garage renovation specialists Archives

Preparing Your Vehicle for Winter Driving

November 6, 2018 by Rick Scully

When it comes to winter, we want to get to our destination without mishaps. The best way to weather the cold and snowy days is to prepare the vehicle for safe winter driving. Here we’ll review a number of ways in which you can prepare for the potential mishaps of winter driving as well as things which make winter driving more pleasurable.

Red Cross "ready to go" preparedness kit

Garage Storage Solutions for Winter Driving

We should start that preparedness right at home. If you’ve had a garage renovation specialist plan out your storage space for you, you’ll have a space specifically designed to place your shovels, snow blower and road salt conveniently near the garage door where it is easily accessible.

In addition, a typical slatwall organization system would offer a place to store car or vehicle accessories such as winter grade antifreeze, winter / summer windshield wiper blades, fuel line antifreeze, WD40 and more. And, of course, a storage solution to store the change of winter or all-season tires. Tires can be stored on specialty tire rack or overhead platform which can easily handle 400 – 800 lbs worth of garage items when they have been installed properly into the walls and ceiling of a garage.

A Healthy Battery for a Dependable Start

Next, if your vehicle battery is on the older side, you might want to get it tested and make sure it is holding a strong charge. Batteries without enough CCA or cold cranking amps will not be able to turn over the engine on colder days. In the summer, a battery does not need to provide the same amount of charge to the system to start the vehicle but colder temperatures will require that higher CCA which the engine will need.

If your battery is older and may not be carrying the original CCA value, it may be time to replace this battery before that cold day of winter comes along. One thing to note is that some of the newer vehicles require the battery to run the vehicle’s computer so when the battery dies or needs to be replaced, it can affect the computer in the vehicle. Having a service professional help you out with the battery replacement should avoid any potential computer issues.

Install Winter Tires

What makes the winter tires so different from all-season tires is the rubber with which each tire is made. All season tires are made of a rubber which starts to freeze at a higher temperature than winter tires. Winter tires are made of a softer rubber and will maintain its malleability and ability to grip the road reliably even at colder temperatures.

To keep your family safe when driving everyone to school or work, install winter tires to keep your vehicle road worthy even on cold snowy days.

Winter Survival Kit

For longer trips and more rural locales, driving any distance where it may be difficult to find help quickly in case of an accident or getting stuck at the side of the road, it’s important to have a survival kit to be able to help yourself out of a situation or to be able to wait for help to arrive.

Here’s what should be part of the winter survival kit of your vehicle:

Emergency kit containing non-perishable food, blankets and first aid supplies
Windshield scraper and snow brush
Extra windshield washer fluid
Spare tire, wheel wrench and jack
Shovel and traction mat, sand or kitty litter
Fuel line antifreeze
Flares and matches or lighter
Tire chains and gloves
Flashlight and extra batteries
Battery jumper cables
Extra clothing and footwear
Sandbags for extra weight

Use Winter Windshield Washer

Windshield washer fluid for winter typically has a lower freezing mark and a few more cleaning features than the typical summer washer fluid. This helps make sure the vehicle’s windshield will maintain a clear and visible line of sight to the road and surroundings so drivers can drive safely navigate their vehicle on a snowy winter day. Switch to the winter windshield washer fluid for an improved winter drive.

Winter-Grade Engine Oil

Engine oils have a variety of viscosity. While some vehicles can operate well with a lower viscosity engine oil in the summer, the colder weather of winter means a lower viscosity oil may not be effective. It’s advisable to get a maintenance service of the vehicle before winter or at least, an oil change so that the correct engine oil is applied to your vehicle for the winter months.

Cell Phone Charging Kit

Almost all of us have a mobile phone. It’s also one of our most valuable tools for getting help when we’re having trouble. Once you have a good battery in the vehicle with a solid charge, you can use it to keep your cell phone operating to make calls or to be found by emergency search crews. If you don’t already have a cell phone charging kit in your vehicle, get one today. It will come in handy for a wide variety of emergencies including getting stuck during a heavy winter storm.

