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How to Safely Store Chemicals in Your Garage

February 25, 2014 by Rick Scully

Last time we talked about items that should never be stored in your garage. However, care must be exercised with another group of materials that often find a home in our garages—chemicals. Quick, think of all of the chemicals currently stored in your garage. There are probably household chemicals like cleaners; chemicals for the maintenance of your car, like anti-freeze and window washing fluid; and gardening chemicals, like pesticides and fertilizers. If you have a pool, you have a host of additional chemicals stored in your garage.

While all of the chemicals listed above are commonly found in garages, they can be the source of household accidents if not stored properly. Let’s consider a few precautions needed to protect your home and family when storing chemicals.

Keep Hazardous Chemicals Out of Reach

Animals and small children are notoriously curious. This can serve a child well in many ways. However, a child or pet’s natural curiosity combined with improper storage of chemicals in a garage can turn deadly. Therefore, all chemicals should be stored well out of reach of children and pets. Consider not only a child’s height, but children’s propensity to climb. Make sure that chemicals aren’t easily accessible if the child climbs on a shelf or nearby crate. This is especially true of chemicals like window washing fluid and antifreeze which resemble colorful drinks.

Keep chemicals off of the ground and well out of reach of children and pets to ensure their safety and prevent accidental poisoning.

Store Chemicals in the Proper Containers

As a general rule, chemicals should always be stored in their original containers. However, there might be an occasion when you need to store a chemical in another container. For instance, you might borrow paint thinner from your next door neighbor. Rather than taking the entire container, you pour a few ounces in an old water bottle or some other discarded food container. When you’re done with the project, you store what’s left of the chemical on a shelf in your garage. Doing so could potentially lead to accidental poisoning if a child mistakes that paint thinner for what’s actually on the label.

Additionally, certain chemicals can only be stored in particular types of containers. For instance some chemicals will corrode a metal container or eat through a thin plastic one. Read the label and store the chemical according the manufacturer’s instructions.

Properly Label Chemicals

Let’s say that you stored a clear liquid chemical in a suitable jar or bottle, but didn’t bother to label it. Now it’s two years later. You’re looking for paint thinner and you happen across the unmarked container. You think it’s paint solvent, but you’re not sure. Maybe it’s something else altogether. While many household chemicals have fairly distinct smells, others do not. Besides, sniffing a noxious chemical isn’t the safest way to determine what it is. Labeling all of the chemicals stored in your garage ensures that you know exactly what you’re dealing with.

Invest in a Lockable Chemical Storage Cabinet

Earlier, we talked about keeping chemicals stored out of the reach of children and pets. A high shelf can work well, but a lockable storage cabinet works better. It doesn’t have to be huge, or take up valuable garage floor space. There are a variety of options available, from cabinets with a small footprint to those that can be installed on a wall.

Poisonous, highly-flammable chemicals are found in most homes and garages. They play a critical role in keeping our homes clean, our cars well-maintained and our gardens lush and green. However, to protect your home and family, you must safely store such chemicals. Keep household and other chemicals out of the reach of children and pets. Store chemicals in appropriate containers, preferably the container in which it came. If the label on the original container loosens, secure it with tape. If you must store the chemical in another container, ensure that it is properly labelled. If possible, invest in a lockable cabinet suitable for storing chemicals.

If the configuration of your garage, or the volume of items you currently have stored in it, makes it difficult for you to properly store chemicals, contact a garage organization specialist who can help.

What is it that Professional Garage Designers Do?

June 4, 2013 by Rick Scully

If you’ve ever undertaken a large renovation job in your home, such as the kitchen, bathroom or basement, it’s likely you’ve hired a professional to do the job. Usually only the die-hard do-it-yourselfer with a lot of experience will tackle that type of project. But when it comes to the garage, many people think a few tools and a trip to the big-box store to pick up some simple shelving, cabinets and maybe an epoxy floor coating will do. There’s nothing wrong with what they sell there, but the problem is it’s likely not going to stand up to the test of time and use. A professional garage designer has access to the most durable products specifically designed for garages and the equipment, tools and expertise to create an organized garage that will last a lifetime.

What to expect when hiring a garage designer?

Space visualization

During a consultation a professional garage designer will see the potential of the garage. After doing hundreds of garage renovations, I can easily envision what’s possible in a space. Garages are much more than just four walls and a floor. They’re rarely square and a professional will immediately spot areas to maximize storage. Often there are indentations, or areas such as space above the garage door or on the ceiling to create shelves or overhead storage.

