When you’re looking to renovate your garage, you’re looking to add some utility to your garage so it becomes a valuable space in your home.  A good garage renovation specialist will help you manage the entire process from beginning to end.  Here are some things that you’ll want to do to prepare and hire the right garage renovation specialist.

Start with a Consultation in March or April

Start a complimentary in-home consultation with your garage renovation specialist to review your vision of how you need to use your garage and add value to the home.  A garage renovation is a lot like a kitchen renovation.  Just like a kitchen you will likely need some work spaces but you’ll also need a variety of different storage spaces.  Many of us will want a place for those large green bins, blue bins and garbage bins so we can just wheel them out to the curb on pick up day.

Also, we’ll have some essential tools that we’ll want to easily access. The tools may range from lawn mowers in the summer to snow shovels in the winter.  And, we’ll likely see our garage as a place for the kids bikes and other toys such as scooters, skateboards and much more.  For outdoor activities and travel, it’s also where we’ll store a Thule carrier, kayaks, canoes, camping gear, stand up paddle boards, snowboards, hockey gear and so much more. Of course, we may also store the Christmas tree, lights and other decorations of the season in the overhead spaces.

And, the most obvious thing to do with our garage is to park the vehicles inside the garage.  With time, sometimes we allow the clutter of things to take over our garage.  Parking the vehicles inside the garage helps provide safety for our vehicles, a longer vehicle life away from the elements and reducing theft or vandalism.  It’s important for most of us to be able to have the space for our vehicles as well as many of our lifestyle items for ourselves and our children in the garage.

De-Clutter and Eliminate Things You Won’t Be Storing

In addition to the initial consultation most people will need to de-clutter their garage before the project can start.  You can begin the de-cluttering before you meet with the garage renovation specialist and even beyond or after the initial meeting.  The goal of a garage renovation is to create a space which you actually use regularly.  If you haven’t used something in a long time, consider if you’ll actually use it ever again.  It can be some outdoor toys that the kids have outgrown or it could be a tool that you thought was a great idea at the time, but you’re really using something else instead.  Of course, there are things such as snow shovels which may not see a lot of use some years but you’ll need at some point which you will need to keep. 

Items which are not used can be given to a neighbour or you can get a garage sale day going for your entire street so it becomes a community event with a lot of drawing power.  If you get the whole family involved, it becomes a fun day and learning experience for the kids to understand running a small business project. 

Anything left after a garage sale can be donated.  There are a variety of charities who are in need of lightly used items so if you have two of something in the garage because you purchased something twice, you may want to consider donating one if it doesn’t get purchased at the garage sale.  Or, you can run a kijiji ad if it’s something you know that you can sell but just didn’t find a buyer on the day of the garage sale.

There are some great learning experiences for the little ones to pay it forward and let go of things emotionally by de-cluttering.  Then, learning life skills and business skills from doing all the activities of running a garage sale will grow their independence and confidence while creating an opportunity for the family to come together.

Group Belongings by Lifestyle Activities

After de-cluttering and a garage sale, whatever is left needs to be organized.  Before the garage storage project begins, organize the items into piles for your garage renovation specialist to review and understand what you’ll need to store in the garage.  Also, a discussion of your family lifestyle together will give an idea of what you’ll need your garage to be able to do.  It’s much like a kitchen.  The master cook may want a double oven while the busy family may want an oversized fridge for all the kids to find food.  Our lifestyles will determine how the garage can be designed as much as determines what we may need in any other room of the house.

By grouping items into piles, it will help you see and understand what has been dumped in the garage and the storage challenges these items have presented so far.  You can consider each family member’s hobbies such as handyman activities, crafts activities, gardening activities and sports that each person plays.

During the initial consultation, you’ll get an idea of what can be done.  An in-depth discussion into the things your family would like to do or need to do will help define how you can get the most out of your garage space.  Also, your organizational style will also be explored.  For instance, if you would prefer a clean looking garage where everything is put in its place and hidden away behind doors, garage cabinets will make a lot of sense.  If you prefer to see things so it will stay fresh in your mind that you own certain things, then an open style storage solution would be more appropriate for you and your family to find things easily.

A Garage Renovation Timing and Timeline

Once the project begins, you’ll want a garage renovation specialist who will keep you informed and prepared for the next phase of the project.  Sometimes, this may be moving items into the backyard or basement during a specific phase of the project or having access to the full driveway for specific days of the week.

Project management skills are a key element of a good garage renovation specialist.  They will guide you through each phase of the project instead of having these tasks become a surprise on the day they arrive to do work.

Plan You Garage Renovation Well in Advance

If you’re looking to do a garage renovation this year, March or early April is the best time to start the consultation process so that the project can match your family’s schedule as well and the appropriate garage storage solutions can be made-to-measure and delivered in time for installation day.

If you’re looking for both a good renovation experience as well as solution, contact us today to learn how we work to make this a reality for your family.