Shelving, overhead racks, and a Slatwall hanging storage system will help immeasurably when it comes to keeping a garage organized. Effective garage storage systems that provide a home for everything prevent clutter from accumulating. They also make it easier to keep a garage tidy with less effort. However, with so many choices available when it comes to upgrading your garage’s storage capabilities, there’s one option you might be overlooking – a garage cabinet system.
Many homeowners might think a garage cabinet system just isn’t for them. Perhaps you don’t spend enough free time in the garage to believe such a purchase would be worth it. In addition, you might be under the impression that storage cabinetry is meant solely for garages that are owned by people with a big tool collection who love working with their hands. While a garage cabinet system is ideal for garages where vehicle maintenance and carpentry projects occur on a regular basis, the fact is that every garage can benefit from having one.
Here are seven common-sense reasons to consider a garage cabinet system for your home, regardless of how handy you are with a hammer. One of the unquestionable benefits of having a cabinet system installed in your garage is that it will significantly cut down on your floor clutter.
Even if you have a larger two or three-car garage and available storage space isn’t a pressing concern, that garage floor clutter can still be a persistent nuisance. Whether you’re tripping over clutter or finding it hard to locate tools when they’re needed, there’s a real practicality to removing things from your garage floor and keeping them neatly stored in a garage cabinet system. When cabinetry is partnered with some of those aforementioned garage storage systems like slatwall panels, you’ll be amazed at how much nicer your garage looks and feels when it’s clutter-free.
5 Different Types Of Garages For Your Home
When it comes to driveways in Werribee, Prestige Concrete Services has you covered. But what about for your garage? There comes the point in your life when you’ll probably want the advantages that come with having a garage in your home. Whether it be for parking your car or maybe just a storage space, a garage is not only a practical addition to your house but also a stylish one if done right.
Garages are also great for creating a fun little room where you can put in a pool table, table-tennis table, or maybe even a TV and some couches. There are various different types of garages you can have, and depending on what you’re going to use them for, they all have their own benefits. Here are five different types of garages you can have for your home.
Single Door Garage
This is the style that is probably most commonly found in your average house. As the name suggests, this garage only has one door. This means that the single door can be as wide as you want the garage to be. You could, ideally, fit as many cars as you want into the garage – taking into account that you’d need a massive amount of space for such a garage.
Multiple Door Garage
Obviously quite similar to a single door garage except with multiple doors. Again, this could mean as many doors as you want/are able to install. These garages feature concrete supports in between each door as a separator. Whilst they do look great on Werribee driveways, if you have a larger vehicle, they can be a bit tricky to manoeuvre in and out of. Keeping that in mind, it would be best to design a multiple door garage with plenty of room to make things easier.
Detached Garages
When people hear the word garage, they generally automatically envision one that is attached to a house. Well, you can also build garages that are not attached. These would be detached garages, and they can look very cool in the Werribee area. Whether they’re placed on driveways or not, these garages can still have either single or multiple doors. Though usually, if they’re placed away from your driveway, they act like less of a place to store your car and more as a place to store other things.
A cool, modern option for a detached garage could be to build a breezeway between the garage and your home. This could be just a simple path, or you could even add shelter above the path for a more controlled climate. This also makes it easier in wet weather to go between your house and your garage.
Non-front Facing Garages
Your garage doesn’t have to face your driveway. Depending on the size and layout of your property, you can put your garage doors on the side, facing away to your neighbours, or even in the back, with the doors facing the property behind you – if you have a large enough backyard. These will give your driveway a different look from the rest of your neighbourhood.
Multi-level Garages
This can mean two different things. You could have multiple levels for actually parking your cars, or you could have one level for parking your car and a level on top for virtually anything else. As mentioned earlier, this top-level could be a chill, hang-out room where you can wind down and have some fun.
Alternatively, you could install a parking lift and have the second level as a parking space as well. These aren’t exactly cheap accessories to purchase and have installed, but once they’re in, you’ll most likely use them daily – depending on how often you drive, of course. Add two doors to a multi-level garage, and one door can be for the ground parking space and the other for the second level of your Werribee driveway. Depending on what you choose to make your second level, you can have a concrete floor – which would work especially well if you choose to park your car there.
13 Essential Garage Safety Tips You Should Know
Garages are meant to be one of the home’s most functional spaces.
