slatwall Archives - Page 2 of 2

Spring Cleaning

May 21, 2013 by Rick Scully

Over the winter months you likely don’t spend a lot of time in the garage. Your main goal is to get from the car into the warmth of the house as quickly as possible, or grab the skis or hockey equipment you need and go. Now the weather has finally warmed up, you might be a little more interested in spending time in the garage doing a little spring cleaning. But more than just a sweep and a mop, you need to switch around the winter stuff to make it easier to access gardening supplies and summer recreation equipment. If your garage is already organized, this becomes a much easier task.

The stage of life you are at will determine the level of organization and the type of garage storage you need. A couple with no kids around will have very different needs to a family with young children. Let’s explore some different scenarios:

The no-children or post-children-at-home couple

This is my situation now, and boy it sure makes a difference to the amount of clutter in our life. I’ve either given away or sold anything that I no longer need and there’s not a lot of new stuff coming in to be stored. I’ve organized my garage into zones for gardening supplies, seasonal decorations, car supplies and my golf clubs. When the season changes I just have to switch the things I’ll need to where I can find them easily. Slatwall with hooks and baskets makes this easy. And anything I won’t need for the next six months I can store away in overhead bins. I then just have to give the flooring a wash with soapy water and a mop and I’m done.

The family with growing children

This is the most challenging stage for garage organizing. There’s bikes of varying sizes, sports equipment, maybe some boxes of old clothes and toys, as well as gardening tools, car accessories and other treasures you just haven’t been able to part with. It’s time to take stock of what you need and what you can get rid of. A little cash to be earned from having a garage sale or listing items on Kijiji or Craigslist is a great motivator for kids to help sort through their stuff. Once you’ve gotten rid of what you no longer need, you can organize the rest. Hooks, baskets, overhead containers and bicycle racks make it easy. And before you store away the hockey equipment for the summer, treat it to a professional washing. Most sports stores offer this service, and you can also check out ProCleanGear and Fresh Gear for more information.

The family with aging parents and children away at university

They don’t call this the sandwich generation for nothing. In the garage, it can feel like your car and your stuff is literally sandwiched between your kids’ and your parents’ stored furniture. Granted, it’s difficult to part with furniture that has sentimental value – but there are solutions. Take an honest look and decide if you’ll really ever use it again. And ask your kids. Most of us gladly furnished our first homes with our parents’ old furniture, but today’s generation seems less willing to. Sell what you can and look for ways to re-purpose the rest. An old wooden coffee table or chair could have new life inside your house with a coat or paint or a faux finish.

No matter your age or stage of life, an organized garage can make spring-cleaning a simple task. For more ideas on how to create a garage that fits your life, have a look at my website.

Protection where Garage Walls meet Garage Floors

April 2, 2013 by Rick Scully

Achieving a really finished look that makes the garage an extension of the rest of your home means thinking about the interior design just as you would any other room. Instead of thinking about the wall, floor or organization as their own projects, think of the wall treatment as part of a whole design especially where the wall meets the floor.

Polyaspartic Coated Wall Base & Floor

treating cement block garage walls & cement garage floors - before

BEFORE – right garage wall

AFTER – left garage wall

You can design the space simply by finishing the floors, adding some slatwall, baskets, racks, and hooks. Or you can transform your garage into a room that your family will enjoy using by designing a stunning space with cabinets, a workbench, or even a second level. Whichever route you choose, an important consideration will be where your floor meets the wall. You wouldn’t think of laying carpet or hardwood in your house and not finishing it with a baseboard. The same is true for the garage. And depending on the type of flooring and walls you have, baseboards provide protection from dust, dirt and water seeping behind the drywall or slatwall.

When you’re choosing a baseboard, look first to what is on the walls and the floors. Wall protection is essential in garages where the drywall goes right down to the floor. Water can seep into the drywall at the bottom of the wall and cause crumbling over time.

If your garage floor is PVC tiling, you can use 6-inch vinyl baseboards. The baseboard is glued to the wall and will protect against any water that may seep into the drywall, or under the tiles and create mildew.

Polyaspartic flooring is always a great choice for any garage, but especially those with drywall that extends down to the floor. You can go with the standard 6-inch vinyl baseboard, or we can create a baseboard from 3/4″ plywood and then apply the polyaspartic flooring and continue it up over the wood to create a neat and unified baseboard.

Drywall higher up can also be damaged from, spray from hoses, moisture from damp weather, or water dripping from skis, toboggans and tools. A wainscoting treatment protects against this and looks great too.

