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5 Garage Gifts to Give This Year

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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

1 car garage parks bmw plus 7 high end bicycles, portable workshop and all toolsIf 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

Workbench for One Car GarageNeed 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

sports equipment storage - slatwall, camlock hooks, water skis, snowboards, snowshoesActive 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.

Get Your Car into the Garage for Winter in Three Easy Steps

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nuvo car garageIf you’re like many homeowners, your garage may be more of a dumping ground for seasonal items, outdoor equipment and gardening tools and less of a haven for your vehicles. Whether you’re looking for a do-it-yourself option or a quick fix to tide you over until you can get a permanent garage organization solution, you can make space for your car this winter in three easy steps.

 

Step One: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

We form an attachment to our things. Even things we haven’t used in years. This makes it difficult for us to face the ugly truth. Most overstuffed garages are harboring…junk. It’s a word we don’t like to use in reference to our own things. However, when stuff we aren’t using takes up valuable space in our garage, that’s exactly what it’s become.

Go through your garage and pull out anything you haven’t used in the past year. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Do I need this item?
  • What is the likelihood I’ll use it again?
  • Why am I holding onto this item?
  • Would it be of more benefit to someone else?
  • Is it broken? If so, is it worth fixing? How likely is it that I’ll fix it (or get it fixed)?
  • Does it fit my current lifestyle?
  • Is holding onto this item more important than parking my car in the garage?

If your answers reveal that the item is sucking up valuable garage space, let it go. That includes those just-in-case items like old paint. After a year in your garage, especially through the winter, the paint is no longer good. Make note of the color, then chuck the can. Be sure to properly dispose of paint and any other household chemicals.

Of course, just because you can’t use your old items, doesn’t mean someone else can’t. If you have bicycles or other sports equipment that your children have outgrown, consider donating them to a local charity. Sometimes knowing that your things will be loved and appreciated by someone else makes it easier to let go of them.

Step Two: Group Similar Items

Once you’ve eliminated any items you don’t use, it’s time to do a little organizing. Start by going through your remaining things and grouping like items. Put all of the gardening tools and equipment in one part of the garage. Carve out another section for outdoor gear like camping or skiing equipment. Put the children’s sleds and other winter toys where they can easily access them.

Grouping similar items will give you further opportunity to purge. You’ll likely discover unnecessary duplicates and outdated items. These, too, can be tossed, gifted or donated.

Step Three: Arrange Items Along Perimeter

Once you’ve eliminated anything you don’t need, it’s time to carve out enough space in the garage for your vehicle. Arrange your remaining items along the perimeter of your garage. This includes bicycles and other bulky items like your lawn mower or snow blower.

While you’re organizing items along the perimeter of your garage, consider which items you’ll need to keep accessible during the winter. Make sure you’ll be able to quickly retrieve your snow blower, shovel, salt, window washer fluid and winter sports equipment like skis, ice skates and snowboards.

Create additional space by stacking or nesting similar items along the perimeter of your garage. For instance, nesting a set of flowerpots or stacking storage crates will reduce the amount of floor space they consume. With just a few hours of work, a space for your vehicle will begin to emerge.

If the thought of spending hours cleaning your garage is unappealing, take a moment to consider what you’ll gain by parking your vehicle in the garage. You won’t have to clean a mountain of snow off your windshield before work. It won’t take as long to warm your car in the morning. By saving time each morning, you won’t be rushed during your commute, making travel safer. Not a bad trade-off for a few hours of work on a Saturday.

Taking these steps will allow you to make room in your garage for your vehicle during winter. Come spring, you may be ready for a more permanent solution for your garage organizational needs.

To Insulate or Not to Insulate

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When planning a garage renovation, customers often ask about adding insulation to the garage. After all, what better time is there to add insulation than while in the midst of a renovation? Yet, there is a more important question to consider.

 

Is insulating your garage a worthwhile investment?

 

Customers are often shocked by this question. The garage is one of the most insidious energy vampires in a home. Insulation, by its very nature, impedes costly heat loss. So how could adding insulation to your garage not be beneficial?

 

Assess the Benefits of Adding Insulation

The short answer is: adding insulation to any room does stem the loss of heat.  Therefore, it is beneficial. However, the cost benefit of insulating a garage is situational. To make an accurate cost benefit analysis of the proposed insulation of a garage, you must first consider:

  • The current state of your garage;
  • What you hope to accomplish; and
  • How the space will be used.

The age of your home and whether it already has some insulation is a primary consideration. Older homes tend not to have any insulation. Installing it requires starting from scratch—a costly prospect. Newer builds usually have some insulation. However, it doesn’t always extend to exterior walls. The effectiveness of the insulation is dependent upon the quality of the product used.

