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3 Methods to Effectively Protect Your Garage From the Elements
The midwest is well known for its drastic weather conditions. Our harsh winters are a great contrast to our severely humid summers. Temperatures on both ends of the spectrum, along with the high winds and dramatic storms we see throughout the remainder of the year, can have a substantial impact on a home's garage. Not only do these weather conditions make it hard to effectively utilize a garage, but when a garage is not prepared for and maintained through these conditions, the quality of the garage can suffer.
Illinois certainly sees all four seasons, and because of this, residents may notice the effect the elements have on their home and garage. To protect a garage for the coming months of cold and other severe weather conditions, follow these recommended methods.
Protecting a Garage From Weather Conditions with These 5 Methods
1.) Insulate the garage properly and thoroughly
A warm garage in the winters and a cool garage in the summers will almost guarantee more time spent in the space. A comfortable temperature will make the garage much more comfortable and dynamic. The average garage owner may not completely understand the challenge of properly installing insulation and should understand the best techniques. There are numerous options for providing a garage with additional insulation including foam boards and fiberglass batt insulation.
Tips for Painting Your Garage
Increasing the physical appeal of the interior of a garage can seem like a challenging task. Garages are often less maintained than the rest of the home, but that does not have to be the case. While garages can certainly be used to store outdoor belongings such as lawnmowers, bicycles, and garden tools, there are ways to spruce up the area and make it an attractive entry into a home. Painting the interior of a garage is a great way to accomplish this.
Preparing The Garage For Paint
Homeowners who take on the task of painting the interior walls of their garage often do so for aesthetic reasons. Therefore, it is incredibly important to take the necessary preparatory steps so that the final look meets expectations.
Garages are generally less clean than the inside of a home and walls should be cleaned before painting begins. Utilizing brooms, shop vacs, soap, and water can help to ensure that all dust, debris, water damage, and oil stains are removed. It is critical to allow the walls ample drying time before moving forward.
4 Common Options For Garage Doors
Garages can be a significant asset to a house. It is the home for vehicles, storage, and a workshop. A significant component of fulfilling the wide-ranging purposes of a garage is the garage door. Choosing a garage door that will be most advantageous for your space is an important decision. As a garage owner, there are many options available for you to choose from, a few of which are described below.
Sectional Garage Doors
This type of garage door is almost always made of steel. Their customizable features, affordability, and low maintenance requirements make sectional garage doors the most frequently seen garage door across the country. Comprised of panel sections connected with hinges, this type of door sits parallel to the garage ceiling when fully open.
Roll-Up Garage Doors
A great option for commercial garages, roll-up garage doors can tolerate a high amount of usage. Roll-up garage doors are highly beneficial as they are less likely to freeze, corrode, or rust. This type of door is generally more expensive and works well in garages with limited ceiling space.
Tips on Organizing and Preparing Your Garage for the Cooler Temperatures Ahead
Adequately preparing a house and its garage for colder temperatures is a critical responsibility that homeowners in the Midwest face every year. While it may seem like a burdensome and inconvenient task, preparing a garage for the winter months is crucial for a garage's optimal use and functionality through those months.
This blog will provide some of the recommended changes that may greatly benefit your garage for the cold months ahead and beyond.
Transitioning Your Garage After Summer
Transitioning a garage at the beginning of the fall season allows for many short-term and long-term benefits. Preparing your garage at this time of year will help prevent the need of completing the chore when the temperatures are much less tolerable. For seasonal storage needs, it will also help you find things easier, saving you time and effort.
1.) Declutter: this allows you to get rid of things you no longer need an darrange for organized storage.
Lighting Options and Tips for Brightening Your Garage
Those who regularly utilize their garage as a workspace understand how inconvenient poor lighting can be when attempting to complete a project or work on their vehicle. However, any homeowner can face the struggles of insufficient or inappropriate lighting. This is true even when the garage's main purpose is solely to park vehicles. It is important to note that while some garage lighting can be resolved with bulbs of proper wattage, providing a garage with supplemental lighting may require the help of professionals.
Supplemental Lighting Options for Your Garage
Overhead lighting in garages is essential for general use. Supplemental lighting, however, provides a garage with distinct advantages that improve functionality and utilization. When garages are used as workshops and for car maintenance, insufficient lighting should not diminish the outcomes of these activities. Garage lighting may become a noticeable issue in areas such as the workbench, seasonal storage area, space above the garage door, and wall space used for hanging items.