Punched Aluminum Wainscoting
Where Garage Wall meets Garage Floor

punched aluminum wainscotting - wall covering meets polyaspartic coated floor

Punched aluminum wainscoting provides a modern industrial look that also provides great protection for the drywall. It can be used with any type of flooring. The walls are protected and the wall/floor joint is caulked to prevent any water seepage. Car enthusiasts love it because they can wash the car or spray down the aluminum and floors after using the garage as a workshop without fear of water damage to the garage or home. It also protects walls from damage when the car doors swing open inside the garage.

Now, most garage floors are not level but sloped to allow water run off in the correct direction. Another advantage of using a wainscoting is the top can be leveled to the eye rather than follow the slope of the floor.

When using an epoxy flooring, it’s best to install a simple vinyl baseboard. The product is too thin and will run if you try and apply it to a baseboard or a wall. It’s another reason why we recommend using polyaspartic flooring. For the small cost premium, it gives you so many advantages.

The big decisions are important when designing your garage, but it’s the small details, such as baseboards and wainscoting, that really complete the look.

Winter Toy Storage

January 22, 2013 by Rick Scully

In the great Canadian tradition of celebrating winter, sports equipment that lets you face the elements for pure fun is crucial. From toboggans and skis to snowshoes, snowboards and skates, there’s a range of winter toys that can enhance your family life when you’re surrounded by snow and ice.

The types and amounts of equipment families have stowed away generally depends on their children’s ages. When kids are little, toboggans, sleds, crazy carpets and flying saucers are in abundance. As they get a little older, skis become the most common.

Creating a proper storage solution for your skis, boots and poles is a simple way to protect your investment. The better you take care of them, the longer they’ll last. You could store your skis in the house but if they’re not properly dried out, you might end up with wet carpets or slippery floors. If they are hung on hooks inside the garage, drips won’t matter. Wherever you decide to put them, the best reason to have a designated space is so you won’t have to look around to find everything when the snow beckons.

Hockey gear is another type of sports equipment that can be found in abundance in many households. Ideally, if you insist on bringing your hockey equipment into the house, the ripened under armour, long johns, socks and jerseys would immediately find their way into the washing machine while the pads, pants and gloves would dry out on a laundry rack. But since late-night ice times are very common, most of the time after the game is over, the sweaty gear gets taken inside the house and dumped in the basement. Admit it, you’ve done it at least once.

There is a middle ground. As long as you take your under gear inside, skates, sticks, helmets and pads can be dried out in the garage so the musk doesn’t infiltrate the house and potentially aggravate your housemates. True, your gear will be cooler when you put it into the bag, but by the time you arrive at the rink, it’s more than likely warmed up. And if you’re playing on a year-round league, for three seasons it’s not even a factor.

One family I worked with didn’t want their young boys bringing their hockey gear into the house. The optimal solution was to build a locker in the garage for them to hang their skates, pants, gloves and pads using a combination of baskets, shelves and hooks mounted to an end wall. All the washable stuff went inside with the kids for proper clean up.

Winter is an amazing time of the year. An organized garage where you can protect your car from the elements, while also accessing everything you need to play in the snow, makes it that much better.

Depending on your budget, needs and taste, I can recommend the perfect cabinets and garage storage systems to accommodate all the athletes in your house. Our suppliers Hercke, Onex and CTECH offer higher quality and more adaptable products than the typical garage cabinets found in big box stores. Or if you’d like to discuss a custom storage system for your family’s specific activities which can be a better fit as well as cost effective, I can assist you with a solution to make it easy for everyone to use your garage in a way that fits the lifestyle.

The Value of a Custom Solution for your Garage Transformation

December 20, 2011 by Rick Scully

folding work bench - 1 car garage — Custom Folding Workbench for a 1 Car Garage

Once you’ve made the decision to transform your garage so it better suits your needs, you’re faced with a choice: Do it yourself or bring in a professional?

There are advantages to doing it yourself. You have the satisfaction of a job well done (if you’ve avoided the pitfalls I spoke about in an earlier blog post), and it will likely be cheaper because you’re not paying for labour.

However, when you’re installing an ‘out of the box’ system, you end up with something generic, but it’s unlikely they’ll fit perfectly. You’ll probably end up with some wasted space. We come in and build to the measurements of your garage, using the space from wall to wall.

Everybody has different wants and needs, whether it’s storage, garage size, lighting requirements or aesthetics. A professional may be able to come up with options that you’re not aware of.

For instance, several weeks ago I visited a client who had a one car garage that was too simply not wide enough to accommodate a car, but it was high and deep. I asked him if he had things he’d like to put in a garage. He told me he had Christmas decorations taking up space in the basement. We talked about building a shelf along the back wall for storage, which doubled the storage space available.

He’d hadn’t considered anything other than floor space. I find that overhead storage is the most commonly overlooked area. The space is ideal for storing things you don’t need more than once a year such as holiday decorations or snow tires.

