Rick Scully, Author at Garage Tailors

Overhead Storage is Our New Year’s Resolution Friend

January 7, 2018 by Rick Scully

Each year, we wrap up the Christmas or Midwinter celebration with new festive decorations to our already extensive collection of decorations. They may be dishes, candelabras, stockings, outdoor lighting and much more. Once we’ve cleaned up from the extended family gathering, we realize that we’d like our living space to be less cluttered when we start the New Year.

At this time of year, we’re enjoying the beautiful winter wonderland as well. We’re enjoying having our kids and our own inner kids enjoy the snow of white slopes on snowboards, skis or even toboggans. Maybe, you’ve decided to break out the skates to enjoy the many outdoor ice rinks or surfaces around the city. Winter and the activities of the season get us hauling out all sorts of toys, decorative items as well as sports equipment.

Finding a way to organize the things we need to prepare for winter and all the great activities we enjoy, celebrate or do to adapt to the winter season can be daunting. A made-to-measure overhead garage storage system or garage renovation to create the space needed for these types of items is a great way to start off the New Year!

Why Consider Overhead Storage?

Eventually, our family lifestyles become so dynamic that it’s difficult to find a place to store everything. That’s when we encourage people to consider using the space overhead. A lot of the space overhead in the garage may often remain underutilized. If the height of the garage is 10 feet or higher, it’s a good idea to consider overhead storage systems.

Overhead platform storage may need a little more effort to use. People only want to access overhead storage from time to time since it may take a ladder, a set of stairs or a couple of people to store and organize the overhead space. That’s why overhead platform storage is ideal for seasonal storage where items are moved into the overhead space or out of the overhead space once or twice a year.

Overhead storage is out of the way so when we’re not using items for long periods of time, this type of storage works well. Platforms are also a form of open storage where we can see exactly what’s up there. When we’ve forgotten or we need to remember what we’ve got, an open platform storage system helps us find things easily.

What to Store in Overhead Storage Platforms

Seasonal items may include outdoor patio furniture or outdoor decorations. From lawn ornaments, outdoor patio lighting, BBQ or firepit accessories, there are a lot of warm weather outdoor items that get stored indoors for the winter. It may also include gardening tools and bags of soil, seeds or fertilizer. In the winter, it may be snow removal equipment, salt, sand, cat litter, antifreeze and other handy winter survival items.

When it comes to enjoying the lifestyle of the seasons, it’s sports equipment and toys applicable to specific seasons. Some of these sports may include hockey or snowboarding / skiing in the winter and cycling, wake boarding, kayaking and more in the summer. There are other storage systems ideal for keeping the sports equipment and toys easily accessible during the season but when it’s the off season, overhead can be a good place for keeping them out of the way.

Whether we celebrate Christmas, Winter Solstice or other seasonal festivities, we all seem to need a few decorations to honour the activities and rituals of the festival. These items are also used rarely so it’s handy to store them above where they remain safe from damage for the rest of the year.

Overhead Storage Platform Choices

There are a wide variety of overhead platform storage systems. Most of them are typically shelving units or platforms where we just place the items on top. This means, that our choice of shelf or platform can’t be too deep. After all, if our arms can’t reach far enough back to grab our stored items, it won’t be possible to retrieve items from their location. Some of the platforms have a 4×8 base platform. This means, it was intended to be mounted in the middle of the ceiling where it would be possible to place a ladder on any of the four sides of the platform to reach items from any of the four sides. This means that this type of option requires enough space on all four sides for a ladder and space for the item to leave the storage platform.

There are also shelves that are mounted against the walls of the garage. Typically, shelves are not more than a couple of feet deep so that anyone in the family can reach to the back and still access belongings that they want to retrieve from storage. This also makes it easy to take a visual inventory of where things are stored when standing in the middle of the garage.

All storage platforms are secured either from the top via the ceiling or from the bottom via supporting beams to the garage floor. When storage platforms are secured properly, they can easily hold a few hundred pounds worth of your belongings.

Whether you purchase the pre-manufactured metal platforms, build a wooden one yourself or have one of our garage renovation specialists build a made-to-measure overhead storage platform system as part of an overall garage design. Securing the platform is most important to assure there is no damage to the belongings, family members walking through the garage or the vehicles parked in the areas beside or below the platform storage.

Finished Platforms for a Finished Garage Design Look

Finally, making a choice of platform may depend on how finished a garage design may be desired. A barebones garage may be well suited to a pre-manufactured platform or a DYI platform made of wood beams.

On the other hand, you can get an overhead platform capable of holding several hundred pounds per square foot with a finished made-to-measure storage platform with a drywall finish, an under mount LED lighting system and minimal overhead structure from one of our garage renovation specialists. Contact us for a free in-home consultation to discuss your options.

Connect with Nature and Winter Solstice

December 12, 2017 by Rick Scully

The Winter Solstice marks the day with the shortest amount of daylight and the longest night of the year on December 21st. After the Winter Solstice, the days get longer and the nights get shorter. People from around the world recognize and celebrate this day with light and fire. Sounds a lot like what we do for Christmas and how we decorate our homes and garages with lights and lit ornaments.

Many people from around the world celebrate the mid-winter time of year whether from the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.

A Variety of Celebrations for Winter Solstice

Soyal – Zuni & Hopi Indians of Northern Arizona

The focus of the Soyal ceremony celebrated by the Zuni and Hopi Indians is meant to bring back the sun after the long dark winter. A prayer stick called the Paphos is used to bless the community including homes, animals and plants. The ceremonies represent purification with dancing and gift giving including Kachina dolls representing the spirits of the caves within the mountains.

Yalda Night – Persian Celebration for Winter Solstice

The Yalda Night is a celebration of December 21^st by the Persians marked by family gatherings where people eat, drink and read poetry. Fruits and nuts are savoured especially red ones such as pomegranate and watermelon because the colour symbolizes the light of dawn and the glow of life.