And it’s because garages are so active that they also require diligence and effort in order to keep them as safe as possible.
Things are constantly getting moved in garages, work is getting done inside of them, vehicles are regularly coming and going…the list goes on and on in terms of the safety considerations this busy space requires.
How a garage is designed and put together also brings up other safety considerations that warrant some homeowner’s attention.
Take the time to thoroughly assess how safe your garage is for you and your family by reviewing our list of 13 garage safety tips.
These garage safety tips are even more important to follow if you have children. So take the time to educate your kids on any safety hazards that may exist in your own garage.
Lock up hazardous materials
All garages contain many different types of hazardous material products that need to be stored responsibly. Fertilizers, pesticides, gasoline, cleaning products, pool cleaning supplies, car maintenance fluids, and paints and solvents are just a few examples.
Store any hazardous chemicals and materials in an appropriately safe spot, either up high and out of the reach of your kids and pets or in locked garage cabinets.
A locked shed with adequate venting might also be ideal for certain items, like bags of fertilizer or extra propane tanks. Makes sure to read the storage instructions on each product.
Keep hazardous materials like car cleaning products and antifreeze containers locked up in the garage.
Store power tools safely
An unsupervised child might feel the urge to try out that big, noisy power tool they see mom or dad occasionally using in the garage.
Eliminate any safety concerns by making sure any power tools kept in the garage are properly stored so your kids can’t access them.
Garage storage cabinets with locks are the ideal solution and also help keep your expensive power tools more secure from theft.
For larger power tools that can’t be locked in a cabinet like, say, a stationary band saw or a bigger portable table saw, make sure their safety locking mechanisms work properly.
For an extra level of safety protection, you could also disconnect the stationary tools from their power supply when you’re not using them.
Keep sharp tools safely stored
In addition to ensuring safe, secure storage of your power tools, take the same care to make sure any sharp yard tools or hand tools are stored safely.
After a long day of yard work, it’s easy to get a little careless and just lean your tools or a ladder against the garage wall, or just stash them in a corner.
But rakes, shovels, pruners, and many other types of yard tools with sharp edges become garage safety hazards when they aren’t safely put away.
Invest in a proper storage system that allows all of your yard tools to be stored in a safe, organized manner.
A slatwall storage system works best for this purpose and keeps your garage floor clear (and therefore safer) by creating hanging space on your garage walls. In addition, sharp hand tools can be stored in locked or upper garage cabinets.
Maintain a safe garage workspace
If you have a garage workshop, you’ll need to pay even more attention to how safe you’re leaving your garage.
In addition to following the aforementioned garage safety tips related to storage of your tools and hazardous materials, clean up your garage work area when you’re finished for the day.
Sweep up any spills, sawdust, and debris on your garage floor to prevent anyone from slipping. And properly dispose of any oily rags that may have been used during your work session.
Always use the appropriate eye, face, mask, and hand safety protection when working. And it’s also smart to keep a first-aid kit close at hand.
Inspect your garage doors and opener
Considering a garage door is a home’s largest moving object, it only makes sense to give it some close attention when you’re evaluating how safe your garage is.
Here a few garage safety tips for your garage doors:
- periodically inspect your garage door springs and cables for excessive wear
- keep garage door opener remotes out of the reach of children
- know where the emergency release handle for your doors is and how to use it
- check that your garage door photo eye sensors are properly aligned, clean, and unobstructed
- test the auto-reverse safety feature on your garage doors and opener monthly
Deal with your garage clutter
Garage clutter doesn’t only make it difficult to find things and prevent you from parking your vehicles in the garage. All that junk also poses several safety hazards.
First, there’s the very real danger of clutter that’s stacked too highly, falling over and injuring someone. Even brand new cardboard boxes aren’t the most stable storage container to be stacked, and they only deteriorate over time.
Secondly, too much garage clutter (especially boxes, newspaper and magazine bundles, and flammable materials) also makes your garage more of a fire hazard.
Leaving too much clutter on your garage floor is also a tripping hazard.
Get your space straightened up and clutter-free by making use of the numerous helpful garage storage systems available, such as slatwall, storage racks, or a cabinet system.
Dispose of old paints and chemicals
If you’ve lived in the same house for a while, you’re sure to have compiled a collection of empty and half-used paint cans, solvents, cleaners, spray paint cans, and other items that can’t just be thrown in the trash.