For some clients, the way the garage looks is as important as the job it does, whether it’s keeping boxes and tires out of sight or incorporating more high-end finishes.

The flooring is where customization can really shine. Your floor can be anything from standard grey tiles to something with a granite look. I come prepared with 6 to 8 samples of what’s available, but if a customer doesn’t like those, they can select colours from the Sherman Williams colour palate for a completely custom job. No one else offers that.

We look for the right eyeline, so what we install fits in with the rest of the garage. For instance, when we choose a spot to install slatwall and hooks, we may keep it level to a door. We also incorporate existing features such as light switches. It’s a finishing detail that makes the job more professional.

For your shelving, we can give it either a rough or finished look.

Lighting is also a consideration. You may be using your garage for more than just parking after the transformation, but a bare bulb may not be enough light. We can install pot lights under a platform or in front of cabinets. We can even position small spotlights if you’ve got sports cars you’d like to feature.

Every customer we see and every garage we visit is unique. Garage Tailors Garage tailors the storage solution to maximize the space available, leaving you with a superior product and a garage that meets your specific needs.

Five Common Mistakes DIYers Make when Renovating their Garage

December 6, 2011 by Rick Scully

As Canadians, we’re a culture that places emphasis on value, and nobody wants to spend money they don’t have to. Unfortunately, sometimes we cut corners and do something ourselves when it would make more sense to hire a professional.

There are risks when undertaking a construction project of any magnitude and a garage renovation is no different. There are many things to take into consideration including space planning, materials, aesthetics and, depending on the level of the renovation, building codes.

To ensure you get the results you want, you need to do some research beforehand. Using the wrong materials can result in not just substandard results but increased costs when the job has to be redone!

Here are the most common DIY mistakes I see:

Using Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) slat wall

Many people purchase MDF slatwall because it’s available at retail stores and at first glance, it looks like what the professionals use. Don’t be fooled, though. MDF is not nearly as strong as professional grade slatwall and it’s susceptible to moisture, which means that not long after it’s installed, things are going to start falling off the wall.

Commercial grade slatwall is made of thermoplastic, so it’s stronger, waterproof and mildew proof. You can find this slatwall, but it’s a little trickier to install. If your garage is drywalled, you have to make sure you’re screwing it into a stud. If your garage is concrete, it can be difficult and messy to attach it directly and if you’re using a tapcon screw, you can warp the slatwall.

Garage Door Openers hooked up to an extension cord

One thing I see over and over are extension cords snaked along the top of a garage for the garage door opener. According to Ontario Building Code, your garage door opener has to be plugged directly into an outlet – and not an extension cord. Newer homes may have an existing ceiling outlet, but if you are in an older home, call in an electrician.

Improperly preparing the floor for paint

There are special paints available for garage floors, designed to withstand heavy use. However, it’s not enough to simply wash the floor – it has to be grinded for the paint to adhere, similar to sanding a piece of furniture that you’re painting. If the surface isn’t prepared properly, the paint will peel off in no time.

Undersupported overhead shelving

The typical DIY overhead shelving I see isn’t properly supported. People may build a wall-to-wall shelf and use a floor support that not only blocks room for one of the cars, but isn’t enough support, resulting in a sagging shelf. Another issue is using plywood that’s not thick enough – it needs to be at least ¾ inch.

If space is an issue, the shelf can be supported from above. We have used airplane wire to hang shelves, which is just as strong as a ground support.

Not taking advantage of all the space available

People often forget about the space overhead. Either they don’t see it or they see it and don’t want to do it. The space that people often miss is above the garage door. This space is valuable because it’s out of the way. As long as there’s enough clearance, you can store things you don’t want to see.

If you’ve chosen to undertake your own renovation, make sure to do your research. If you think you want to use a professional, please give us a call at 647-346-8735 for a free estimate.

Tidy Tool Storage

September 6, 2011 by Rick Scully

3 hook tool rack — Often, people hang tools sharp side out. Hang sharp side towards the wall to prevent personal injury to family members.

So many tools, so little space. Even in the biggest garages, tools and gardening equipment often start to take over. And why does that rake always seem to threaten to fall on you every time you open the car door?

Start by sorting your tools into groups. Put all the gardening equipment together in one area of the garage. Hang rakes and shovels on lockable hooks with the sharp side towards the wall. That way you’ll know they’re secure.

Don’t hang tools on nails hammered into boards – it’s an accident waiting to happen. A slatwall system is a great solution because hooks and baskets can be safely locked into place.

Electric tools, such as lawnmowers and weed whackers can also be hung on locking hooks with their extension cords wrapped and stored neatly on hooks beside them.

Smaller tools with holes in the handle are easily stored on hooks. That way you’ll always be able to find what you need when you need it.

