Overhead Garage Storage Archives - Page 2 of 2

5 Garage Gifts to Give This Year

December 9, 2014 by Rick Scully

With the holidays quickly approaching, you’re probably still searching for a unique Christmas, Hanukah or Kwanza gift for that special person. If he or she enjoys spending time in the garage (or would like to), you’re in luck. We’ve got five gift ideas that will make your garage lover a happy camper.

Finally Being Able to Park the Car in the Garage

If the items stored in the garage have taken over, forcing you to park outside in the cold, give the gift of indoor parking space. Start by creating a viable plan for the space. Assess what you have stored in the garage. Decide what should be tossed (broken furniture, ruined paint, unusable items, etc.). Make a list of items than can be donated (furniture and sporting goods no longer needed, duplicate gardening tools, etc.). Then plan separate spaces for each type of item stored in your garage. For instance, create dedicated zones for automotive accessories, gardening accessories, sporting goods, etc. Determine if there is a need for additional storage space, like shelving. Make sure you have everything you’ll need on hand.

Now that your plan is in place and you have all of the necessary tools, it’s time to take action. If the job seems too big to tackle alone, make it a family affair or invite a few friends over. Bundle up, clear space for a portable heater, turn on your favorite playlist and begin executing your plan. First, eliminate or relocate as many items as you can. Once the space has been pared down, you’ll have more room to operate. Move everything to the perimeter, making use of shelving, hooks and baskets that will allow you to store items vertically. Continue until you’ve cleared enough space to park inside your garage.

A Workshop or Craft Space

Need a gift for a woodworking or gardening enthusiast? Consider creating a gardening or craft station inside your garage. A dedicated workspace for crafts and hobbies can be created relatively simply by re-purposing old furniture and cabinetry. First, determine where you want to locate the work area. Then reclaim the wall space by removing or relocating items. Next, create a flat work space. An old table or cabinet might do just the trick. If not, foldable workbenches or task desks are available at your local box store.

When planning your workspace, don’t forget to provide adequate storage for tools and other accessories. If a sturdier workspace or heavy duty storage is needed, modular cabinetry might be the best option. Modular cabinets, like European-style Contur Cabinets, offer a clean, modern aesthetic and plenty of hidden storage. Need a unique workspace solution? A garage renovation specialist can create a custom workbench.

Find Space for the Things Your Loved Ones Cherish

The amount of cherished items we own continues to expand, yet garage space remains fairly static. So how can you snag additional storage space for your loved one’s favorite things while conserving enough space to park your vehicle(s) inside the garage? Go vertical.

Don’t limit storage to the perimeter floor space. Instead, find ways to store items along the entire height of the wall. This can be accomplished with a wall organization system, like slatwall, which makes use of complementary shelves, hooks and baskets to display items neatly and attractively. Heavy-duty shelving units, available at big box or wholesale stores, can also provide vertical space.

Need even more storage space? Try looking up. Overhead space is an ideal spot for storing cherished, but rarely used items, like seasonal decorations, and large, bulky items like canoes, roof rack storage containers or leftover siding.

Give Athletes & Weekend Warriors Dedicated Space for Sporting Goods

Active families can easily fill a garage with all of their sporting goods. Bicycles, golf clubs, skis, hockey gear, bats, balls, kayaks, snowboards, lacrosse equipment and other items jockey for space throughout the year. When not stored properly, expensive golf clubs, skis and other equipment can easily be damaged. Smaller items, like balls, knee pads and helmets are frequently lost. Protect your investment and save precious time by creating dedicated storage space to house the sporting goods of your athletes and weekend warriors.

This can easily be accomplished with a wall organization system. Just add hooks, baskets and shelves to accommodate sporting goods. Then create dedicated baskets for each sport or family member. Many wall organization systems include storage solutions for specific sporting goods—like skateboard or kayaks.

Schedule a Consultation for a Garage Renovation

If organizing your garage seems overwhelming, or you’d rather have a professional renovate your space, consider enlisting the aid of a garage renovation specialist. Garage Tailors Garage specializes in garage transformations ranging from small organizational projects to major garage renovations. Contact us to discuss how you can give your favorite garage enthusiast the gift of a transformed garage space.

Can you and your garage pass the squeeze test?

September 24, 2013 by Rick Scully

Is your garage causing you stress?

As the season changes, many people find themselves faced with an unappetizing item on their plate, namely the garage and what could have been. During the warm summer months the very best of intentions were always there. Yet, somehow the task of organizing, of making sense of all that stuff in the garage never seemed to make it to the top of the to-do list. This chore kept getting put off to the next weekend, the next available Friday afternoon. Finally now we find the season change is upon us, and the garage is no better than it was at the start of the season. The summer ended so much faster than anyone planned on. Now you may very well feel like you have a monster on your hands.