The Yalda Night represents the longest night and the initial night representing the forty days of the three month winter after this night.

Inti Raymi – Peruvian Celebration of the Sun

The Inti Raymi is a celebration of Peru’s Midwinter which begins June 21^st and gets celebrated on June 24^th because the Inca believed that the sun stayed in the same place for 4 days. Peru is in the Southern Hemisphere where winter is the opposite season from our celebrations here so instead of a December celebration of Winter Solstice, they have their midwinter in June.

The Sun God was revered by the Incas which is where the celebration originated and today, the Peruvians continue its tradition.

Saturnalia – Ancient Roman Celebration Most Closely Linked to Christmas

The Saturnalia is an ancient Roman Celebration which is most closely linked to our modern day Christmas celebrations. Saturnalia was initially celebrated on December 17, 2017 but then extended to seven days ending on December 24, 2017. It was liveliest celebration of the year where people filled the streets with Mardi Gras-like celebrations while all work and business is suspended. Also, social norms and moral restrictions are lifted.

There was gift giving to children and the poor. Especially, gifts of light or “phos” such as candles were commonly given. Then, on Roman New Years (January 1^st), people decorated their homes with lights and greenery.

It’s easy to see how these traditions are closely linked to how we celebrate Christmas today.

Midwinter in Antartica

When we’re celebrating long days here in the Northern Hemisphere, the researchers who inhabit the Antartica are living through long dark periods. They celebrate with special meals, films and even handmade gifts.

St. Lucia’s Day – Scandinavian Festival of Lights

St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated in Sweden, Norway and parts of Finland on December 13^th honouring St. Lucia who brought food to poor Christians. The day marks the beginning of Christmas. It is a celebration to bring light and hope to the last dark days of winter. Food is shared and served.

In earlier times, the Norse celebrated the winter solstice with large bonfires to ward away evil spirits and to alter the path of the sun. St. Lucia was incorporated after the Scandinavians converted to Christianity around the year 1000.

Dong Zhi – China’s Arrival of Winter Festival

This is translated as “the extreme of winter” where the nights are longest around December 22^nd. It is to celebrate the return of longer days, more light and therefore, greater positive energy as part of the yin yang of dark and light.

As part of the festivities, families gather together to have a lavish meal especially to nourish the body and soul to prevent frostbite and other ailments of the cold winter. Foods such as Tang Yuan or rice balls and dumplings filled with lamb or other meats are eaten.

How We Can Celebrate Winter Solstice

Here are some of the ways that people celebrate the season which were born out of the Winter Solstice:

Decorate the house with evergreen wreaths & boughs, mistletoe, holly, and ivy
Harvest a sustainable tree and reflect on good will, renewal and blessings of joy
Use lights and candles to represent the sun and celebrate the new solar year after the longest nights of the year
Burn a log in a fireplace, bonfire or just candles
Listen to festive music and read festive poetry
Share the celebration with others by gathering together or hosting a party

Winter Solstice in Our Neighbourhood

Each year, Kensington Market in Toronto has a Winter Solstice celebration. Every year, there is an exceptional show of Fire Breathers, spinners and other performers lighting the night sky. Handmade lanterns, giant puppets, stilted dancers and eclectic music are all part of a lively night of cheer and festivities to bring in the start of longer days and more light.

In our own neighbourhoods, we can host our own special celebration by running our Christmas lights and playing festive music. Open up the garage for neighbours to gather and enjoy a hot cider or hot chocolate. Have a small adobe or enclosed fire pit out front on the driveway or front lawn so people can warm themselves around a source of light traditionally used to celebrate the Winter Solstice.

And, if your garage is not organized enough to host a small neighbourhood gathering, our garage renovation specialists are always here to help you make the upcoming year’s festivities a reality.

Get Inspired to Decorate the Garage for Christmas with More than Just Lights

November 28, 2017 by Rick Scully

We’ve all seen the extraordinary Christmas light shows on people’s houses during the month of December. We may have even driven around neighbourhoods at night looking for these fabulous labours of love with choreography and even music synchronized to match. If you haven’t seen some of these amazing homes, here are one or two below that will definitely amaze anyone with their talent and creativity.

With the cost of electricity in Ontario having increased significantly not to mention our own lack of talent or time to complete such a magnificent light show project, we may be looking at other ways to contribute in the festivities. Being festive with your garage door doesn’t require extensive work. It can just as easily be simple and elegant.

Preparing for Decorating the Home Exterior and Garage Door

Of course, the first rule of thumb is to make sure the vehicle is not in the driveway taking away from the design. So, if you haven’t already decluttered your garage so you can park your vehicle inside your garage, it’s time to do that and possibly get a garage renovation completed so it’s possible store all your items off the garage floor where the vehicles can get maximum space for parking safely.

Next, with some of the décor made specifically for the garage door, you may want to consider giving the garage door a wash before the cold weather sets in. This will leave a beautiful palette with which to work your decorations and design.

Great Christmas Decorating Beyond Lights

One of the great traditions of Christmas is the garland. Hang them so they outline and frame your garage door, the front porch or the door way. Add some accessories to dress them up to give them either a traditional look or a more modern look while matching the colours of the house.

Then, there are garage door covers. They get clipped to the front of the garage door. The designs are made for up and over garage doors which is the majority of garage doors. They won’t affect the operation of the garage door. Assure your vehicle is parked inside the garage and the whole neighbourhood will be able to enjoy your choice of Christmas scene.

While not for the garage door, Christmas lawn decorations or roof decorations can be mounted along the edge of the driveway or over the garage.

