses, but they open like normal garage
doors) or you could choose wood carriage doors. These wood
carriage doors are reminiscences of the horse-drawn carriage days
and they are very popular. You don’t need to go as far as to
order custom made garage doors because you can find more
appealing garage doors at most home improvement stores.

In addition to the doors, the floor of a garage gives style and can
integrate to the overall aesthetics of your house. You could try
interlocking garage floor tiles that come in multiple colors and
patterns. They are made of polypropylene and are easy to
install and clean. Another interesting and practical flooring is the
coin shaped G-flooring.

Garage materialism is growing

Ever since the first suburbs were built, the garage
became a measure of the financial prosperity of a
family. At first there was one, then two, but now four
garages are becoming the newest form of decadence in
home building. A real estate agent would say that
people have a log of gear and items these days so there
is a huge demand for a place to store them. These
garages, in some instances, may be larger than many apartments,
housing more cars than ever. The third and maybe
fourth family car is a necessity for families where kids
stay home longer and the restrictions on street parking
are one of the factors that point towards building larger
garages.

Moreover, every man has his love for the “toys”
such as boats, jet skis, motorcycles, bikes, power tools
and workbenches and these “toys” need storage. A
look into a three or four car garage may reveal tools,
bikes, sporting gear, a workshop and a 25-foot boat.
This visual degradation of the suburban landscape is an
aspect of materialism that won’t stop turning any time
soon.

Not everybody likes this trend. Some home builders
spend the extra time and money on architectural plans
that can split these huge expanses of square footage into
opposite sides of the house. A problem that appears
here is the problem of the house’s design after this
transformation. The most aesthetical are the back-
loading garages but they require the use of the backyard
space for turning radiuses. Side-loading garages need
wider home sites but can make the front of the house
look enormous. With the current rising costs for
land, in many areas this is not feasible in the long run.
This is a sign of a mega-materialism, that is: if one is
good five is better so more and more people understand
only one thing: that a garage is not good unless it is as
big as a basketball court.

When will it stop?
Are we going to have the house attached to a garage ten
times bigger than the house? Maybe it would be better
for everyone to think twice before making such a commitment
when buying a house attached to the garage. Maybe it
would be better if people would care about the simpler
and more basic things in life than owning a four car
garage.

Garage floor remodeling

The garage is a very important part of your house. It is not only
the room where you keep your car but it can be used also as a
storeroom. In the garage you keep things that you do not use
everyday or things that you want to dispose of later on. Sporting
equipment is usually stored in your garage. Also, a lot of
people use the garage as a laundry, a workshop or even as a
home office. The growing importance of the garage has increased
the number of remodeled garages through the past years. Garages
are becoming an integral part of the house.

One of the things that need to be changed when planning
to remodel your garage is the floor. Concrete floors serve the
purpose of flooring but do not look good, even if you paint it,
the floor will look bare. It is best to have a garage expert
adviser to do the job. The best type of garage floor is made of
specially formulated polyvinyl, this special material for
flooring conceals cracks and protects the floor from getting
stained. This flooring protects the floor from accidental spills: oil,
battery acid, grease and any other dirt that gets into your garage.
By making a few minor changes to your garage you can transform
it into an attractive storage room.

Garage flat roof

Whether you have an old garage or if you construct a new one you
should take into consideration the quality and the type of roof that
you choose for your garage. You might encounter problems with a
home inspector if you don’t have an adequate roof for your garage.
He may cite your garage. And of course you want to make sure you have
a stable and reliable roof that can face a massive rainfall.

A flat roof with sagged joists allows rainwater to pool at the center,
rather than draining toward the roof edges. This is a common
problem and it affects nearly all the so-called flat roofs. Having an
insufficient roof slope promotes standing pools of rainwater and
this increases the likelihood of leakage as the roof becomes older.

Roof drains should be installed at each low point of the roof. Since
the roof joists have sagged it seems that they were not designed to
support accumulated water. Therefore if you can add drains at the
lower points of the roof it could prolong the life of your roof.

Garage doors

There are four basic types of garage doors and three types of
materials commonly used to construct these doors.

If a traditional look is desired for the garage, then the side
hung garage door is the usual solution. Side-hung doors can
be fitted directly on a wood frame or on bricks.

Another type of garage door is the sectional garage door.
These doors are perfect where the space in front of the garage
is limited because they open vertically. They are perfect
for a new garage that is intended to have an aesthetic appeal.

Similar to sectional garage doors are the roller doors. The
door rolls up inside a drum above the opening of the garage
door. Also there is no need to allow any room inside or out to
operate the door so it would be well suited for limited space
in front of the garage.

The last type of door is the most common one, up and over
garage door. This is the most popular type. They can be
manufactured from timber, steel and GPR materials. They
can also be manual or automatic and they are relatively easy
to install.

Gadgets for your garage

If you spend a lot of your time at home in your garage or if
you want a clean and organized garage you need a few
gadgets. Garage gadgets come in many forms and for different
purposes.

For example a stop light for parking may come in handy for
someone who has a problem with depth perception or for
someone who comes home late from work and is very tired. If you
have such problems, you need this tool. It is easy to install
and use and it helps you to park the car in the same spot
every time when the motion sensors are triggered.

If you need space on the walls next to the door, you can
mount a garage door opener on the ceiling above the door
to eliminate chains.

Bike storage is ideal in a garage for “hanging” your bike on a
wall so you have easy access to it with the advantage of having
more clear space in the garage.

If you have a lot more items in your garage than you really have
Room for or the walls are full of shelves and cabinets, you
definitely need additional storage devices like an overhead
storage system mounted directly on the ceiling.

Five steps to a clean garage workshop

You park your car in the driveway and you still have to work on your
projects in the back yard. If you don’t use your garage for
its designed purpose, why not turn it into a tidy workshop?
Here are five steps to turn your garage in a perfect small home
workshop:

1) Create your own workbench from an old door,s ome
sawhorses or scrap wood.

2) Mount a pegboard on the wall to store your tools. It would be
a great idea to mount it above your workbench. Strategically
place pegs according to the type of tools you will be placing on
the board. After hanging your tools, trace around them with a
marker so you will know where each one goes.

3) Use old jars for holding nails, nuts, bolts and screws.

4) Make a storage box for the rags because they tend to accumulate
in the working area.

5) Use a small tackle box for transporting items such as screws and
nails as you move around the shop.

A garage addition

Does our older child need a little more liberty? Your work from home or
maybe you just feel that you need another room for a special project
that you want to start? Then the solution is to construct a
new addition to your garage.

By making an addition to your garage you can add to the living space in
your house, no matter what type of garage you own: detached or
attached to the house. The space above the garage can be converted into
a private living space for your older child, guests or a live-in parent.
You can convert your garage into your home office. You could very well
find here the peace and quiet needed for your work. Also, the new addition
can be converted into a music studio if you put some simple sound
proofing measures into place.

In order to start planning for your garage addition, first prepare
a budget and then hire a professional because this is a complex
project. Also, you may need to hire an architect to help you with
the construction plans.