The garage may be the most overused and underutilized room in the entire house.
Too often viewed as a catchall, most garages are bursting with lawn equipment, seasonal decorations and other unnecessary items that homeowners can’t bare to part with.
While homeowners will spend endless amounts of money renovating and redecorating their homes, the garage usually remains untouched. Your overworked and underappreciated garage deserves a makeover.
Here are some upgrade options to turn your garage from shabby to chic:
Organize! Overhead storage systems are a great alternative for homeowners with an abundance of clutter. They maximize ceiling space and give you back parking and floor space.
Consider upgrading your current flooring. There are many different types of garage floors, but they can be broken down into two categories. Epoxy floor coverings are painted on. This sealant resists stains, seals the floor and gives the floors an attractive appearance. Synthetic rubber and plastic mats will hide any flooring damage. They come in rolled sheets with channels that allow water and other liquids to drain and prevent pooling in your garage.
In new house construction, garage walls are often left unfinished or only partially finished by the builder, and many homeowners never get around to doing anything about it. An inexpensive, long-lasting solution is to use exterior-grade luan plywood. This smooth surface looks good when painted, resists rotting and mildew, and is tougher than sheetrock if it is bumped.
Garage doors are a big investment in the style and comfort of your home. Your garage doors can account for up to 30 percent of the exterior portion of a home that is visible from the street. The style, color and condition of the door have a great influence on the overall appearance and curb appeal of the home. Garage door options include steel, high-density polyethylene and traditional wood styles.
Garage screen doors are the perfect way to turn your garage into a screened-in porch for the summer. These screens usually attach to your garage door by means of Velcro and can be removed for storage when not in use. Aside from keeping out bugs and other pests, many of these screens provide privacy from the outside as well as protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
Add energy-efficiency and hands-free convenience to your garage lighting with occupancy sensors. When placed where they can “see” both the car entrance doors and other doors, these sensors will turn on the lights automatically, keep them on while you are moving around the garage and turn the lights off after you leave.
Garage roofs are the overall protector of your garage and everything inside it. Proper garage roof drainage should be installed at all the corners of the garage roof so that rainwater can easily flow down the side drain of your garage roof or the rain gutter of your garage roof without running the risk of collapsing your garage roof.