Swisstrax Ribtrax Archives

Now that the cold weather is setting in, it’s time to make sure the garage is ready for winter if you haven’t already done so. There are ways we can make sure we’re not trying do minor repairs to our garage during the coldest days of winter. It’s time to run through this handy checklist to make sure the garage is ready.

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With a professional garage renovation, several of these items will likely have been addressed. If you’ve not had a garage storage solution and garage floor installed then a garage renovation specialist would address them for you so you could easily prepare your garage for winter. If it’s too late in the season, here’s what you can do to start addressing them today.

Insulate Exposed Water Pipes & Turn Off Exterior Faucets

Water is always the most challenging issue for any home. In the garage where it is cooler than the home, water pipes are much more exposed. They can run into issues during a colder winter where water might freeze and burst the pipes. Use some simple pipe insulation to make sure any exposed pipes are given a little extra protection from the elements.

If you have an exterior faucet inside the garage to water your front lawn, assure you have an inside valve to switch off water to this faucet. Protecting your water pipes means that you can avoid costly repairs to the home when spring finally arrives.

Store Spring and Summer Essentials Off the Ground

The garage floor is one of the coldest elements of the home. The garage collects water and salt which can be quite damaging for any of our garden tools, kids toys, sports equipment and much more. In a professional garage renovation, creating dedicated spaces to store family stuff on shelves, platforms, slatwall storage systems and in the overhead garage space means that everything will have a place.

Designing a way to have winter tools such as shovels, salt and snow blowers conveniently located during the winter months while storing away garden tools such as rakes, hoses, spades and lawn mowers and vice versa for summer are the keys to a professional garage storage system.

In the meantime, if it’s too late to get a garage storage renovation completed, there are a couple of ways to keep these belongs dry and free of salt damage. One way to do this is by installing some Swisstrax Ribtrax garage floor tiles. This will lift your belongings just enough so that water and salt will flow below the garage floor tiles instead of damaging household tools, kids bikes and toys or sports equipment. Or, a few bricks and a couple of pieces of plywood will be enough to keep your belongings off the floor for this coming winter.

Starting late February or early March, contact a garage renovation specialist to start a discussion to plan and develop a garage renovation project that your whole family will appreciate.

Repair and Clean It Periodically to Avoid Salt Damage

Many people still have concrete garage floors. As we’ve discussed in a recent garage floor blog, there are many ways in which concrete floors can be damaged by the winter weather. The main culprits are water and salt dragged into the garage by the vehicles we drive and the small boots walking into the home via the garage.

If you’ve got the time before the cold weather sets in to make repairs to the pitting or cracks in the concrete floor, the local big box stores will have some DIY solutions. The best solution for a garage floor is a polyaspartic garage floor coating. A garage renovation specialist will also prepare the concrete beforehand to make sure that your floor coating adheres properly instead of bubbling or lifting after one or a few years.

Of course, the Swisstrax Ribtrax garage tiles is a DIY install that you can complete any time so that you can improve the garage floor.

Replace Weather Stripping

Keep the garage warmer. It will be more pleasant when taking the garbage or recycle out to the garage or when someone needs to dig out seasonal decorations or when airing out hockey equipment.

The drafts from windows or a poorly sealed garage door will cause the garage to becoming cooler than it needs to be. Replacing the seals around windows and along the edges of the garage door will mean that your family will be more willing to make those quick visits to the garage to do chores or put their sports equipment away where they belong. And,it will protect many of your family belongings from premature wear and tear.

Prepare the Garage Door

Finally, make sure your garage door is ready for the winter. Lubricate the moving parts,check to make sure the cables do not require replacement, tighten up loose hardware, inspect and replace the rollers for the door and make sure the door balance hasn’t shifted with the seasons. If you find some or all of this daunting, you can easily contact your local garage door installer to help you do regular checkups and maintenance. It’s a good idea to make sure these annoying issues don’t crop up during the coldest days of the year.

Garage Maintenance and Storage

Having a well-designed and well maintained garage means that it will protect your family, your vehicles, your home and the many belongings we store in the garage from the damage of cold, water and salt of the typical winter season.

If you’re having a difficult time parking your vehicle in the garage, it may be time to get a garage renovation which will assure you can store your belongings safely in the garage while also being able to park each of your vehicles inside safely as well.

If this is a challenge for your family today, plan to speak to a garage renovation specialist in the early spring so you can design your garage to meet your family lifestyle needs all year long.

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.

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Prepare Your Garage for Winter