Replace old Christmas Lights with LED lights

While we may not like the increased fees related to our electricity bills, we can do something about it. We can swap out or replace all our incandescent light bulbs for LED lightbulbs. One of the reasons includes the fact that they are highly energy efficient. Incandescent light bulbs use electricity to zap a filament in order to create light while LED lightbulbs excite diodes to create light. Of the two methods, the LED lightbulbs use up to 90% less electricity than the traditional incandescent bulb. So, saving energy is the best way to keep lighting up the night during the Christmas season.

In addition to the significant energy savings of LED lightbulbs, they also last tens of thousands of hours. From 10,000 hours to 25, 000 hours or even more are some of the service life ratings you’ll find on the shelves this Christmas. For the investment, the LED lightbulbs outweigh the old incandescent bulbs handily.

LED lightbulbs are easy to work with as decorative items. Since they use so little electricity to create light, they also generate low levels of heat too. This means that we can grab the bulb without burning our fingers or melting other Christmas decorations. On the other hand, if you remember incandescent bulbs, you’ll remember they ran very hot and would melt the décor that they touched including trees and other plastic items.

If getting true colours in your light display is important to you then you’ll want to compare LED to incandescent technologies. Incandescent light bulbs only generate one colour which is white. The bulb gets painted to generate any sort of colour so when the paint melts off or gets chipped off, we get multi-coloured bulbs. On the other hand, the diodes of LED lightbulbs can actually generate true blues and other colours. The bulb itself is never painted or coloured in order to create a colour. LED lightbulbs can therefore generate the most true and brilliant colours possible. Even if you’re not a stickler for design, you’ll appreciate the brilliance of LED coloured lights compared to the traditional painted bulbs of incandescent lights.

Lastly, the LED lightbulb has been exploding in popularity so you can easily find these lights where replacement incandescent lights are almost impossible to find these days. The choice is easy. Go green and red as well as a variety of other colours with LED lightbulbs this Christmas.

Christmas Decoration Storage

Finally, if you haven’t carved out a space to store your seasonal decorations, then make sure you include that with any garage renovation that you’re planning. The ideal space for storing seasonal items is up high in the overhead platform or storage areas of the garage since they don’t need to be accessed but once a year. Since they are only accessed once a year, it’s better to leave storage space within easy reach for items we’ll use regularly such as tools, sports equipment, automotive accessories and more.

While some hints and tips is all we can do to help with your Christmas design and décor, we can do much more when a garage renovation is what you need to be effective and organized. Get a complimentary in-home consultation if an improved way to get the most out of your garage storage is what you need.

Winter vs All Weather Tires – Garage Storage

November 6, 2017 by Rick Scully

With fall under way and summer safely behind us, we start to wonder what kind of winter is ahead for us and how to prepare. Of course, when it comes to our home, it’s better to be safe than sorry. And, when it comes to our vehicles this is even more true in order to protect ourselves as well as our little ones.

When winter is really cold with a lot of snow, we have driving challenges in winter. When winter is milder with temperatures fluctuating just above 0°C or just below 0°C, we have a lot of slippery and icy driving challenges throughout winter. Regardless, it’s always a good idea to get tires to suit the winters here in Southern Ontario.

Storing Tires in the Garage

There are a variety of ways to store tires in the garage. The main goal of tire storage is not to leave the tires on the garage floor where it uses up valuable space for the vehicle or both vehicles to be able to park inside the garage.

The best way to store the tires that we’re not using on our vehicles is to have them kept up and off the floor of the garage. Overhead platforms of a variety of heights make a lot of sense. When installed properly, overhead platforms can carry up to 600 – 800lbs of whatever you want to have something tucked up and away in the storage space within your garage.

The second option is to mount a tire rack to the wall of the garage. Specifically designed for tire storage, these racks can be mounted at a variety of heights depending on your available space and height requirements. It’s a great way to ensure your investment in winter and all season tires are protected.

Winter Tires

Winter Tire Treads

Since the advent of all season tires, winter tires have become an overlooked necessity to vehicle ownership throughout Canada. In some provinces, it is law for us to have winter tires on our vehicles. In Ontario, you can get a discount on your car insurance if you use winter tires.

Depending on where you live around the GTA or Toronto, you may not experience a lot of snow. In addition, people mistakenly believe that winter tires are “snow” tires. They are actually meant for the change in temperature. In fact, that change in temperature which warrants the consideration for winter tires starts at 7°C where the typical All Season tire starts to lose it’s ability to grip the road. So, by 0°C, it’s very important that we’re using winter tires.

In Quebec, where winter tires are the law, they found that the 10% who didn’t apply winter tires were involved in 38% of the most severe vehicle accidents. It makes a difference to drive with winter tires.

All Weather Tires

These days there is a new category of tires called All Weather tires. These tires will work well under wet, slushy and snowy conditions. They work well above 7°C where winter tire rubber starts to wear down extremely quickly and loses its ability to grip the road as the temperature rises.

The All Weather tires are made with rubber designed to stay flexible whether the temperature is above 7°C or below 7°C. And, the tread is designed to push water and slush away out the sides of the tread pattern channels. On the other hand, the winter tires were designed with rubber that stays soft even in colder weather below 7°C which is why it works so well on snow and ice. And, this is the same reason it is not safe to drive on winter tires over the summer where it will easily melt on the hot asphalt and lose its integrity to grip the road.

All Weather tires are closer to a 4 season tire for those of us who live in areas of Ontario where we may experience a somewhat mild winter. For real winters like those experienced throughout Quebec and areas of Central and Northern Ontario, people who use winter tires will have a safer drive avoiding the stress and the potential of a severe accident.

All Season Tires are Really Tires for 3 Seasons

All Season Tire Treads

Finally, the All Season In All Season tires is a bit of a misnomer. With its ability to handle well in temperatures above 7°C, it doesn’t remain flexible enough below 7°C to grip the road. And, the tread design doesn’t lend itself to pushing slush and snow out to the side from the channels.

