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Recent Blog Posts
Garages Go Green: 4 Areas For Improvement
Often an afterthought, your garage can do more than just store your car and tools. It also provides you with an excellent chance to green your home. Below, we discuss some simple changes you can make in your garage to improve your home's environmental performance and save money on energy.
Garage Door
Garage doors containing recycled content are available on the market, including ones made of composite wood or steel. Insulated garage doors are also widely available, which can help keep your garage and any adjacent rooms warmer in the winter, and improve the energy efficiency of your home. For homes in warmer climates, consider a perforated garage door, which allows ventilation and light inside the garage, while providing security and privacy.
Insulation and Air Leaks
As in other parts of the home, sealing and insulating your garage's walls and ceiling can be a cost effective way to improve energy efficiency and money on your utility bills. Download the Do-it-yourself Guide to Sealing and Insulating with ENERGY STAR to better understand the importance of air sealing and insulating and key steps to sealing and insulating your garage.
Replacing a Garage Door: Cost vs. Value
What home improvement project can get you the most "bang for your buck"?
Remodeling Magazine's 2014 Cost vs. Value Survey found that Garage Door Replacement ranks as the #1 home improvement project for return on investment in the East North Central region (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin).
The 2014 Cost vs. Value report compares average cost for 35 popular remodeling projects with the value those projects retain at resale in 101 U.S
According to the study, 83% of the cost is recouped when you replace your garage door in the East North Central region.
A garage door upgrade can have a dramatic impact on curb appeal, so it is not surprising that it can help increase the value of your home.
No garage? Garage additions can also increase the value of your home. According to the study, 61% of the cost is recouped when you add a garage to your home in the East North Central region.
Want to see how other remodeling projects stack up? View the full report here: http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2014/
13 Tips For Maximizing Workspace in a Small Garage
Your small garage is more of a catch-all storage zone for a variety of misfit items. The reality of having a functional workspace in your garage while still being able to store the necessities and pull in a car feels more like a dream.
While getting a brand new garage may not be realistic, these 13 tips can give you more space in a small garage:
1. Host the Blow-out Sale of the Year
Space is extremely valuable in a small garage so getting rid of anything you absolutely don't need will pay off big in the extra workspace you'll gain. Chances are there are items lurking in the corners of your garage you don't even know are there. Categorize items based on what to keep, what to donate and what to throw away. Clearing out clutter is incredibly satisfying and odds are you won't really miss that broken toaster you've been meaning to fix for 5 years or that piece of fencing you took from your neighbor just because it was free.
2. Paint your Concrete Garage Floor
Garage Project Blog - LaGrange Park, IL
In addition to building brand new custom garages, Blue Sky Builders, Inc. also does garage repairs and remodels! So, for this project blog, we'd like to share with you a recent garage remodel we completed in LaGrange Park, Illinois.
The existing garage was structurally sound but in bad shape cosmetically (pictures below). The owner did not want to go with a brand new garage, so opted for a remodeling, as it was the most economical solution.
Garage Before Pictures
Garage Remodel Details
Garage Style: Hip
New Door: 16×6'6″
New Siding: Certainteed 7″ vinyl siding
New Window: Vinyl
New Roof: Certainteed architectural shingles
New aluminum soffit/fascia/trim, gutters
Garage Remodel After Pictures
Garage vs Carport: Pros and Cons
Vehicles and similar assets such as boats, motor cycles, ATVs, etc., represent large investments that homeowners want to protect against harm from outside elements. Which is one good reason to plan a new garage or carport project.
But which is right for you and your family? We will outline the pros and cons of a garage vs a carport below.
Carport Pros
- Less expensive - Building a carport is far less expensive than building a garage. Fewer materials are required since there are no walls, doors or windows, and that translates to lower labor costs, too.
- Quick to build - Carports are relatively simple structures, so they can be built very quickly. An experienced handyman could probably complete the job in just a couple weekends.
- Easier to get approval - Because carports are not considered enclosed or livable space, it's usually easy to get the project approved by your city or town. The guidelines are less stringent. For example, you won't be required to build fire-rated walls or ceilings.
3 Tips For Preventing Garage Fires
Every year there are about 6,600 garage fires at homes in the United States, resulting in an average of 30 deaths, 400 injuries, and more than $457 million in property loss. Of these fires 93% occurred in one- and two-family homes.
Here are some safety tips to avoid these destructive fires and limit their impact if they do occur.
Electricity
The leading cause of garage fires is electrical malfunction, which can be due to shorts in wires, damaged wires, and overloading electrical outlets. Plug only one charging appliance into an outlet. Do not use an extension cord when charging an appliance.