Identifying Common Garage Door Issues
While garages may seem like a simple addition to a home, their usefulness and advantages are often taken for granted. When a garage starts to show signs of wear and tear or unexpected issues arise, the user can be greatly inconvenienced. One major function of a garage is its door, and when the door struggles to open, consistently malfunctions, or starts to make unusual noises, garage owners may need to look for a solution.
Frequently Seen Issues With Garage Doors
For many homes, the garage door is used on a near-daily basis. A common location to park vehicles, work on projects, and store belongings, garages need to be easily accessible. When garage doors fail, owners should take the time to identify the root of the issue and establish how the issue can be resolved. It is important to note that garage doors are incredibly heavy, and any door fixes should be completed by a professional.
Regularly used garage doors may begin making unpleasant noises after significant use. Determining where the sounds originate from will be the first step in approaching this problem. Noises such as grinding, rattling, popping, and squeaking can all mean different things. Establishing the type of sound will help to identify which part of the door needs attention.
Best Approaches to Turn Your Garage Into a Home Office
As many of us have become accustomed to working from home, we have gotten to experience many of its conveniences. However, many have also begun to notice the struggles of this becoming the new norm. It can be very difficult to separate your work life and home life when they both take place in the same location. Many people have struggled with finding the perfect spot that helps them overcome this struggle.
A creative option that may help those who are permanently or periodically working from home is to transform a garage or part of a garage into a home office.
Benefits of a Garage Home Office
With working from home starting to become more popular, homeowners are faced with the challenge of sacrificing sections of their homes to allow for a workspace. Taking the time and effort to transform an underutilized garage into office space will help to prevent compromising rooms in someone's home.
Additionally, moving a home office to a more secluded part of the home helps to avoid distractions such as the television, couch time, and other family members in similar situations.
Factors To Consider When Installing a Car Lift In Your Garage
Garage owners who regularly work on their vehicles or simply want more storage space, car lifts provide a convenient solution. It is likely that most people have only seen car lifts in professional vehicle restoration shops, however, they are becoming increasingly common in home garages as well.
What Are The Benefits of a Car Lift?
Car lifts raise the car above ground level which provides additional room underneath for people to easily work on their car or park additional vehicles. When car lifts are properly installed, they are both safe and useful. When restoring cars, car lifts can make the vehicle's undercarriage much more accessible, allowing for more efficient repairs
Storage is an additional advantage to a garage car lift. Installing a car lift in a bay of a garage can double the amount of parking space in a garage. Depending on the owner's preferences, it can also free up a garage bay for workshop purposes. Allowing for additional car spaces in a garage protects investments by providing a safe place to store cars that would otherwise remain in the driveway or on the side of the road. Additionally, if extra parking space is not needed, lifts provide ample space for storing bulky items such as lawn mowers, boating equipment, motorcycles, and bicycles.
Best Temporary and Permanent Options For Keeping Your Garage Cool During Summer Months
Walking into a garage in the middle of the summer can sometimes be unbearably hot. When making improvements, additions, and renovations to a garage, an individual should consider how each garage feature and component may affect airflow and comfort within the garage including the type and color of doors installed, and the siding and roofing of the garage.
Before jumping into solutions, the garage owner should consider the expectations they have for their garage in terms of purpose and time. It is important to consider if big appliances will be used and stored here as they will generate more heat. Additionally, an owner should consider how long of periods and what time of day they will spend inside their garage. All of these variables will help garage owners determine the best solution for their cooling needs.
Temporary Garage Cooling Options
Installing fans in a garage may make for the biggest improvement. Fans are one of the cheapest options available for garage cooling, there are typically two types of fans appropriate for a garage: fans that you can mount on your wall and fans that stand up by themselves on the floor. Fans with metal blades are likely the best fit for a garage as they are easier to clean and less expensive.
Make the Most of Your Garage Workshop With a Workbench That is Tailored to Your Specific Needs!
A garage workbench typically acts as a workshop's countertop space. However, workbenches have far more potential and can be taken advantage of in multiple ways. Every workshop is unique and its workbench can be too. With the addition of storage and wheels, a workbench can become one of the workshop's most useful tools. If you are interested in having your garage fully customized, the workbench should be a key aspect of this renovation.
Garage Workbench Basics
A garage workshop could never be complete without an adequate workbench. Workbenches allow the owner a designated area for building, repairing, and maintaining. Workbenches provide many benefits to a garage including sufficient space to work with large equipment and objects, additional storage opportunities, and a safe environment to complete potentially hazardous work.
A garage owner has many different options in terms of the type of workbench and what it is made out of. There are standalone workbenches, workbenches with cabinets that offer storage for tools, and portable workbenches that work great in smaller spaces and allow for flexibility.
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