So, the All Season tire is great for 3 of the seasons in Ontario but not winter temperatures or the weather typical of winter including slush, ice or snow.

Tire Storage for Good Tire Habits

For peace of mind and safety, the winter tire is your best bet. When you do this, you can save on your vehicle insurance and with a garage storage solution, you can save on storage costs annually.

To find out how you can manage both, contact us for a free in-home consultation.

The Spooky Garage for a Happy Halloween

October 17, 2017 by Rick Scully

It’s October and we all know it’s the month for Halloween. Our kids are busy planning out costumes. We’re busy locating treats at the supermarket to hand out at the front door. Then, digging out our scariest Halloween tricks to decorate the yard and front door for when other kids arrive. We change up our work schedules so we can leave the house early and have the kids go out before it gets too dark.

Not a lot of people are thinking about garage renovation at this time of year but there are some people who are decorating their garage interiors as well as exteriors to enjoy the merriment of Halloween. Here are some ways that we can make the most of the garage, the garage door and the storage renovations inside to create a fun or spooky Halloween experience for the neighbourhood kids.

Garage Door Halloween Cover

Sometimes, we’re the ones on the street who are just not that creative nor imaginative nor have a lot of time. If you enjoy Halloween or getting into the spirit of the neighbourhood, don’t let this stop you. By decorating our house or garage, we can add to the ambience and festivities of any holiday including Halloween.

So, here’s a great solution for even the most non-creative amongst us. These are Halloween garage door covers and with a little bit of lighting for effect, we can capture the spooky spirit of Halloween with the best of our neighbours.

Take a look at a few of these examples.

Create a Spooky or Not So Spooky Scene

Next, let’s get a little inspiration from some our neighbours from around the country and abroad. So, here’s a sampling of some great ways to decorate the front of the garage door. From a festive harvest theme to celebrate the season including Halloween to an animated monster mouth garage door sure to fascinate the imagination of young trick or treaters walking up the driveway for the first time.

Leverage the garage door for the motion to create the monster’s mouth. Or, just use the garage door as a backdrop to light a silhouetted theme in front. If you’ve got a little less time, create a giant spider web on the outside of the garage along with dangling spiders, bats and creepy crawlies.

Here are some imaginative custom garage designs that are sure to make you a fan favourite amongst young trick or treaters all along your street.

Use Lighting to Add Effects

Remember to add coloured lighting for effect. It can make a simple silhouetted theme come to life. And, as the night wears on, your Halloween decorations will continue to glow and entertain the entire neighbourhood.

Use anything from the sconces along the garage doorway to flood lights to smaller LED lights to add effect.

Create a Drive-way Theatre

If you’ve got a light coloured garage door or you hang a large painter’s drop cloth in front of the garage door, the drive way can become a fun place for the kids to gather after trick or treating to watch Halloween favourites.

To entertain the younger kids earlier on in the evening, try movies such as It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown or The Addams Family or Hotel Transylvania or Disney’s Hocus Pocus. Keep it family friendly and the whole neighbourhood will soon be enjoy a night at the movies with you and your family in your driveway.

Even if you are not a techie and you don’t own a projector, you can make your own movie projector with a smartphone and a shoebox. Check out these instructions on YouTube to create your own homemade projector as a project with your kids leading up to the big night. Add little bags of popcorn for each of the little ones and really boost the neighbourhood spirit for Halloween this year.

A Garage Renovation of the Spooky Halloween Kind

If Halloween is a cooler night this year, we can open up our garage to add a little protection from the weather. In addition, we can use our garage renovations to enhance the overall Halloween experience. For instance, get creative with the overhead Thule or bike lifts. By attaching ghosts and goblins to the lifts, you transform a motionless ghoul hanging from above into a floating ghost travelling through the air. Then, add a strong fan, a black backdrop and some lighting to make it even more convincing.

In addition, there’s always the numerous slatwall organization hooks to attach spiders, bats, webs, ghouls and other popular Halloween figures for completing the full spooky effect. Use the rakes, pitch forks and other tools hung up to add some realism to the gory Halloween figures. Your garage renovation design is the jumping off point to another year of fun this October 31^st if you add a touch of imagination and a little creativity.

Have a Boo-tiful Halloween Night!!

Prepare Your Vehicle for Fall & Winter

October 3, 2017 by Rick Scully

This year, the temperatures and the weather has been a little unpredictable. And, while the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a mild winter in Canada, it still remains to be seen if we’ll see this type of winter.

Either way, it’s always a good idea to get the car prepared to remain reliable regardless of what we experience during the upcoming months. Let’s start by looking at the garage renovation or lack thereof.

Park Your Vehicle Inside the Garage

When preparing your vehicle for winter, one of the top things you can do is ensure that it gets parked inside your garage. Not only are vehicles which are parked inside the garage safer from theft and vandalism but they are protected from the elements.

Vehicles which are parked inside the garage start easier in the morning because it’s always a few degrees warmer inside the garage than outside on a cold winter morning. When the vehicle starts warmer, we keep the components of our vehicles in better working condition. It’s also why we take our time to warm up the vehicle before we start driving the vehicle.

We won’t face frozen door locks. The elements don’t wear down the vehicle’s coating or paint. Stray baseballs from neighbourhood kids playing on the streets don’t find their way to dinging the vehicle in some way and so much more.

However, you may be looking at your garage and wondering how you might be able to accomplish parking one vehicle inside much less two vehicles. Or, you might already be able to park one vehicle inside but not the second vehicle. In this case, it’s important to get a properly designed garage storage system to maximize wall storage and overhead storage options while getting your belongings off the garage floor. Start by de-cluttering so that you can reach your end goal of having the vehicles parked inside where they belong.