Top Up the Gas Tank

Throughout the year, it’s a good idea to always top up the gas tank when the needle hits the last quarter tank of gas so that you can maintain the engine’s lubrication. In the winter, it may be wise to top up the gas tank when the needle tips just below the half way mark. Winter storms can sometimes double or triple our travel time home. It means that we use much more gas for the same commute home or to work. Be sure to either have extra gas in a jerrycan inside the garage or keep the gas tank topped up above the half tank mark. You’ll be sure to make it home or to work without fear of running out of fuel.

Heated Seats

Many vehicles come with heated seats but a heating pad for the seat can be purchased at your local hardware store. For the longer drives home, a warm seat will keep your back from freezing up after sitting for long hours at the wheel in cold weather. It’s practical but it can also make the drive much more pleasant too, especially when the winter commutes tend to be longer and slower.

Preparing & Storing Accessories for Winter Driving

When it comes to being prepared, it also means we’ll need to store a few extra things in our garage to remain prepared. An organized and well-planned garage storage solution helps us plan for driving our vehicles throughout all four seasons of the year.

If you need help being prepared, contact one of our garage renovation specialists and we can plan a garage storage system which will meet not only the winter driving challenges but a wide variety of family lifestyle needs for the garage. And, whatever you do, drive safely this winter.

Which Method of Garden Composting Best Suits Your Lifestyle?

April 24, 2018 by Rick Scully

In every garage renovation, we consider the homeowners lifestyle to consider the types of garage storage solutions required including how people can optimize their recycling, composting and waste. With garden composting, there are a variety of methods and some of them will fit you and your family better than others.

Some of the options for storing composting include the backyard or garden, outdoor bins, inside the garage and potentially, in the home. The choice depends on the space available, the type of composting and family lifestyle. To figure out the best option for your family, it’s important to understand composting options and methods.

Composting for More than Rich Soil

Of course, most of us already understand that we can compost 30% of our waste so we don’t add to the mounting landfills where even kitchen waste which is not properly processed can produce methane gases. Instead, when we mix kitchen scraps into compost, we produce something far more valuable without the methane gas production.

We enrich the soil in our own yards with compost and it becomes nutrient rich so our garden harvest may be abundant. Compost can replace or reduce fertilizer use in our gardens.

Composting can also bind heavy metals and render them harmless. Heavy metals are considered toxic when they are all by themselves. Some of these heavy metals include: mercury, copper, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, arsenic, zinc and tin. In small doses, these metals are fine but long term exposure to even small doses is not healthy. When the simple heavy metal atoms are composted, they start to bind to form complex molecules within the compost. When heavy metals fully combine into complex molecules, they become quite harmless. This is why composting is effective in reducing toxins, especially when we allow the compost process to continue to full completion.

Compost also prevents other pollutants from reaching our streams and waterways. For instance, nitrogen often found in fertilizers will run off but when compost is used, nitrogen will bind to the molecules found in compost and remain near the plants requiring nitrogen. Compost increases the effectiveness of fertilizer while minimizing nitrogen run off. Another pollutant is phosphorus which depletes our waters of oxygen while killing the vegetation and other life in these waters. It also binds to compost and prevents the run off that is so dangerous to our waterways.

To start the garden season successfully, prepare now so your compost is ready in a few months to a year depending on the type of composting method you choose.

Hot Composting vs. Cold Composting

Just as these names suggest, hot composting will produce a lot of heat due to the high number of chemical reactions taking place in a short amount of time. Hot composting is complete in a few months but requires a higher amount of attention and care. The proportions of compostable waste used in a hot compost needs to be exact. Hot composts need 25 parts brown waste like leaves or untreated cardboard and 1 part green waste such as grass clippings or kitchen scraps. Then the compost needs to be turned every 2- 3 weeks to keep it cooking. The hot compost temperatures inside the pile are hot enough to cook upon or run water pipes through the centre of it to produce hot water.

Cold composts, on the other hand, don’t need exacting proportions of brown and green wastes. The composting process is slower so the temperature rarely rises. The process also takes approximately a year as opposed to months. The lower temperatures means that pathogens don’t get killed off so you can’t add meats or other potentially dangerous waste. Some people do feel that the cold composting method leaves more helpful microorganisms. It’s best for one person when there is not a lot of waste generated by the household.

