Extras You Might Want in Your New Garage
July 31, 2007
Our garage is nearly done now (except for the new doors - we’re still waiting on home delivery from HomeDepot) - but while I was checking on my order I decided to do a little online window shopping for fun stuff for the garage…
There are so many add-on features that can be picked up quite cheap that will make your renovation extra special. For example if you’re short on wall space (because you’re using every available inch for storage) you can buy a mounting device for your opener that attaches to the ceiling.
Another nice, and cheap extra, is the stop light for your interior. This helps with backing-in, and parking within the garage - especially at night. Easy to install and helps with parking cars and trucks - comes one when motion sensors are triggered.
Although we had originally planned on storiing our bicycles on the peg boards, hooks specifically made for bicycles are much nicer and easier on your bikes.
Finally, I found a number of ‘overhead’ options for storage. Which - even though we ended throwing out/donating a lot of our seldom used items - we might be looking into as an option to reduce clutter.
Our Garage Doors (since we’re re-doing it anyway…)
July 30, 2007
Darn if renovations don’t end up costing more than your budget no matter how hard you try!
If you’ve been here before you know that we’re remodeling the inside of our garage (after a short tantrum about not being able to get the bikes out on our one day off this summer!)
And we’d managed to stay within a reasonable budget, until…
I started looking at our nearly, neatly, organized garage space with pride. Then I saw the doors and realized there was no sense putting all that work into the inside when the outside was so frightful! Did we have the money? Well we could, if we re-allocated next month’s budget ‘creatively’.
The garage doors on this old farmhouse aren’t exactly matching the rest of the house exterior - which is why they’re bothering me so much. Almost an eyesore, the entire thing looks like it was an afterthought - or a “make-do until” jobs.
Considering that garage doors are full frontal view of the rest of the house, they really do make a difference in the entire appearance. What’s the use in working so hard on the rest of the frontage but having cheap and generic garage doors?
Personally I think those carriage-style doors would fit the look of our house. Carriage doors look as though they open like the antique doors in carriage houses of days gone by, but the new ones actually open just like a normal, or 20th century, garage door. Since we’ve got horses it fits right in with the old horse and buggy era. Plus they come in wood and wood grain.
I was back online before I knew it. Researching how to build these doors ourselves, trim to fit, or how much for custom made carriage-style garage doors. Google served up a link to Home Depot again - Find Do-it-Yourself design, décor, and home improvements at HomeDepot
.
I found all sorts to choose from and we certainly could afford these!
Garage Door Features
Garage doors are ordered by the type of the chain system they use. You can order screw-drive, chain drive, or computer controlled.
- The screw drive door has a mechanism that moves the door along the length of a steel rod mounted in your garage ceiling.
- The chain drive garage door has a chain that moves the door along a pair of tracks. This is probably the most common one and one that you’ve definitely seen before. It’s also very noisy, but if you’re only opening and closing the garage a few times per week, who cares?
- The computer drive system is the most expensive and most advanced. It doesn’t require screws or chains to operate and the entire system body is mounted above the garage door.
Apparently there are other considerations. Such as speed and power required to operate the doors. A faster open is more expensive, but it still closes slowly (for safety reasons). Safety is a key consideration when selecting garage doors and they all have them. Computerized systems prevent the door from closing on people by reversing it’s direction if it bumps into a solid object. This feature is triggered by an electronic beam.
The power and size of the motor is another ordering decision to make. Large motors might last longer.
Finally we’d have to choose which security features we required - especially so for computer run garage doors. In these doors a random code is sent to the computer via remote control. This changes every time it’s used. Security codes prevent your system from opening someone else’s door. (Not something we need to worry about here in the country!)
These computerized systems come with a fixed keypad controller, mounted on the garage’s inside wall (or out if you prefer) so you can open the door even without your remote control unit.
Not wanting to make a decision today, I added the doors I liked most to my favorites on HomeDepot and decided to sleep on it for a few days.
Rubber Flooring
July 28, 2007
A quick note today about garage renovation and what I’ve been learning…
I thought rubber flooring or large rubber mats might be nice to have in the garage since it will be partially used as a workspace and could even be converted into an exercise room in the future if done right.
You start by measuring the floor space and order mats from there. Keep in mind that all garage floors have some amount of slope from the back wall to the front wall (this allows water runoff).
Note to those who might be converting their garage to a living space: You’ll need to change the grade in your new living area to be level by adjusting joists. I wouldn’t even consider tackling this myself, but if you’re handy you might like to go ahead. I read that you need to adjust the joists perpendicular to the slope, by either ripping down or shimming up.
After surfing around however I see that even though this is an inexpensive option, it’s not great if you plan to park a car or truck in your garage at a later date. Better still to seal the existing garage floor and use mats for standing or work areas.
Sealing A Garage Floor First
By sealing you’ll be protecting the concrete from damage and stains, reducing the repeated dust from a concrete floor, and make regular cleaning much easier. This adds a day onto your renovation, but most of the time is drying time.
We’re using a clear acrylic sealer which can also be used on walks, patio stones, and driveways. The sealer we picked was for previously untreated floors. If your floor has ever been painted or coated, check with your paint specialist before you buy and apply any coating.
Tools required for this job include gloves, goggles and a vapor mask. You’ll want a paintbrush and roller plus 1/2 gallon of sealer per 100 square feet of floor space.
- Clean the floor of dirt, grease and oil using your stiff brush and a degreaser. Rinse thoroughly.
- Put on your protective gear, keep all available doors and windows open for ventilation and apply the sealer. Start in a back corner so that you have easy access to the door when finished.
About Rubber Matting
Recycled rubber matting has very little resistance to petroleum products (oil leaks could seriously damage the flooring) and the melting point of rubber flooring is low (heat from car tires might cause the tires to melt the mat).
I thought I’d post that here. If you’re planning to remodel your garage and you are also considering changing the floor, please understand that rubber flooring or mats are great for insulating a dog’s living quarters (should your dog sleep in the garage), insulating the impact for a workout space, or as mats below your workshop counter area.
Here’s the one I was looking at