And if you’re the hands-on type and like doing your own vehicle maintenance, there are probably a few old car batteries, vehicle parts, and tires lying around your garage.
Taking the time to deal with what may be many years worth of accumulated hazardous materials clutter in your garage will free up valuable space.
Finally, taking these old hazardous materials to your local recycling or disposal depot will also remove potential poisoning and fire hazards from your garage.
Use well-anchored storage systems.
Proper garage storage systems will help you stay organized, but they need to be up to the task of handling the heavyweight capacities of the items you’re storing.
That means making sure the garage storage systems you use are well-anchored, whether they’re wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted.
Say you’re storing your extra set of winter or summer tires on a wall-mounted tire rack, for example. The weight of a 17″ tire with a rim is around 40 lbs. Multiply that times four, and you’ll see why safely anchoring your storage system is so important.
For overhead garage storage of large, heavy items, the safety considerations for your overhead storage racks are just as important.
Garage Living use racks with heavy gauge steel construction that can support up to 600 lbs, which we install to adhere to the strictest safety standards.
Garage lighting
One of the less obvious garage safety tips you might not have considered is to simply improve your garage lighting.
Relying on one or two incandescent light bulbs or a flickering fluorescent light to illuminate your entire garage is an outdated concept.
There are many modern garage lighting ideas available that can make your garage easier to function within, which makes it safer.
A modern LED light fixture or two, for example, will provide better energy efficiency and more uniform lighting for your garage.
Everything from driving in and out of the garage, working with tools, and finding a specific tool becomes that much easier when you can actually see what you’re doing.
Take proper fire safety measures.
Hopefully, you’ll follow a few of these garage safety tips to remove some fire hazards from your garage.
Even if you are keeping garage fire hazards to a minimum, take some additional proactive fire safety measures. A heat detector alarm or smoke alarm is a wise investment for your garage.
Another great investment is a fire extinguisher for the garage. If you live in a colder climate, make sure to get a model that can be stored in lower temperatures.
Otherwise, keep a standard fire extinguisher just inside your home’s garage access door. Make sure anyone old enough to operate the device is properly trained on how to use it.
Limit your garage’s carbon monoxide exposure
Carbon monoxide from vehicle emissions doesn’t pose a health risk in the small amounts that are generated by vehicles being started and parked in garages.
When vehicles are left to run for longer than recommended periods in the garage, safety becomes an issue. That’s why you should think twice about warming up or idling your vehicles indoors for extended periods, even with your garage doors open.
This harmful odourless and colourless gas can also build up if you’re running any gas-powered tools or recreational vehicles in your garage.
If you’re doing maintenance on a lawnmower, grass trimmer, or anything else run by gas, be mindful of not running them for too long in the garage.
And operating any type of barbecue in your garage (possibly to cover yourself from inclement weather) is a huge no-no. Aside from the obvious fire hazards, charcoal grills generate high levels of carbon monoxide.
Consider installing a carbon monoxide detector that’s specifically made for garages.
Keep a well-maintained garage floor.
Another overlooked area when it comes to garage safety is the garage floor.
A garage floor surface with cracks and missing chunks of cement doesn’t just look terrible, it also presents a major tripping hazard.
You could stub a toe or, even worse, take a serious fall without having an even and unbroken surface to walk on.
If you look around for the best garage floor coating available, you’ll find a polyaspartic garage floor coating is superior to an epoxy coating in several ways.
Polyaspartic floor coatings are more durable and easier to maintain, with a higher resistance to household chemicals and abrasion damage.
You’ll also get better traction, which makes your garage floor safer when it’s wet. Of course, it goes without saying that you should attend to spills and pools of water on your garage floor right away.
And since we’re discussing garage safety, it’s worth mentioning that polyaspartic floor coatings also emit a very low level of VOCS (volatile organic compounds). Those are the chemicals found in many household products that are slowly released into the air.
Replace old electrical cords
The last of our garage safety tips involves getting rid of any old, frayed electrical cords that have seen better days.
They’re not just a fire hazard, they’re also a shock hazard.
Be diligent with what type of power cord you’re using with a specific tool or for a particular job. Make sure a cord with the correct gauge is being used for the tool or appliance you’re using.
Avoid overloading your garage outlets with charging devices and extension cords. And if your garage’s electrical wiring and infrastructure is especially old, don’t wait until an accident happens to get them updated.