Tools for woodworking or home maintenance, such as drills and saws, can also be neatly stored in the garage. Any tool with a handle can be hung safely and securely and easy to find.

Smaller items (especially tools for a car enthusiast) should be stored in a cabinet with shallow drawers. Place the tools in one layer so you can see them easily. Line the bottom of the drawer with a rubber membrane mat to prevent the tools from sliding around.

Next time we’ll discuss making room for a workbench in the garage, so you can store and use your tools in one place.

In the meantime, give us a call. We’ll help you find a solution to all your garage storage needs.

The joys and benefits of a slatwall system

May 19, 2011 by Rick Scully

We’ve talked a lot about garage organizing using the slatwall system. What’s so special about the storeWALL™ brand that we use at Garage Tailors Garage?

Unlike traditional slatwall, storeWALL is made with pvc, which is rugged, waterproof and mildew-proof — Important for garage use.

We install the slatwall over existing framed drywall, using existing studs. It comes in a variety of colours and wood-grain finishes.

And it’s cost-effective as well as attractive. There’s no need to cover all the garage walls. We can install it along just one side wall to give you storage options, but still have ample clearance on the driver’s side of your car. We can also install it along the back wall of the garage with a variety of hooks and baskets to keep you organized.

The best part of having a slatwall in your garage is that you can easily rearrange hooks, shelves and baskets to accommodate tools and equipment for whatever season you’re in.

Ready to transform your garage? Give us a call

Get ready for gardening season

May 5, 2011 by Rick Scully

Spring has been a little slow arriving this year, but it’s still time to think about getting the garden ready for warmer days ahead. And that means making sure all your tools are organized and within easy reach in your garage.

Last month we talked about bringing spring and summer items to the front and storing away winter gear. It’s easy to organize your tools using our slatwall system. And camlocks on our hooks easily release from the wall and then lock back in place. Regular hooks need to be screwed into the wall and can come loose with use. The camlock locks in tight and stays in place even with heavy items.

Here’s how to properly store your gardening tools:

Your lawn mower, weed eater and edger should be in one area with an extension cord nearby

Store gardening gloves, trowels and pruners together in a basket so you’ll always know where they are

Hang tools such as shovels and edgers with the sharp side towards the wall. Make sure rakes and hoes are stored with the tines toward the wall. You don’t want to risk injuring yourself or scratching your car. The hooks we install are all covered in a rubberized coating to prevent scratches.

With some careful arranging, you can even make a space in the garage to put a potting bench or small work area for rainy days. Talk to us about ways to create tiered storage to give you even more space in your garage.

Spring ahead – a place for everything and everything in its place

April 19, 2011 by Rick Scully

In keeping with the spring clean theme, let’s move from floors and talk about wall organizers and shelves. Spring is here, and you need your garage to be functional.

First, purge. Go through the contents of your garage and if you haven’t used it in three years – get rid of it. Have a garage sale, or donate items to a local charity. Make sure you take items such as paints or chemicals to the hazardous waste disposal facility in your area.

Spring forward – Move the winter shovels, toboggans and bags of de-icer to allow everyone in the family easy access to garden tools and supplies, bicycles, golfing equipment and other summer items. Have a look at our specialty storage solutions to make sure even the kids can easily grab their bikes and sports equipment.

Organize items in zones, putting like items together in one easy-to-reach area. That’s the beauty of the slat wall system. It’s easy to add baskets and hooks to keep gardening tools and supplies, sports equipment, etc. in their place. One basket can hold windshield wiper fluid and other car needs, and another can hold potting soil and fertilizer, while yet another can neatly organize golf shoes. Keep visual clutter to a minimum with one of our cabinet storage systems.

Next month, we’ll talk more in depth about these effective storage solutions.

Garage Wall Coverings: A Practical and Safe Way to Create Storage

June 15, 2010 by Rick Scully

Slatwalls Garage Organizing In the last post, we left you precariously hanging on the garage wall with a two-by-four, a nail and a pencil outline, waiting to fall on top of a car or a kid.

Not a good place to be.

Because not only is such a garage organizing system dangerous, but it doesn’t take advantage of the wide expanse of possible storage available to you on the garage wall.

And that’s where a slatwall system comes in handy. When you cover your garage wall with a slatwall system, you create an infinite number of storage combinations that use the space effectively – and more importantly – without risk of things crashing down on top of someone.

With a slatwall, you can create organized zones in your garage dedicated to specific tasks. Hang off season bikes up off the floor, suspend toxic substances out of reach of children.

And of course, secure dangerous tools to the wall without fear of them accidentally harming anyone or anything.

Want proof? Go check out our Transformations. You’ll be amazed at the difference.

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