MDF Archives - Garage Tailors

Five Ways to Maximize Garage Storage

May 27, 2014 by Rick Scully

There are a few basic steps that will help you create a neat, organized garage. Last time we discussed the first step, creating related zones in your garage. We discovered why it makes sense to create separate zones for auto accessories, household supplies, garden tools, garbage and recycling bins, tools and workstations and sporting equipment. Now let’s discuss how to keep the items in each zone neat and organized by using a variety of tools and accessories designed just for this purpose.

Slatwall – The Key to Getting Everything Off of Your Garage Floor

Maybe you’ve never heard of slatwall, but you’ve probably seen it in your local retail store. It wasn’t the item being sold. However, it was likely used as the base for the baskets and hooks that held merchandise. Slatwall (also called slotwall and slat board) isn’t limited to use by retailers anymore. It is frequently used in garages as a hanging system that enables homeowners to get everything off of the garage floor.

Slatwall comes in panels which are installed on the walls of the garage. The grooves in the slatwall hold hooks, baskets and other organizational products and give the homeowner the freedom to easily move these items as needed.

Your local big-box store might sell a basic slatwall system. However, slatwall sold there is typically composed of MDF. It doesn’t have the durability and weight-bearing capacity of sturdier, PVC-based slatwall available to professional garage renovation specialists and other contractors.

Getting professional-grade slatwall installed provides the base for organization in each zone of your garage.

Baskets and Hooks

Once professional-grade slatwall panels are installed on your garage walls, corresponding baskets and hooks can be inserted into the grooves. These baskets and hooks will provide wall storage for everything ranging from garden tools and sports equipment to snow shovels and bicycles.

Just think of all of the possibilities!

Rather than the garage being a dumping ground for everyone’s in-line skates or softball equipment, each item can be hung neatly in its designated spot. You won’t spend half an hour searching for your snow brush when the first snow of winter hits unexpectedly. Instead, you can walk right over to the automotive zone in your garage and take the snow brush of its hook.

Best of all, since the hooks and baskets can be easily moved, you can adjust the configuration to better accommodate the items you’re storing at various times of the year.

Shelving

Slatwall can also accommodate shelving. Like the corresponding baskets and hooks, the shelving used with slatwall can also be relocated at any time. This provides endless possibilities for storage on your garage walls.

Shelving can be particularly useful when it comes to storing window washing fluid, automotive fluids, household chemicals or flower pots. Create shelves high on the wall to store items that should be kept out of the reach of pets and children. Create low shelves for items that should be easily accessible to children.

Overhead Storage Solutions

One area frequently overlooked for garage storage is the space overhead. However, with a bit of imagination and essential expertise, the overhead space in your garage can safely store household items that aren’t frequently accessed, like seasonal tires, holiday decorations or roof racks used for carrying luggage or sporting equipment. Bicycles, kayaks, leftover wood or siding and other large, bulky items can also be stored overhead with the right custom solutions.

Overhead storage solutions can be tricky to handle on your own. A variety of factors must be considered: height, clearance and weight-bearing capacity, to name a few. If you aren’t completely confident about designing and installing heavy overhead storage solutions, contract a professional garage renovation specialist to handle a job of this magnitude instead.

Custom-built Storage Solutions

You can purchase any number of pre-built storage cabinets, workbenches and overhead shelves for your garage at your local big-box store. However, you’re limited to the sizes and configurations that they have available. If you have unique challenges in your garage, like curved walls or odd spaces, you might find it difficult to incorporate pre-made storage cabinets into your space. However, a garage renovation specialist can assess your space and custom-build cabinetry and workbenches to perfectly fit your lifestyle as well as the unique spaces of your garage.

An organized, functional garage is only a few steps away. Start by creating related storage zones. Then, give everything a specified place within its zone. And finally, be sure to return items to their designated spaces after each use.

Want the gorgeous garage, but don’t quite have the time to make it happen? Contact a professional garage renovation specialist to explore the possibilities.

Professional Storage Solutions – Slatwall Organization Systems

June 18, 2013 by Rick Scully

Choosing the right storage products is essential to ensuring your possessions are kept neatly and safely. This is where the quality of the products you choose really matters. The last thing you want is to risk damage to your car or your family from tools or storage containers that might fall off improperly secured hooks or unstable shelving.