Next, consider what you hope to accomplish by adding insulation. If you anticipate that insulation alone will raise the frigid temperature of your garage to one comparable to the interior of your home, you’ll be sorely disappointed. If, however, you simply want to raise the temperature of the garage interior several degrees, fully insulating the space may be the perfect solution.

Lastly, there is the matter of how you intend to use the space. If you’d like for your garage to be a bit cozier because you’re housing a collection of vintage automobiles, insulation alone may do the trick. If the space will serve as an extension of your home’s current living space, more than insulation alone will be needed.

To get a better sense of whether insulating your garage would be a good investment, let’s consider the three most typical scenarios we encounter during garage renovation projects:

  1. There is a room above the garage that is consistently several degrees cooler the rest of the home.
  2. The homeowner wants to protect a collection of vintage or exotic cars from the harsh winter temperatures.
  3. The customer would like to expand the home’s living space by setting up a workshop in the garage.

Each situation must be assessed on the three criteria listed earlier: the state of the garage; what the homeowner wishes to accomplish; and how the space will be used. Let’s take a moment to break down each scenario.

 

A Cold Bedroom Above the Garage and The Battle of Thermodynamics

Take a moment and think about your garage space.  There are uninsulated exterior walls (including the garage door itself). Additionally, the garage door is opened several times each day, allowing any warmth inside the garage to escape and be replaced by colder air. As a result, the garage is nearly as cold as the outdoors in winter. How does this affect any living space over the garage?

garage insulation renovation projectsThe science of thermodynamics tells us that two spaces which interact will eventually reach thermal equilibrium, or equal temperature. In this case the two spaces interacting are the interior of your garage and the bedroom above it. The heat from the bedroom elevates the temperature of the garage while the chilled garage air lowers the temperature of the bedroom. Seems like an open and shut case for insulation, but is it?

Adding insulation will stem the loss of energy in the bedroom. However, insulation alone will not increase the temperature of the bedroom to the level of the other rooms in your home. The extensive scope of work required to fully insulate the garage must also be considered. This may include insulating all exterior walls; insulating the garage ceiling; replacing the drafty garage door seal; and replacing the garage door with a highly-insulated model. This all comes at considerable cost.

Insulating the garage offers marginal heat benefit to the bedroom above. On the other hand, installing a baseboard heater in the bedroom is typically more cost effective. Investigate other options that will reduce your overall heating bill, like replacing drafty windows in the bedroom and elsewhere in the home. These methods are more efficient and offer a larger heat benefit than insulating the garage.

 

Making Your Garage Habitable—For Your Cars

Frigid temperatures can be tough on your car. The vehicle’s paint is vulnerable in colder temperatures. When oil and other lubricants get extremely cold, the engine and other systems are negatively impacted. A warmer garage not only protects your vehicles, it makes starting them much easier on cold winter mornings.

Not surprisingly, classic car enthusiasts often insulate their garages. The cost of thorough insulation, as described above, can be substantial. However, when you have a considerable investment to protect, the expense is worthwhile.

What if your garage is only used to store lawn furniture, recreational equipment and tools? The expense of insulation may not add up. Whether it makes sense for you depends on the cost, heat benefit and the value that you place on warming your garage.

 

Insulation is Only the First Step in Extending Your Living Space

When you think of a garage renovation do you envision a handy new workshop or a man cave complete with state-of-the-art electronics? Extending your home’s living space not only provides enjoyment for you and your family, it can significantly increase the resale value of your home. However, insulating the garage is just the first step.  

Insulation is designed to retain heat, so the insulated space will be warmer. However, insulation alone won’t transform your frosty garage into a cozy living or work space. If you plan to convert your garage to usable living space during the winter, a more active measure is required. A heat source, such as an electric or gas heater, must also be installed to make the space comfortable year-round.

 

Decide What Works Best for You

The best way to determine whether to insulate or not to insulate is by doing a cost benefit analysis. A garage renovation specialist can help you estimate the cost of insulating and/or heating your garage and any adjacent rooms. An experienced professional will also help you assess other factors, like estimated temperature improvement and heating and cooling costs. Once you fully understand the realities of what insulation can and cannot do for your space, you can confidently make the decision that is best for you.

 

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7 Reasons You Need to Organize Your Garage

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1.5 car garage, etobicoke - slatwall, overhead platforms, polyaspartic floor coating, shelves, bike racks - afterEveryone is familiar with the chaos and clutter found in a typical home garage.  Sadly, too many people accept a cluttered garage as normal and simply put up with it.  Have you ever stopped to consider how life-changing an organized garage could be?