Engineering skills

Your garage professional will know about weight/load capacity. Shelving can be custom-designed and built to make the most efficient use of space while supporting a maximum amount of weight and protecting your loved ones and vehicles from damage.

Design skills

Garages can be beautiful too. A garage professional will pay attention to the look of the space just like any interior designer would for a room inside your home. Choosing a combination of colours and finishes for the wall, floor, cabinets and shelves can really enhance the overall look of the space. Also, an experienced professional will be able to offer suggestions to solve any design dilemma.

Tools

If you’ve done DIY projects, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of starting a job and realizing you don’t have the right tool. A garage professional will have tools and equipment needed to complete a quality job. One essential piece of equipment for finishing the floor is a commercial cement floor grinder. In order to achieve a floor coating that will last, the floor needs to be ground down to remove pitting and other imperfections. A floor grinder is an expensive piece of equipment that is usually not available to rent. A nail gun, the right saws and screwdrivers also make for an easier job. Unless you’re doing a lot of construction projects, it’s unlikely you’ll have these types of tools on hand.

Knowledge

There are a lot of things involved in renovating a garage that are not always considered by the average homeowner. Garage professionals know about things such as construction codes, checking moisture levels in concrete before applying a floor coating, and have access to trades such as plumbers and electricians. They can also easily estimate how much space you’ll need to store things. You may look at all your gardening equipment and figure you’ll need a lot of storage room while an expert will know immediately that you’ll only need about six feet of space.

So the choice is up to you. Do you want a temporary solution or do you want to make an investment in your garage that will last?

Seasonal Garage Storage

September 11, 2012 by Rick Scully

Every family is unique, which means their storage needs differ. That’s why garages should be adaptable and suited to your lifestyle. If your family enjoys the holidays, you probably have an array of seasonal items and decorations stuffed into boxes that are stacked precariously in the corner of the basement or garage. Since they’re only accessed once a year, it might not be the most effective or, more importantly, safe use of your storage space.

Whether your holiday celebrations include elaborate Halloween decorations, large Christmas nativity scenes and inflatable snowballs or sukkahs, Garage Tailors Garage specializes in creating innovative storage solutions like overhead storage and platforms that are customized for your requirements.

For example, safely storing a sukkah can be a challenge. For those of you unfamiliar with a sukkah, it’s a temporary, four-walled structure with a thatched roof that is used for eating meals (and sometimes sleeping) during the Jewish holiday known as Sukkot. During September and October, there is a series of celebrations including Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles, or Booth, mentioned in the Old Testament. The seven-day holiday is like an extended Thanksgiving with families gathering to eat in a sukkah in the backyard or on the back porch (the sukkah is meant to represent the fragile dwellings used by the Israelites during their time living in the desert).

The size of a sukkah varies depending on the number of people in the family, and they can be constructed from large pieces of wood, aluminum or fiberglass sheeting that measure about 8 x 10 and include other bracing pieces to ensure structural integrity. Sometimes they’re made from metal frames and canvas or cloth reminiscent of a prospector’s tent. Since it’s an item that is used every year, it’s made to have a level of integrity and re-usability. They can be self built or even bought pre-made from specialized companies.

Even though a sukkah is built to be outdoors, it shouldn’t remain outside all year, especially given our climate. The pieces are usually too cumbersome for convenient basement storage and tucking them away in some unused area of the backyard or under the patio isn’t the best way to care for your investment.

When clients request a storage space for the sukkah, or any other seasonal items, Garage Tailors Garage assesses your garage size and storage requirements before designing the most reliable and viable solution. This can include installing an overhead garage storage system that can be easily accessed by a ladder, a custom platform or a wall shelving enclosure to ensure the various pieces of the structure can be safely restrained. Additionally, because meals are eaten inside the sukkah, the family will often have a folding table and bridge chairs that require a storage solution. These items need to be more readily accessed for other occasions so an ideal organization solution is an area with a Camlok™ system to hang the chairs from.

If you’re looking for a sensible way to store your sukkah, or any other holiday items, I’d be happy to come over and give you an estimate. A simple garage storage project can be completed in as little as two days, so there’s minimal disruption.

In the meantime, to our Jewish clients and friends celebrating the year 5773 on the Hebrew calendar, the team at Garage Tailors Garage wish you a “shana tova” (Happy New Year).

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