Flammable material
Store oils, gasoline, paints, propane, and varnishes in a shed away from the home or in a fire-rated cabinet.
Fireproofing
Make sure that the door between the house and garage is a 20-minute fire-rated door with a self-closing device and self latching. Make sure the garage walls are covered with 5/8-inch type K gypsum fire board and have a heat alarm installed in the garage, not a smoke detector. The heat detector will react faster to temperature changes. The heat detector needs to be rated for between 175 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Have the unit installed by a qualified electrician and never install heat detectors above or near fluorescent lights.
Wooden Garage Door Maintenance Tips
The first garage doors relied heavily upon wood to complete their construction. Today, wood still continues to appeal to those seeking traditional styles and materials. Wood doors are available in a variety of styles and can even include windows.
On the low-cost side of the spectrum, wood doors are available in painted, flat hardboard panels. On the other side, stain-grade wood doors cost more, but offer the warmth of natural wood that can make a big difference in the curb appeal of a house. Regardless of which side of the spectrum you may choose, all wood doors need to be maintained and refinished regularly. We will share some maintenance tips below.
Stain and Varnish
You should religiously be applying layers of wood stain and wood varnish to your wood garage doors. The wood stain will preserve the natural look of the garage doors, which may have been the reason you opted for them in the first place. The wood varnish will provide a more professional finish and also leave a protective layer over the surface of the wood
Father’s Day Guide to Turning a Garage Into a Man Cave
Give your dad the ultimate gift this Father's day – his very own man cave!
A garage man cave is less expensive than building a new addition onto your house and will take a lot less time, so it's a great option for extra space. And it will give dad plenty of space to do ‘man things'.
Below we will share a guide to transforming your garage into a man cave in 6 steps and pictures of some awesome garage man caves.
1. Planning
The first decision you need to make with your garage space is how extensive you want your conversion to be. If this space is going to be used all day and night as a living quarters, and you live in an area with weather that gets very cold or hot, you have a lot more things to do to convert the space (i.e. heating, air conditioning, insulation throughout). However, if you are doing something simpler, such as an area for manly socializing, you can get by with less work.
This decision is very personalized. When creating a primitive man cave, you can get by with very minimal if you think that's ok with your dad. Or if you prefer to make it look like a room inside a home, that's always an option it just requires a lot more work. If you plan on using any electronics, or if you're putting in a pool table, insulation and HVAC are a must to protect your toys from extreme temperatures and humidity.
Safety Tips For National Garage Door Safety Month
More than 70% of homeowners enter and exit their home through the garage door, relying on it as the new front door. And warm weather brings even more traffic in the garage.
Since it is now National Garage Door Safety month we thought we would share a "door to floor" garage door safety checklist. While garage door safety is important all year round, make this an opportunity to complete an inspection.
Maintenance
To keep the garage door properly maintained and functioning safely, be sure to keep all moving parts of the door clean and lubricated, including the steel rollers.
Balance
To check balance, start with the door closed and pull the opener release mechanism so you can maneuver the door by hand. If the door is balanced (properly spring-loaded and running freely on its tracks), you should be able to lift the door smoothly without much effort and it should stay open about three or four feet above the floor.
Safety Reverse
Since 1993, all automatic openers manufactured for the U.S. must include a safety reversing feature such as infrared sensors or "photo eyes." These sensors are installed near the floor on either side of the garage door opening. Once the invisible laser beam between the two sensors is broken by an obstruction, the door reverses automatically. If your opener lacks a similar safety reversing feature, it's time to get a new opener.
Get Your Garage Ready For Summer
We have experienced a seemingly endless Winter in the Chicagoland area this year. And finally, the weather is starting to warm up! With the first day of summer just around the corner - June 21st - we would like to share a few tips for getting your garage ready for summer.
Garage sales, barbecues, parties. Activity in the garage increases exponentially during the summer months. And as a result, it is important to prepare your garage in advance for the coming months.
Get your garage organized
Organizational needs change throughout seasons. Place items you will need for summer months in an easy to access place near the exit to the garage, while moving seasonal or cold-weather items into storage bins or onto shelves. For example, you may want to place a grill, toys, or a lawn mower close to the exit so it is easier for you to access.
Perform maintenance activities
With the weather warming up, it is the perfect time to complete those tasks you have been putting off all winter. Wash away seasonal grime on your garage door and windows to prevent rust. Apply a fresh coat of paint to your garage door. Or, consider insulating your garage for the summer. Insulated garage doors can help keep an unconditioned garage comfortable on a sizzling summer day as well as help manage temperatures in living spaces above the garage
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