A good place to understand the benefits of organizing your garage is with a clear definition of organize.  Organize means to transform chaos into order.  Literally, organize can be defined as the process of turning a messy, chaotic or unordered space into a structured coherent layout, often with specific grouping arrangements.  You will see that there are 7 reasons you want to consider in organizing your garage.

 

1. Safety of Your Family

The primary reason to organize your garage is the safety of you and your family.  Especially for families with children, an organized garage keeps dangerous tools and chemicals safely out of harm’s way.  Additionally, by using carefully planned storage solutions you won’t risk the hazard of random objects falling upon you or your kids. 

 

2. Cleanliness

A second reason to properly organize your garage is cleanliness.  Cleanliness shows up in two ways.  First, an organized garage is more visually appealing because it just looks cleaner overall.  One issued related to cleanliness you need to be aware of concerns bare concrete floors.  An unfinished concrete floor is prone to releasing concrete dust, especially as vehicles and heavy equipment like lawn mowers are  moved in and out of the garage.  This concrete dust can be especially bothersome to those who are prone to allergies.  Note that concrete dust is not so much of an issue if there is a floor covering product installed. Secondly, an organized garage is easier to keep clean. 

 

3. Protect Your Vehicle

1 car garage parks bmw plus 7 high end bicycles, portable workshop and all toolsNot surprisingly, the third reason to organize your garage is protection.  By freeing up the clutter in your garage, you can store your vehicles, your sporting equipment and other valuables safely inside the garage where they belong.  Look at it this way, is it better to store a couple hundred dollars worth of various clutter in and around your garage floor or are you better off parking that $45,000 car inside where its protected from the weather, from vandals or even theft?

 

4. Have More Quality Time

You will not be surprised to learn that the fourth reason for organizing your garage is your own time.  There are only twenty four hours available each day.  How much of that time do you want to spend scrounging around looking for stuff in your garage?   It is so easy to discount a few minutes here and a few minutes there.  However, if you ever took a moment and added up all of that extra time you spend desperately searching for something in your garage or worse added up the time you spend going to the store and getting something that you later learn you already owned, you would probably be shocked and dismayed.

 

5. Peace of Mind

Along the same theme, a fifth reason for organizing your garage is your own peace of mind.  You may have heard about or read studies that suggest that clutter creates a low level stress every time you see it.  Consciously or not, each and every time you walk through your cluttered garage you experience a mild level of stress.  You know having an uncluttered space is more appealing yet a quick glance at most garages is enough to cause many people to give up in frustration.  The task just looks too overwhelming to even consider.  Of course, the best solution is to go ahead and make a decision to organize that garage space.  The amazing fact is that once your garage space is organized you may well find yourself organizing other spaces in and around your home.

 

6. Save Money

A sixth and perhaps even more motivating reason to organize your garage is to consider how much money you will end up saving.  For example, have you ever found yourself heading off to one of those big box stores to pick up a lawn tool only to discover later that you already had one of those tools buried under a pile of debris?  Or what about those lawn and garden chemicals that may be scattered around your garage? Have you ever found yourself with more than one container? Have you ever factored in the time and money you spend driving back and forth to end up getting something you already have right there in your garage?  Obviously, you wouldn’t have this expense if everything was stored in a logical organized way. So add up the cost of all those duplicate tools and supplies, add in the cost of the gas to go to the store and back and finally add in your time that you spend either scrounging around looking for your stuff or going back and forth to the store and the point is crystal clear; an organized garage is a huge money saver.

 

7. Gain More Living Space

1 car garage, central toronto - custom attic mezzanine storage areaFinally, the seventh reason you want to organize your garage is that it will free up more space.   It is all about making your space work.  By properly organizing and structuring your garage storage needs you will end up with more available space.  This will allow you to put more stuff in the garage that you may currently have stored in various locations around the home such as your basement.  For example, consider a growing family.  By optimizing the storage space in the garage, this family could free up enough space in the basement to construct another room.  In other words, by taking the simple step of organizing their garage, this growing family actually created more living space.

 

As you can see organizing your garage has many more benefits than you might have considered.  In many cases, setting up an organized garage could be a life changing event.

 

 

Seasonal Tire Storage

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It’s that time of year again; time to move your tires in and out.  Of course some choose to simply store their seasonal tires at an offsite location.  However, a large majority choose to store their tires at home in their garages.  At the same time, there are some homeowners who choose to do both, store the set of tires for one vehicle offsite and the tires for a second or third vehicle at home in the garage. This article is for those who choose to utilize their garage space for seasonal tire storage.

tire storage solutions - custom overhead tire storage platformThere are a few factors to consider when discussing tire storage.  One of the most important issues you want to keep in mind is that of protecting the integrity of your tire. As you probably know, it is never a good idea to store the tire vertically in the same spot over an extended period of time.  Storing a tire on its running surface (with or without rims) tends to leave a flat spot in your tire that may result in damage the tire.