Vermicomposting

living composter green

This is composting via worms. It’s fast, efficient and takes a lot less space than hot or cold composting. This form of composting also eliminates many plant diseases. This can even be done in condos or apartments where there is limited space. Plus, this is one of the easiest ways to compost in winter. These composters can be stored in the garage or kitchen so people who live in condos or apartments who want to have terrariums in their home can have their own rich earth for a fresh spice garden.

Green Bin City Composting

This way of composting is also a good way to help the environment. Your household doesn’t benefit from access to quality soil for the garden when the compost is finished. However, if gardening is not one of your past times, this method is easiest on time and effort so this may best suit your needs. There are a number of good solutions for storing the large green bins in the garage.

When is Compost Finished?

Only use finished compost in the garden. You’ll know it’s finished when it looks like dark rich earth and it should smell like earth. If there is any vegetable or kitchen scrap smell to it, the compost is still cooking. As we discussed earlier, immature compost will still contain toxic heavy metals, pathogens and acids which all can be harmful to the vegetation and plants it supports in the garden. Also, since the process of composting requires a lot of nitrogen and oxygen, these are unavailable to the plants when the compost is still cooking. Unfinished compost is not beneficial for the garden so waiting for finished compost is an important step of the compost process.

Types of Composting Systems

The various composting systems need to be situated in different locations around the house. For hot composting, open wooden bins are the best method and they are placed near the garden. They’re not as aesthetically pleasing but they are the most effective way for hot compost. For cold composting, it can be as simple as the pile method where a hole in the ground is made available for compostable waste. When the compost is finished, the soil in that area of the garden will be reading for the next planting.

Commercial compost bins or green bins can be stored in outdoor bin storage areas or in the garden over top of where the garden needs enrichment if the composting bin is bottomless. And, come composters can find a place within your garage. When you’re thinking of garage storage design for the avid gardener, a good garage storage system will help you accommodate your favourite compost system whether it’s the city’s green bin or other form of composting.

If you’re considering a new garage interior design in the near future, consult with one of our garage renovation specialists and remember your recycle, compost and waste as one of your overall space requirements around your garage and home.

Planning a Garage Renovation this Summer

February 20, 2018 by Rick Scully

It’s the time of the year when people are planning for their garage renovations over the summer. There are many aspects to completing a successful garage renovation project. A lot of people are looking to finally get a garage storage solution for all the things that the family dumps onto the garage floor instead of having a place for everything to reside inside the garage.

If you’re finally done with having to look at the chaos in the garage, you’re ready for a garage renovation this year. To get the family and the garage ready for a garage storage system, here are some steps to take.

Start Planning Well in Advance

The garage renovation season is approximately mid-spring to mid-autumn because temperature is important to some aspects of the project such as some of the garage flooring and paint. When the temperature is moderate then these applications will dry and set with high quality and long lasting results. As home owners, we all want high quality renovation projects completed.

In addition, good renovation specialists will be booked many weeks in advance. So, meeting with a garage renovation specialist early is a good idea not only to book the project timeline for a garage renovation that is ideal for your family and their many activities this summer but it also sets out the time to prepare for the project.

De-Clutter and Select Items to Store

If your family has collected many items or have plans to store things in the garage which are actually sitting elsewhere in the home, it’s important to identify these items for storage. In addition, de-cluttering family belongings helps the homeowner avoid trying to store things that the family does not actually use. Finally, group the items which will be stored in the garage into their respective piles. It is an important initial step of the process to take inventory of things which will need to reside in the garage in the long term.

After these initial steps, other activities will become apparent and discussed as your well-chosen garage renovation specialist guides you and your family through the project process.

Choose a Quality Garage Renovation Specialist

One of the most important aspects of a successful project is finding a good garage renovation specialist.

So, what are the qualities homeowners are seeking in a garage renovation specialist? The garage renovation specialist is the key to your project team in achieving a result with the best possible outcome with the best experience for your family. Here are some key qualities to consider and how they’ll affect your project this summer.

A Garage Renovation Specialist must be a Creative Solution Provider

When it comes creating garage solutions to our storage problems, there are a lot of factors at play from the idiosyncrasies of the garage space to the unique lifestyle needs of each of the family members in your home.