The first thing to look at when choosing garage storage is a way to hang things on the wall. As I’ve mentioned before, the secret to an organized garage is having a place to hang everything and get it off the floor. But not all wall storage is created equal. There are degrees of quality and unfortunately you just aren’t going to find top quality at a big-box do-it-yourself store.

Choosing quality slatwall storage

It’s difficult to tell the difference on visual inspection, but the slatwall that’s sold in retail stores is not built to the same standards as slatwall used by professional garage firms such as Garage Tailors Garage. Our slatwall is made of heavy-duty PVC, which holds a large amount of weight and stands up to moisture. The typical big-box slatwall is made of MDF, which is a wood fibre product. You can install it and hang your things on it and it will look good and work well for a while, but it won’t hold the weight and can’t withstand the moisture over time so it will eventually start to break down.

Advantages of PVC professional-quality slatwall

Our slatwall comes in 1 ft x 8 ft panels. This makes it much easier to handle as well as more customizable to fit your space. Sometimes you just need a small section of slatwall to store a few tools or to fit into a recess in the garage wall. It also comes in a variety of colours to match with shelving and floors. It also comes with matching trim to create a finished look and protect the exposed ends from nicks. The screws are even colour-coded to make for a more seamless look.

Hooks, shelving and baskets

Once the slatwall is installed you can think about what accessories you need to organize your items. The beauty of slatwall is you can add or change the amount of storage you have over time by adding more panels and adding or changing the shelving and hook options.

You can hang anything with a hole in the handle. That means gardening tools, sports equipment, recycling bins and even something as heavy as a lawn mower. Garage Tailors Garage uses the unique Camlok system. The hooks lock firmly into the slatwall and you don’t have to worry about them falling off. They’re also removable because they don’t screw into the slatwall like the big-box store hooks. This is handy when you’re rearranging your wall hooks to accommodate winter or summer tools and toys. You can easily remove the hook and place it somewhere else. Our shelves use Camlok too, as well as our baskets. Baskets are a great way to store things such as balls, sports equipment, car accessories and even antifreeze and heavy bags of salt.

If you’re planning to stay put in your home for a while and you want a garage renovation that will stand the test of time, consider investing in a quality product. I guarantee it will save you time and money in the future.

Not All Garage Cabinets Are Equal

January 24, 2012 by Rick Scully

When it comes to cabinets for your garage, the good news is that there are choices. The bad news is that the quality varies greatly, and you get what you pay for. At the retail level, there are several types of products available: MDF (a waferboard), a Rubbermaid product and steel.

As you weigh your options, the most important thing to consider is the strength of the material. How secure is it and how much weight can it bear? Check the hinges as well and make sure they’re solid. If they’re not, the cabinet may start to wobble.

The advantage of the Rubbermaid cabinet is that it’s impervious to moisture versus the MDF products which will swell and weaken if you have a damp or humid garage. However, neither are very sturdy, so you run the risk of the shelves not supporting anything of any significant weight.

I believe steel or aluminum cabinets are the way to go. They’re sturdier and resistant to animals. They are also lockable, so if you’re storing anything valuable, such as skis and ski boots or tools, you can lock them behind the doors. They’re also good for keeping chemicals out of reach from little hands.

Some retailers carry a steel product but the material is light weight and not commercial quality. It looks similar to the appropriate grade steel cabinets, but it doesn’t hold much and can dent easily, losing its aesthetic appeal quite quickly. In addition, light weight materials may not provide the appropriate level of safety and protection of your valued tools, sports equipment, vehicle and family members.

To find out how strong a steel product is, you have to look at the ‘gauge’. The smaller the number, the stronger it is.

I recommend Onex cabinets. We install these high performance steel garage cabinets because they last longer than retail products while offering superior weight support. They’re also lockable, come in various colours and can be adjusted to the height, width and depth of the space. It provides a high level of utility and quality while giving your garage that luxury feel.

Onex offers a wide variety of cabinets, so we can create a custom storage solution rather than finding something that simply fits into the space.

If you have any questions about cabinets or anything else garage related, please give us a call!

FREE IN-HOME CONSULTATION