Prepare Your Vehicle for Winter

To ensure your vehicle works every morning this winter, check the battery and the electrical system to ensure your vehicle will start every time. In addition, stock some gas line anti-freeze which assures a free flow of gasoline to the engine which will also ensure your vehicle starts on a very cold wet day.

When it comes to fluids in your car, top up or change out fluids to ensure they provide maximum efficiency whether it’s your transmission fluid, brake fluid, windshield anti-freeze or an engine oil change. And, if you park your car outdoors during the day, lubricate your door locks before the cold weather sets in and carry some lock de-icer.

Check your windshield wipers and change them out for heavier duty wiper blades which can handle the heavier slushy precipitation which typically lands on the windshield during fall, winter and early spring.

Ensure the tires are appropriately inflated for the best tire performance and decreased stopping distances during treacherous weather. Of course, it’s best to ensure that the proper tires are on the vehicle for cold weather. Cold temperatures are considered 7°C or below. If you’re unsure of the correct tire pressure to inflate tires, either follow your manufacturer’s recommendations or consider these environmental factors when checking the PSI of the tires.

Ensure You have an Adequate Car Emergency Kit

If you don’t have an emergency kit for your car or the supplies are running low, it never hurts to review your emergency kit to make sure it’s complete and everything is in good working order.

Use this list to complete the inspection of your vehicle’s emergency kit:

A blanket or sleeping bag for warmth if you’re stuck on the road for a few hours
An extra USB cable to keep your cell phone charged
Snow boots, extra warm gloves and a heavy coat for working outside when stuck
Thermal underwear to stay warm longer
Non-perishable food and water for hunger.
Jumper cables to give or receive a battery boost with another car
Carry a first aid kit to look after minor cuts and bruises
A small toolkit and rope for minor jams
Flash light with extra batteries
Flares to signal for help
Candles and matches for a little extra warmth and light
Shovel and extra floor mats to get your car unstuck from a snow pile or mud
A roadside assistance program to help you get going or a tow

A Garage Renovation to Get Your Vehicle Parked in the Garage

At home, the best way to avoid most of the challenges of cold or poor weather is to get the vehicles parked inside the garage. Call a garage renovation specialist to create a garage organization system where your vehicle will have the space to park inside the garage this winter.

Fall Gardening Prepares Our Yards for Spring

September 20, 2017 by Rick Scully

Even in late summer or early fall, avid gardeners are still keen on having slatwall organization systems installed in a typical garage renovation because they understand the value of fall gardening and the need to access garden tools well into November in the GTA. In fact, slatwall storage with its wide array of Camlock hooks, baskets and shelves make for the ideal way to make tools readily accessible and easy to swap out when the seasons demand it.

Taking our hint from Mother Nature, we see that she has many of its trees, shrubs and perennials shed leaves and drop seeds in the fall in order to facilitate a successful spring growth. Following the natural life cycle of these plants, fall gardeners will do several things throughout the fall months of September, October and November to ensure the best results in the following year.

Keep those Garden Tools on Your Slatwall Hooks

Fall is one of the best times to prepare the garden for the best results in spring. In fact, far greater success in the growing season comes from the things we do to prepare the yard during the fall. So, the question is what to do and what will we need to do a good job of preparing the yard and garden.

So, keep your tools on the garage wall organization system or if you don’t have one, then consult with one of our garage renovation specialists. Having a slatwall organization system allows people to adopt a strategy of swapping out tools between the seasons to maximize garage space. In this case, you might want to hang onto the garden tools just a little longer and wait a little longer to swap them out for snow removal type tools.

Fall is a Time to Seed the Garden

So, nature’s natural cycles means that many shrubs, trees and perennials drop seeds during the fall to incubate throughout the winter to develop into seedlings with the more welcoming spring conditions. Taking our hint from nature, here’s what we should consider seeding this fall:

Daylily, Hemerocallis spp.
Hosta, Hosta spp.
Daisy, Leucanthemum spp.
Lily, Lilium cvs.
Crabapple, Malus spp.
Peony and others, Paeonia lactiflora
Spruce, Picea spp.
Pine, Pinus spp.
Hawthorn, Crataegus spp.
Pinks, Dianthus spp.
Ash, Fraxinus spp.

So, spend some time planning your next garden starting this fall instead of waiting until spring. Prepare a list of plants you would like to see in the yard. Then, choose seeds which benefit from a fall planting.

Prepare your Fall Garden by Planting Seeds and Bulbs

Start this in September so there is time for seeds and bulbs for flowers which blossom in spring. Do it early to allow them to take hold before the frosts in November. Then they’ll be prepared to weather the winter and provide great blossoms and spring growth.

Also, if you have young trees or shrubs that need a new spot in the yard or garden, fall is the time to move them to their new location. Keep watering trees and shrubs until the ground freezes. Strong fall development means they’ll be hardy throughout the winter and into spring.

Clean the Garden and Yard

The best thing about fall gardening is that we can prepare the garden so that the ground is in much better shape in early spring. Here is a few things to do.

Fertilizing the lawn in fall helps to significantly reduce weeds. Also, pull out any existing weeds now before they seed. Doing these two activities in the fall will give your lawn a hefty head start in spring.

There’s debate as to raking leaves. Mother nature intended them to stay on the forest floors to provide protection to young seeds and plants throughout the winter. However, raking them, mulching them and then adding them back to your garden, compost and lawn are also good alternatives to feeding the lawn as well as the garden.

Adding compost or manure to the garden beds helps settle the mineral balance of the soil in time for a spring planting. If you have any annuals left from the current year, remove and compost them. Then, return the compost back to the garden beds. If there were any diseased plants trim the dying or disease sections. You’ll want to throw them out instead of putting these clippings back into the compost.