Another factor to consider is the weight of the tire.  Obviously a seasonal tire with rims is significantly heavier than a tire without rims.  Even so, the weight of a tire without rims may be a bit much for some people to hoist up to an overhead platform.  You want to tailor your storage solutions to your situation, especially with bulky or heavy items such as seasonal tire. 

tire storage solutions - mounted overhead tire storageTire storage options can be classified into two main categories: horizontal storage and vertical storage.  Horizontal storage is exactly what it sounds like.  You simply place your tires flat.  The tires are either placed on a platform or they may even be stacked in the corner on the floor. Horizontal storage as an option applies to both tires with rims and tires without rims. Depending on your needs, you may decide you don’t like your tires sitting on the floor all winter and would feel much better if they were on a platform out of the way.  Also remember that whatever tire storage solution you are pondering, at least moving them off of the floor frees up some more floor space for you to use.

tire storage solutions - wall-mounted tire rackOne space-saving solution to examine if it works for your garage is that of vertical tire storage.  Storing tires vertically means they are installed in a rack. The rack is then conveniently mounted in an optimum location to maximize your other storage options while still allowing access to your tires.  Note that vertical storage is available both for tires with rims and for tires without rims.  If you are looking around your garage and want to know if a vertical storage rack would work for you, simply take 4 times the width of your tires, which is the lateral distance or width of the rack (plus hardware needs).  Then, measure the diameter of the tire, that number is the approximate depth you will need for a vertical tire storage rack.  As you can see, the vertical tire storage option gets the tires out of the way in a compact and contained space. 

Whichever option you choose for your seasonal tire storage needs, there is a storage solution that can fit your garage.  When you decide to renovate your garage that is an excellent time to evaluate your tire storage needs and options.

Overhead Storage

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A recurring theme in helping my clients with garage organization is getting stuff off the floor. Having hooks to hang tools and racks to store equipment keeps the garage neat and maximizes your space. But there’s often an overlooked way to get even more storage space from your garage. Overhead, there’s a whole new area for storage.

Overhead racks are an ideal place to store items that you use infrequently. It’s a great place for storing garden furniture in the winter, as well as camping gear, out-of-season sports equipment and seasonal decorations. Tires can also be stored on overhead racks, but it’s best for tires without rims. Tires with rims are heavy and you likely don’t want to lift that much weight over your own head.

 

Where can I place overhead storage?

ready-made steel overhead storage above garage doorSelecting the ideal area for ceiling storage depends on the height of your ceilingand whether you have an entrance to your home from the garage. Over the garage doors, for example, is an ideal spot if your ceiling is 10 feet or higher. The tops of the rear and side walls make excellent storage areas as well, provided that you leave enough clearance for parking and walking below.

 

Types of overhead storage solutions

Ready-made

tire storage solutions - mounted overhead tire storage

There are ready-made durable racks made of steel with a scratch-resistant finish. The ceiling unit is 48 x 96 inches and is secured to the ceiling joists. The rack can extend from 16 to 34 inches from the ceiling and holds up to 750 lbs.

For ready-made overhead storage on the side walls, there are 24 x 48 inch cantilevered racks that can be attached to the wall studs with sturdy metal brackets. These shelves can hold lighter items of under 200 lbs.

 

Custom-made

custom overhead storage, rear wall secured with airplane cablesGarage Tailors Garage can create custom-made overhead storage that opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Canadian garages are rarely a standard size or shape and this limits what is available in ready-made storage solutions. Having overhead storage custom-designed to fit your garage ensures you are making good use of every inch of available space.

Ready-made overhead racks come in limited sizes and are often wide and open on all sides, making it difficult to see and reach items stored in the middle. We can design and make overhead platforms out of wood to any shape, size or depth you need.

1 car garage, central Toronto - attic mezzanine overhead storage for 1.5 storey garage

Garage Tailors Garage attaches custom-made overhead storage to the ceiling using aircraft cable. These sturdy cables can support more than 1000 lbs. And we’ll finish your platforms to complement the design of your garage. The possibilities are endless. We can even install pot lights underneath to create a lighted workspace or create something as elaborate as the mezzanine we recently built for a client, complete with a space-saving retractable ladder.

Often clients will choose a combination of ready-made and custom-made storage to make their garage space work for them. If you’re ready to get organized, consider overhead storage.

 

GARAGE VIEWS FROM NUVO

Garage Tailors INC.
51-3176 Ridgeway Drive
Mississauga, Ontario
L5L 5S6

416.617.7551
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