The creativity of a good garage renovation specialist assures that new solutions can be found to difficult combinations of challenges around the garage. Also, creativity means that new and unique solutions can be found when faced with difficult problems and challenges.

Creative solution providers ask the questions that need to be addressed. Working as a team with the homeowners to find the answers, the garage renovation specialist can work to achieve optimal solutions that address the challenges of a project.

Does Your Garage Renovation Specialist Act as your Personal Project Manager?

Not only will a good garage renovation specialist manage their own crew and work timetable, but they’ll also guide the homeowners through the steps they need to take or considerations that they’ll need to make throughout the entire project. Instead of having to make hasty decisions at the last minute, guiding the planning and decision making process well in advance allows the homeowner to have peace of mind with their choices.

Every homeowner wants to know what they’ll experience or need to do to achieve the best garage storage solution outcome. When the garage renovation specialist acts as your own personal project manager, you’ll get the guidance needed to both prepare and act when required.

Quality Garage Renovation Specialists Possess Strong Communication Skills

Organizing and creating a garage storage system that fits the family lifestyle while overcoming any physical challenges within the garage requires effective communication skills. Homeowners may have some anxiety but there are also more moving parts to a garage renovation than some people may suspect. It’s everything from unique challenges of a garage space to the weather and timing of garage storage items to the responses of younger or older family members being prepared for the changes ahead.

Good communication skills amongst the garage renovation specialist and the family members will result in:

Increased Clarity: everyone understands what will happen and there is time to take it all in so that frustration remains low and understanding remains high
Increased Success: when everyone is clear on the project steps and direction, the garage renovation specialist and homeowners can work together for optimal results
Project Productivity: clear communication means the project moves forward meeting both the project timeline as well as the project budget
Homeowner Satisfaction: when people can understand the vision and everyone is able to communicate their own thoughts, concerns and anticipated directions then everyone will feel a satisfaction with both the process as well as the outcome

Punctuality is Respect for You & Your Project

Punctuality is respect for people, the team and the project. It shows discipline and the ability to focus on the tasks at hand while meeting timelines. It reduces stress on the project and for the homeowners. We’ve been noted for our punctuality and whenever we run into traffic issues or another type of delay, we will call ahead to let homeowners know how long we’ll be delayed.

It’s not only satisfying for us, but it keeps our homeowners experiencing project timelines with few to no delays.

A Commitment to Quality Results is Essential

From product selection to the quality of the workmanship for each renovation project, quality is the key. Homeowners experience pride in their garage and the garage storage solutions that matches their family lifestyle.

For us, quality is not just good quality product selection but it’s assuring that there isn’t that awkward gap because the cabinets are just 4 inches short of the wall or space. Everything is made to measure which means it fits the garage space and everything is configured to fit plum with the wall and floor lines. It’s all made to measure. Just like a kitchen with all its cabinets and appliances fitting perfectly and plum to each wall, a quality garage renovation will do the same for the garage.

An Established Track Record in Successful Garage Renovations Completed

We can say a lot about our work but the proof is in the many satisfied homeowners we have helped. We have a wide variety of transformations that we’ve posted not only to give people an idea of what can be done with a variety of challenges but it also gives people an idea of how homeowners have felt about their projects.

Get Started Today with Your Garage Renovation Project

If you’re looking to recover the space in your garage for a storage system which will meet your growing family demands and with an experience you’ll find as satisfying as the final results, contact one of our garage renovation specialists today.

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.

Reclaim Your Garage with Creative Bike Storage Solutions

June 3, 2014 by Rick Scully

Summer hasn’t officially begun and already you find yourself climbing over bicycles to get into the house. Worse, perhaps you’ve run over a bicycle left in the driveway.

It’s difficult to find room in the typical garage for everything your family needs to store. No wonder homeowners often surrender the garage to their kids’ bikes during the summer months. However, surrender isn’t the only option. An organized garage that can accommodate your active family and your vehicles is possible.

The storage capacity of any garage can be increased. However, your family’s lifestyle dictates your storage needs. So the first step to finding the right bike storage solution for you is to assess your family’s overall needs.