Take a look at perennials and the foliage. Cut back on excess foliage so there is less of a plant for your perennial to sustain over the winter. They’ll come back stronger in spring and less foliage means fewer pests will be hiding amongst the foliage during winter. Also, cut grass along the edges of your home so you don’t leave a place for rodents to build a home or nest beside or even inside your home.

For a more comprehensive list of things you can do to prepare your home during fall, consult the Landscape Ontario checklist.

Garage Renovations for All Seasons Landscaping

So, keep the hoe, rakes, trowels, clippers and garden gloves out and handy. If you’ve got one of our slatwall systems, you know you can even hang a lawn mower or a lawn fertilizer spreader. And, it won’t take long to swap out the various garden tools for the shovels, salt and snow blowers.

Just before the first frost hits the ground, you can be ready and organized quickly. If you’re interested in understanding how the slatwall storage systems we offer can help you stay organized and effective, ask for a complimentary in-home consultation today.

Manage Household Garbage and Recycle

September 6, 2017 by Rick Scully

During the warmer months, it’s a great time to look at recycle, compost and garbage. We’re out in the garden more and we’ve needed to mow the lawn more often so we have a lot more garden wastes. Also, we’ve been cooking outdoors in the backyard more often.

The number of rodents or more specifically racoons who want to have at our garbage has become common issue which is not going away or is being replaced by new racoon families when one racoon family is relocated. Or, in many cases, the original family makes their way back to the neighbourhood.

Let’s take a look at some garage renovation solutions which can help you keep the waste down, the rodents out and divert more towards composting. To do this, we’ll need to manage the recycle, the compost as well as garbage whether in the garage or the backyard.

Reducing and Eliminating Waste Around the House

As homeowners, we’re not the only ones looking at managing various types of waste. Now, the City of Toronto is aiming for zero long term waste over 30 to 50 years. In keeping with moving towards this zero waste goal, let’s look at some ways to reduce household waste:

Avoid buying excess packaging
Use refillable or reusable containers
Bring your own bags to shop
Do your research before buying items so you’re buying durable quality items instead of disposable ones
Purchase or make your own cleaners which are less harmful to the environment
Bring your hazardous waste to a depot
Repair and reuse items instead of just throwing them away.
Donate slightly used items for a good cause.
Recycle as much as possible if you can’t reuse or reduce
Compost food and yard waste to keep the lawn lush and green.

Typically, up to half of the waste around our homes is compostable so a composter in the backyard is an ideal way of handling organics. Otherwise, taking full advantage of the green bin organic recycling program in your city or town is the best way to look after organic products.

Garage Storage Options for Recycle, Garbage and Hazardous Waste

The garage is the best place to store the blue bin, the new next generation green bin and garbage bins. It’s just a

matter of planning out a space for them whether it is shelves, a space under a platform or cabinets to hide them from sight.

Often, a spot planned close to the door from the house to the garage is ideal for convenience and ease of access. Here are a few examples of garage interior designs of blue bin, green bin and waste storage.

Getting the kids into a vermicomposting project can be an educational and fun project. These types of composters can be placed in the garage where it is closest to the house and easy to dispose of food waste.

Of course, plan a spot for hazardous waste which is out of reach of young children. Before you’re able to get to the depot with your hazardous waste items, a temporary storage area which is high and / or hidden away from little hands is an important priority for the family.

Backyard Options for Compost and Recycling

When looking at your garage renovation and the things you need to store inside your garage, sometimes, it’s necessary to move recycle and compost bins to the backyard. Storage bins can keep the yard looking neat and organized while keeping the critters out of bins and making a mess.

Because garages tend to stay cooler, garbage bins work best in the garage as opposed to out in the backyard under the sun during summer. Prioritize recycled and compost materials to be stored outdoors in the backyard. Even worm composters work better indoors where it is slightly warmer in winter and easier to maintain a steady environment for the worms to do their job.

Garage Renovations with Waste Management in Mind

When you’re considering your next garage renovation, keep composting, recycle and even hazardous waste in mind. It’s important to plan a space for these items for safety and for successful strategies to reduce waste going to landfills.

Get a complimentary consultation from our garage renovation specialists to manage waste bins as well as other garage storage challenges of items around the home.

The Automotive Enthusiast’s Garage – More than a Parking Spot

August 22, 2017 by Rick Scully

Some of us have SUVs or vans / minivans because we prefer the ride or we need the space. Some of us prefer a luxury vehicle for the ride and conveniences found throughout the vehicle. Our vehicle choices reflect our needs as well as our personal style.

And, of course, most of us know to maintain and care for our vehicles is a requirement as well. Parking our vehicle inside the garage is one of the ways we can avoid damage from the elements, vandalism or even theft. So, once we’re aware that we need the vehicle inside the garage, we need to be sure the garage is organized so we don’t accidentally drive into or damage items stored in the garage. And, the items stored in the garage don’t damage the vehicles.

If these are your thoughts as well, then you’re not alone as a homeowner and vehicle owner. A good garage renovation project will help you achieve everything you need to store and organize your vehicles as well as family belongings.

A Garage Renovation for the Automotive Enthusiast

Some people think of automotive enthusiasts are people who enjoy spending their time tinkering and fixing up cars. Some people think automotive enthusiasts are people who love vehicles and know the names of every brand on every continent as well as the specifications for each of these vehicles as well. Some people think automotive enthusiasts love vehicles so much that they want to own vehicles they can never afford or might not even drive.

If you see these characteristics in yourself or your partner, you’ve got an automotive enthusiast in the family. Here are some great ways to enhance the garage to celebrate and honour the different ways the automotive enthusiast derives happiness from this past time and passion.

The Garage – A Showroom or Pit Stop for Vehicles

Many of us can enjoy either exposed brick garages for a rustic look or a finished garage. Often our focus is on the practicality of storing and using our garage for our family’s hobbies and lifestyle requirements.

