Our garages play a very important role in our everyday living. Of course, they protect our vehicles from the elements. But more often than not, they also become dumping grounds for tools, cleaning products and seasonal gear.
These 7 tips can help you make the most out of this often overcrowded and underused space. Built-ins, slatwalls and other smart storage solutions can help you eliminate clutter and keep your garage tidy.
After your winter or summer tires, your bike is probably the most volume-consuming item you would store in your garage. Imagine having to hang a box off the wall – a box that measures at least 72” long by 44” high by 24” deep. And when you think about it, there aren’t that many ways to hang a bike. Either you hang it by its frame, which is the method that requires the least amount of depth space, or you hang it by its front or back wheel.
In summer, it’s less of a problem. You probably just park it somewhere in the garage using its kickstand… unless of course you have one of today’s more specialized bikes made of carbon or some other super lightweight material, in which case the bike probably doesn’t even have a kickstand.
This is the garage makeover story of a homeowner who wanted to completely renovate his single garage to make it the den par excellence for his high caliber sports car. The car was his prized possession which he affectionately called “The Beast.” He liked to pamper it in his spare time and wanted to park it in an appropriate environment. The request was not overly complicated, basically he wanted us to do everything possible to make this garage a “Beauty” that would complement The Beast. He wanted a suitable home for his car with all the amenities for its pampering. Piece of cake.
Once the 2D modeling and budget were approved, we tackled the most difficult task of the project which was to finish the base of the walls. The project entailed subway-style ceramic tiles around the perimeter of the garage to protect it, similar to a commercial car wash.
If there is one thing that is guaranteed, it the changing of tires in the Spring and again in the Fall. It is a fact of life where we live. Of course, with tire change, comes tire storage. For all those who use the services of their car dealership or mechanic, no problem. For those who choose to store their tires at home, the problem persists.
What to do with these four, eight, even twelve tires? Stack them in one corner of the garage? Store them underneath the balcony or the terrace? In the shed? The basement?
One of the keys to a residential garage makeover lies in the effective use of available wall surfaces to hang anything that cannot be stored any other way other than piled up behind closed doors: bikes, shovels, brooms, rakes, skis and long handle tools.
To properly organize a wall, instead of individual hooks, badly anchored into drywall that always fall and leave huge holes, we prefer to use PVC slatwall panels specially designed to organize all available wall surfaces.
By definition, a garage is a space located in a house – it can be sometimes an annex building – for parking and protecting vehicles from the weather.
In addition to this primary function, the garage is also used to store a variety of items, products, sports equipment, tools among other things that are typical of modern active families. Occasionally, the garage can also serve as a workshop to meet the needs of the DIY projects and home maintenance. Long considered the last room of the house, the garage has always been the forgotten relative of residential renovation.
Even if it takes a bit of space, nobody can deny that a standing sink is a very handy item to have in the garage. Made either of plastic or stainless steel, it is usually the main water source in the garage, other than the hose. For washing and cleaning all sorts of items, from gardening to painting, the standing sink, with its generous size, is a very practical feature to clean up a mess.
Unlike the hose, it offers hot and cold water which is essential for cleaning up.
When the time comes to do a makeover of a garage, several owners choose shelving from the outset. While shelving comes in a choice of sizes and materials, there are several disadvantages to consider including the fact that shelves are open to the view and often offer limited storage space.
Often times you will see shelves sagging under the weight of overloading, or simply falling off the wall from incorrect anchor techniques.
This makeover story involves an owner who wanted to give a second life to the garage of the residence converted into condos he had acquired. He had reserved the garage in the basement of the building for his exclusive use.
Even if he was the only one using this space, it still had to show a separation – with a yellow line – in the event of resale and others looking to use the garage.
This is the makeover story of a thriving electrical contractor from the Quebec City area who, after completely renovating his house, wanted its attached single garage to be redesigned to be a more useful space. Given the distance from our office in Montreal, the first evaluation of the project was based on the measurements and photographs provided to us by email.
This information allowed us to do 2D modeling and articulate a detailed proposal based on the wishes expressed to us by the owner.