Determining Your Family’s Needs

In addition to parking your vehicles and safely storing the family’s bikes, you might also require space for tools and gardening utensils. Perhaps you’d like a workbench or space to store the kayak you’ve always wanted. Your garage renovation plan should accommodate all of these factors. If that seems overwhelming, consider hiring a garage renovation specialist to devise and execute your plan.

Once you’ve got the complete plan in mind, it’s time to choose a bike storage option that works for your family’s lifestyle. Let’s review three possible storage solutions to see which one will work best for you.

Schoolyard Style Bike Rack

Remember riding your bike to school and locking it to the bike rack? A similar style of bike rack can be used in your garage. The traditional (or schoolyard-style) bike rack is easy for kids to use. They simply roll the front wheel into the rack and engage the kickstand.

However, the traditional rack has a large footprint, requiring lots of valuable floor space. A schoolyard-style bike rack requires enough space to accommodate the rack and the bikes that will be stored there. This style of bike rack works well, if you have a deep garage with sufficient space along the back wall. schoolyard-style-floor-standing-bike-rack-1024x768 Another option is to park one vehicle outside and utilize that space for the bike rack during the bike riding season.

As garage renovation specialists, our goal is to help you store all of your bikes and vehicles inside of the garage. However, over the summer, some clients choose to park one vehicle outside in order to make bicycles easily accessible to small children. During the winter months, the bikes are stored along the wall or overhead so that the vehicle can return to its space inside the garage.

Horizontal Bike Storage

A second option is to hang the bicycles flat against the wall. horizontal-bike-storage-on-slatwall-camlock-hooks-102x768 This requires the installation of strong, durable slatwall panels which come in a variety of attractive colours. When paired with compatible Camlock hooks, shelves, baskets or racks, slatwall creates a completely customizable organizational system.

Bike racks can be inserted into the slatwall to hold each bicycle. The bike must be lifted onto the rack. Therefore, the height and physical ability of each rider determine the height at which the slatwall and racks are installed.

Since the bikes hang flat against the wall, horizontal storage is ideal for sidewalls. Another option, which also relies on slatwall panels, is hanging bikes vertically.

Vertical Bike Storage

slatwall camlock hook rear wall vertical bike rack storage As with horizontal wall storage, storing a bike on the wall vertically requires lifting the bike. However, since vertical wall storage requires that the front tire be hung on a hook, lifting the bicycle this way is physically challenging.

Vertical bike storage can be quite attractive. However, because of the strength required, it isn’t recommended for anyone with weaker upper body strength, including young children. Some families use vertical bike storage to store bikes during the winter months while using a traditional, schoolyard-style rack for the summer months.

When storing bikes on the wall vertically, the full height of the bike extends from the wall. Therefore, vertical bike storage is usually only recommended for back walls. If installed on a side wall, the extension of the bikes might impede vehicles from entering the garage.

Overhead Bike Storage

overhead-motorized-pulley-5--bike-rack-storage-system-lowered-1024x768 Look up for the third option. The area overhead in a garage is often wasted space, but it has lots of potential. However, since it isn’t easily accessed, overhead space is typically reserved for storing items not frequently used.

Sounds great for storing bikes during the winter months, but is it feasible for the months when your bikes are in constant use? Absolutely! Bike pulley systems enable bikes to be stored overhead and easily accessed. Motorized pulley systems can store up to five bikes. Many feature one-touch control, so anyone can operate them.

overhead-motorized-pulley-5--bike-rack-storage-system-1024x768 Overhead bike storage is an excellent use of wasted overhead space. However, in order to install the five-bike overhead pulley system, the ceiling height must accommodate the height of the bicycles plus allow for 60-inches of clearance. Since this type of overhead pulley system requires a high ceiling, it isn’t right for every garage.

An alternate option for overhead storage is the two-bike pulley system which stores the bikes overhead flat against the ceiling. Therefore, it doesn’t require as much clearance space. 2-bike-ceiling-mounted-motorized-pulley-storage-system-768x1024

Which bike storage solution is right for you? A garage renovation specialist will help you choose a creative bike storage solution that fits your space and unique lifestyle.

However, bikes aren’t the only sports equipment stored in the garage. Next time we’ll discuss creative solutions for organizing the other sporting goods stored in your garage.