The vehicle enthusiast often enjoys the showroom feel where vehicles are highlighted against the clean lines of uncluttered walls and cabinets in a room built to honour the vehicles. These days, new home builds typically offer a drywall finish in the garage. If not, finishing an older garage with drywall is another option.

Even for enthusiasts who enjoy tinkering with vehicles, the drywall finish is typically the starting point before adding in workspace that creates a pit stop area and not just a showroom for vehicles. These days newly built homes come with drywall finished garages, so buying a new build home may be one way to get the start you need.

The Garage Floor that Cleans Up Well

Every showroom or higher end pit stop needs floors to match the look and feel that most appeals to the automotive enthusiast. Whether you just want to protect your garage floors or you want to create the luxury showroom with floors you can eat off, the polyaspartic floor coating is a great way to achieve both the practicality of a protective garage floor and the ease of maintaining a clean and pristine showroom space. There are a couple of garage floor options which will make your garage feel more like another room in your home worthy of your family and capable of showing off the cherished vehicles properly.

The first option is the polyaspartic garage floor coating. This durable flooring is easy to mop up and clean most spills, oil or otherwise. They are UV resistant so they keep their original colour even if the front half of the garage floor gets exposed to sunlight while the rear half the garage remains in the shade. Best of all, it eliminates the cement dust which settles on everything in the garage when the floor is uncoated. It also protects the standard concrete garage floors of the home from oil and water damage throughout the years. It is a great investment in your home.

Another great option are the Swisstrax Ribtrax floor tiles which allow automotive enthusiasts to design a floor pattern with specific colour combinations and patterns matching your favourite motorsports team or vehicle. The grid design allows the cement floor below to dry easily and for dust and debris to slip below to the cement. When it’s time to clean a spot beneath the tile, they are easy to peel back to clean specific stains on the cement floor below. With a garden hose or power washer, it’s easy to hose down and wash away debris which will end up travelling below channels on the underside of the tiles and out the front edge of the garage tiles. Clean up is easy, the tiles are super durable and these floor tiles are also UV resistant so they last for a good long time.

Garage Cabinets for More than Storage

Every garage is used for storage of some kind. It may be used to store golf clubs, hockey equipment or camping gear. It could be used to store garden tools or even seasonal decorations like lights or a tree.

Garage cabinets are great for closed storage when you don’t want to see the things that are being stored as opposed to the open storage format of wall organization systems, where everything is in sight and easier to find. Garage cabinets offer clean lines to the garage design which allows for the vehicles and the finish of the garage cabinets to carry the look and feel of the room.

Garage cabinets don’t just add a clean look to the garage space; it can also add workspace, an area for work tools storage and possibly, a sink for cleaning up in the garage. The garage cabinet is a good fit for automotive enthusiasts who want a garage which gives them that vehicle showroom and pit stop ambience.

Contur Cabinets designed and manufactured here in Canada by a professed “car buff” will add that special touch to the automotive enthusiast’s garage is Contur Cabinets. The contoured design and upswing style cabinet doors gives the garage a touch of European styling class that’s luxurious and still provides the motorsport design to the overall garage. It’s a style that the auto enthusiast will love and the whole family as well.

Automotive Lifts to Keep Vehicles at Home

Any automotive enthusiast will tell you that being able to visit their favourite cars is an important aspect of owning those special vehicles. Even though there may be effective storage options for vehicles, nothing beats being able to visit their prized sports car or classic car after dinner is over and the kids are all in bed.

Just spending a little time with that special vehicle can rejuvenate the joy in an automotive enthusiast’s heart even during colder winter months. With a taller garage, an automotive storage lift becomes a real option to store all the beloved vehicles inside the garage. No matter how many bays there may be for parking vehicles in the garage, the automotive enthusiast always seems to find that one additional vehicle that they must own. This leaves them with a constant need to find storage options.

Consider adding an automotive lift if you’re looking to add one more vehicle to the collection.

A Class Act Automotive Enthusiast Garage is More than a Mere Man Cave

When looking at helping the automotive enthusiast fulfill their dreams, the rest of the family can still enjoy a classy looking garage with a balance of curvy luxurious lines and dust-free walls as well as floors. Without losing function, the garage can offer storage space for the belongings of all family members while meeting the needs of the auto enthusiast. Everyone will be proud to call the garage another room in the home.

If you’re looking to achieve that balance of form and function which the whole family can appreciate, contact our garage renovation specialists for a complimentary in-home consultation today.

Cargo Boxes, Roof Racks and Storage for an Active Family

August 8, 2017 by Rick Scully

Your family enjoys experiencing the outdoors or taking scenic road trip vacations. The next thoughts are that you have more things you need to haul on the vacation than you have space in the SUV or minivan. You’ll need a vehicle rack of some kind. Will it be a roof rack, hitch rack, trunk rack or spare tire rack? And, what about a carrier for loose items? There is a choice of cargo boxes, cargo carriers and cargo bags to carry loose items and make more room available for the family inside the vehicle.

The vehicle needs more storage space for all the stuff the family needs for that next outdoor adventure. All of this is fairly straightforward to accomplish with the help of a reputable service to help you install a system. And, you’ll probably end up using a system from one of the more reputable brands in the industry such as Thule vehicle rack and cargo systems or the Yakima vehicle rack and cargo systems. All of this you can discuss with your local service provider.

What I’d like to review are the challenges of getting your garage storage spaces to work well and make packing for that adventure weekend getaway or family vacation that much easier to do. Let’s take a look at how you might want to design and strategize your garage storage to work well with vehicle storage packing needs.