To help you come to terms with this, your friendly team here at Garage Tailors Garage put together a 7 point self-evaluation garage organization quiz. You can use this quiz to help you figure out where you are and what your best options are at this point. Relax, no one is going to grade this quiz so this is for your eyes only. This is just a fun way for you to find out how much you can or cannot squeeze into your garage and whether you experience what we affectionately call Seasonal Garage Anxiety Disorder.

1. Do you feel your blood pressure rising if you pause to consider your garage, the things that need to be moved in, the things that need to be moved out, the things that need to be shuffled around to prepare for the upcoming season?

2. Are you embarrassed to open up your garage door in front of your neighbors for the mess that’s readily visible to anyone that takes a peek inside?

3. If your garage door happens to be open and a friend stops by to chat, do you find yourself apologizing for the mess?

4. Does your car fit in your garage? Seriously, if you have a one car garage, will one car fit in there at the same time as all your stuff you have strewn about? Or, if you have a two car garage, can you comfortably park both cars inside without moving some of your stuff to one corner or the other? Also, whether it’s a one car or a two car garage, if the car(s) are parked in the garage, can you safely get to your car without stumbling over piles of your stuff?

5. Do truly know where your stuff is? If you suddenly need a pair of shears to trim the bushes out front, can you locate them without hunting all over the garage?

6. Do you actually know how much stuff you really have? You may be surprised to learn that during organization storage solution installations the team here at Garage Tailors Garage often surprises homeowners. These homeowners are shocked and amazed to learn there are duplicate or even triplicate tools such as snow shovels, rakes and the like strewn all over the garage.

7. How much time would you reckon you spend moving piles of stuff around to get to the tools or materials you are looking for at the moment?

Well, there are your 7 questions. There is no real score per se, just a self assessment to help you figure out where you are. As you might imagine, knowing where you are is the first step to moving forward and making a better choice. So, take a look back at your answers. Your answers are a big clue for the next step, which as you might have already guessed is better organization.

Of course, you are already aware of the value of a proper storage and organization solution since you’ve made it this far and to the end of the quiz. Now, one last thing, look back to your answers and ask yourself one final question: Is now the time to take some action and get organized?

Professional Storage Solutions – Overhead Storage

July 23, 2013 by Rick Scully

If you are a regular reader of my blogs, you’ll know that I write a lot about finding storage space in the garage that isn’t obvious. One of my favourite places to store things is on the ceiling. Many garages, especially in newly built homes, have high ceilings (10-14 feet) that can accommodate shelving and platforms. To conclude my series of blogs on doing it yourself versus hiring a professional garage company, I’ll talk about ways to create room for storage in this often neglected area of the garage.

The big box option

If you check out the offerings at the big box stores, you’ll likely find limited choice, if any at all. All I’ve found there is a 4-x4-foot steel rack that can be attached to the ceiling. This doesn’t provide much storage space and because it is open on all sides, this makes it difficult to reach items stored in the middle. Also, this option often doesn’t support a lot of weight.

Do-it-yourself

If you want to store a lot of items overhead, you can do it yourself by building wooden shelves and platforms. It’s do-able, but you need to be confident in your skills. You need to understand weight and load to ensure it’s safe. You’ll also need the right tools and a vehicle big enough to transport wood and sheets of plywood. The other option is to order overhead storage from an online retailer, but then you run into the costs of shipping and duty if it has to come across the border.

Consult a professional

Using a professional garage company, such as Garage Tailors Garage, provides multiple options. If you want to go with ready-made, we offer a sturdy 4-x-8 foot steel storage rack. We install it securely into the ceiling joists and the poles can extend from 16 to 34 inches. It will take up to 750 lbs of weight.

Steel racks are great for spaces such as over the garage door and for storing seasonal items that you don’t need access to on a regular basis. But they are also limiting because the size will not adjust to use all of the available space. If you choose customized overhead storage, the possibilities are almost endless.

Custom overhead wood platforms allow us to design and build shelving that is safe and can store many heavy items such as tires. We can design shelving or platforms to make use of odd-shaped corners and maximize cubic storage area of any garage. Our custom platforms are attached to the ceiling with aircraft cable. This allows the shelf to support significantly more weight than anything you could purchase retail. We can then finish the underside with melamine or drywall, and even install pot lights to add focused lighting.

If you’re thinking about renovating your garage, decide on your budget and weigh your options carefully. If you’re handy at all, doing it yourself may seem like an obvious choice. But doing a full garage renovation can be as much work as a basement or kitchen, so a professional can help you save time as well as a headache or two.

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