Roof Racks

This is one of the go to items when looking to find a method of hauling bikes, skis & snowboards, stand-up paddle boards are more for a fun and active getaway. Many SUVs today come with half racks as a standard feature. By adding cross bars, this easily converts the half rails to a full roof rack which can now mount a wide variety of options such as cargo carriers or boxes, bikes, skis or snowboards and much more.

During the off season, storing the cross-bar accessories in the overhead platform areas of the garage makes the most sense. And, if you’re off to an adventure often throughout the year, some slatwall storage basket options are available to easily store, access and swap or switch out accessories.

If you’re using your roof rack for bikes, consider a hydraulic lift storage system bike rack to lower bikes directly onto the roof rack directly from their storage location in the garage. These overhead storage systems can also accommodate a canoe, kayak or stand up paddleboards which lower watercrafts directly onto the roof rack of the vehicle making packing quick, easy and efficient preparation for that adventure weekend away.

Trunk Racks

For those who need a more portable rack system to carry a couple of bikes, the trunk rack is fairly universal and can mount onto many types of car trunks. They’re easily removable so it can be used for a single trip from time to time. One of the drawbacks is that people can’t get into the trunk from the back of the car. They may need to use the fold down seats to reach into items stored in the trunk.

It’s easier to get a bike onto a trunk rack than a roof rack system. Between trips, use the hydraulic overhead bike rack or wall mount racks to store the bikes. In addition, a space on the overhead platform to store the trunk rack itself is the likely spot for this portable vehicle rack.

Hitch Racks

Hitch racks are attached to the hitch of the vehicle. They’re sturdier and they are typically used to transport and secure mountain bikes, skis or snowboards. Many people keep the hitch in place until the end of the season. They can carry up to 5 bikes so they are great for a family of bikes. And, the bikes can be secured or locked to the rack. When driving, the bikes don’t bump or jostle because they can be fixed into place.

Combine the hitch rack with an overhead hydraulic bike storage rack in the garage or any number of wall mounted rack systems to make it convenient to mount bikes onto the back of the vehicle before the start of any trip.

Spare-Tire Rack

Some vehicles have a spare tire mounted on the back of the vehicle. If that’s the case, the spare-tire rack works similarly to the trunk rack. It typically carries a couple of bikes, wake boards or skis and while the spare-tire rack is removable, many people keep the rack in place. These racks don’t lock the bikes in place but because they sit behind the spare tire, the vehicle is protected from moving bicycle tires or handles.

Wall mounted storage options or overhead storage racks with hydraulic lifts would both work with this type of vehicle rack.

Basket Style Cargo Carriers

With a full rail roof rack, basket style cargo carriers can be mounted to help secure a large amount of camping or other gear to the top of the vehicle. There are also hitch style basket carriers to carry bikes or wakeboards and other gear safely and securely.

Some of the hitch carriers can fold up when not in use so that they are out of the way when not carrying items. During the off season, keep it in the overhead space of the garage for re-mounting the following season. Bikes, skis, wake boards and other sporting equipment can be stored on wall-mounted racks or overhead hydraulic lifts which makes it easier to pack.

Cargo Bags

Sometimes, people combine a cargo bag with the carrier basket so smaller items are easily secured within the bag and to the vehicle. Some bags are designed for the roof rack or a carrier basket intended for the roof of the vehicle. Many others are designed for the hitch style basket carriers. These make the most sense as the soft bag doesn’t protect the belongings within from dings and dents of fast flying debris. Situated behind the vehicle, the bag is minimally exposed to flying debris and anything which might cause dings to the belongings and sports gear contained within.

As long as your gear is clean and dry after each trip, the cargo bags make for a great way to store all the sports accessories in a single space. Carve out a space on the overhead storage platform of the garage for the bag and the full gear. If you have multiple outdoor past times with just as much gear, get a separate cargo bag for each type of outdoor adventure and you’ll be pre-packed for any adventure.

If you have multiple cargo bags each packed with its own adventure, you may also find an overhead sling system helpful in lifting them up and away or easily lowering them directly onto the basket carrier making for quick packing or preparation for any vacation.

Pick the correct cargo bag to pack onto the hitch style basket carrier and you can have a different adventure every weekend of the summer.

Cargo Boxes

Personal floatation devices, paddles and even the kids’ toys are smaller items that are not secured individually to the roof rack. Instead, a cargo box for the roof of the vehicle allows everyone in the family to just throw items into it and everything can be locked inside the cargo box for safety.

When the trip is done, smelly wet gear can be removed and the whole box is easily cleaned with a garden hose and some environmentally friendly soap. Then, leave the box open to dry for a short while to dry under the sun before driving it into the garage.

The best way to store a Thule or Yakima cargo box is with an overhead storage sling operated on a pulley as a hydraulic or manual lift. So, when your cargo box is clean, dry and ready to store, drive your vehicle under the overhead sling. Strap the cargo box into the sling and unhitch it from the vehicle’s roof rack system. With the single push of a button, your hydraulic cargo box sling will be lifted up and into the overhead area of the garage.

When you’re ready for your next trip, drive your vehicle directly under the cargo box sling and use the hydraulic switch to lower the Thule or Yakima directly onto the roof rack of your vehicle. Secure the cargo box and then unhook the overhead sling mechanism. Storing and mounting a large awkwardly shaped cargo box can be a breeze with the right garage storage system.

Match Your Garage Storage System to Your Vehicle Rack & Cargo System

Make the packing and unpacking of your family’s road trip vacation a breeze. Or, get on your way to a different and exciting outdoor weekend adventure every weekend in minutes with the right garage storage system to match your vehicle rack system including carriers, cargo boxes and bags.

The right storage system can help you spend less of your time packing and more time enjoying the outdoors and time with your family or friends. Get a complimentary in-home consultation to get a strategic garage storage system custom designed for your road trip vacation and outdoor adventure lifestyles.

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