4 Great Storage Ideas to Organize Your Garage

4 Great Storage Ideas to Organize Your Garage

Have you ever wondered, when you visit someone’s house, how the heck they keep it so neat and tidy? And we don’t mean people who invited you over. There are those who, even when you drop in unannounced, have a home that’s neater than when you just finish your cleaning.

Sure, they might be really well-organized people with a place for everything and everything in its place. But if you want to see the truly organized anyone is, check their garage.

Chances are, even your ‘neat freak’ friends, have a garage that looks much the same as your on the inside.

So here’s your chance to ‘one-up’ friends and family whose homes always seem so neat, organized and ‘together’.

Storage Options for Your Garage

While you have closets, shelves and cupboards elsewhere in your home, your garage usually has none them. Yet it’s still expected to house everything from your car and sports equipment, to lawn furniture and tools.

Here are just a few storage ideas to have a place for anything and everything you store in your garage.

1. Cabinets, Cupboards and Drawers

Collectively known as enclosed storage, this is probably the type of storage that garages miss the most. Enclosed storage gives you a place to keep things out of sight and/or securely locked away.

2. Open Shelving

On the other end of the spectrum, if you do already have some ‘storage infrastructure’ in your garage, it’s probably open shelving. There will always be those things you just want to have quick access to and they don’t need to be locked away.

3. Slotted Walls

Using slotted walls adds lots of versatility to your storage by giving you the option to keep things in the baskets, hooks and shelves that can be slotted into the wall.

4. Overhead Storage

The most under-utilized space in the garage is just above your head. Especially if you don’t have a room over the garage, you could have space for some of the largest items in your garage. From building a large shelf and making a mini attic, to storing building materials, bikes and tires, the overhead space in your garage can be used to store some of the largest, space-hogging things you have.

Once you get your garage organized, you’re ready to take the next steps, including an insulated garage door, to completely revamp the space. And then you’ll really be able to look down your nose at your ‘neat’ neighbours.

3 Tips for Finding a Reliable Garage Door Installation Company

The good news about buying a new garage door is that you’ll probably not have to do it very often, if ever again. The bad news is that, because you rarely shop for a door, it’s tough to know what to look for.

Unlike most other products you buy, not only do you need to choose a door, but you need to hire a garage door installer to put it in for you.

Unfortunately, choosing an installer isn’t as easy as it might seem. Some installers know that you don’t buy lots of garage doors and they take advantage of the fact with shoddy workmanship, poorly made doors, or both.

To help you avoid being the victim of a ‘fly-by-night’ installer, here are three ways for you to know that the company you choose is reputable and that the garage door they install is from a leading manufacturer.

1. Do Some Internet Research

When you start your search for a garage door company, you’ll probably find a few that catch your eye. Once you have a ‘short list’ of possibilities, don’t just check out a company’s website (they do have a website, don’t they?!), but be sure to visit third-party ratings sites, like Homestars and Houzz, where you’ll be able to read what other homeowners have to say about the company.

2. Make Sure They Visit

If you call or contact a company who wants to give you a quotation for installing your door without visiting your home, you should probably scratch them from your list. It’s not possible for them to give you an accurate quotation without inspecting your garage to find out how much work they need to do.

And when they visit you get the opportunity to learn more about them, get a feel for how they work and make your own judgement about whether they are suitable for the job or not.

3. Find Out What They Offer

The company should be able to show you a number of options for doors from different manufacturers. They should also offer other products and services, including garage door openers, replacement parts and emergency repair services.

The garage door company you choose is as important as the garage door you choose. Even the best doors will have problems if they aren’t installed properly.

How to Keep Your New Asphalt Driveway Looking New

It’s March, and you know what that means: it’ll be springtime before the end of the month.

Normally that’s casue for a celebration, but when it comes to the asphalt on your driveway, the ravages of winter mean you’ll be faced with a whole new set of cracks, holes and missing asphalt this spring.

In winter, especially like the one we’re having this year in Whitby, the fluctuation of temperatures above and below freezing can literally tear at your driveway as the water on its surface and underneath it freezes and thaws.

A few cracks and bumps on your driveway is not generally a problem. But at some point they can make your drive way a safety hazard and you don’t always know when that point is reached until it’s too late.

If you’re planning to repave your asphalt driveway, maximizing its lifespan begins the moment the work is done. Here are just some of the things you need to do to start your new driveway off on a long life.

1. Keep Your Car Off It

That is don’t drive over it into your garage, don’t park on it, don’t put your car anywhere on your just-finished driveway. Even in ideal conditions, asphalt takes at least a few days to harden, and an extra one or two days wouldn’t hurt.

2. Beware of Hot Temperatures

Asphalt is more pliant under high temperatures. If you happen to repave your driveway during a heatwave, you should avoid using it completely for at least a week, or perhaps until cooler temperatures prevail. During that time, even walking on the driveway can mar its finish and things like patio furniture could even puncture a hole in it.

3. Keep Grass & Weeds Off the Driveway

They will pop up in the tightest cracks. To reduce the appearance of grass and weeds on your driveway, install a strip of gravel or topsoil around all the edges of the driveway that run along lawns and/or gardens.

A repaved driveway not only makes your home look great, it feels great to use it, so it pays to starting making it last as long as possible as soon as its installed.

3 Things You Should Know About Garage Door Insulation

Is your home insulated? Of course it is and you probably have an idea of the type of insulation and it’s R-value

In your garage door insulated? Chances are that you don’t know the answer. So you wouldn’t know the type or R-value of the insulation either, and you probably don’t care.

But you should. An insulated garage door offers many of the same benefits as your home’s regular insulation, and a few more.

First, R-value is the measure of how well any insulation prevents the transit of heat from one side of the insulation to the other. The higher the R-value, the better the insulation.

There are lots of reasons for you to pay more attention to your garage door’s insulation and it’s R-value.

1. It Saves You Money

Just like your regular home insulation, the stuff in your garage door prevents heat from getting out in the winter and prevents it from getting in during the summer. It doesn’t matter that you don’t heat or air condition you garage. The heated and cooled air from your home gets into your garage. Without an insulated door, that expensively heated or cooled air is lost much faster.

2. It Protects Your Belongings

Many of the things you keep in your garage, like a lawn mower, can suffer from exposure to freezing temperatures. But even worse than temperature extremes, the fluctuation from cool to warm temperatures, like in the spring and fall when nights can be quite cool, but the days much warmer, can be even worse. That relatively quick shift from cool to warm can cause condensation on the objects in your garage. Condensation that could cause metal objects, again like your lawn mower, to rust or mold to grow just about anywhere.

3. You May not Have the R-value You Think

The two main types of garage door insulation are polystyrene foam and polyurethane foam. Polystyrene comes in sheets (you might call it Styrofoam) and, even when it is well fitted to your garage door panels, it can’t get into every space and crack, leaving areas that might be almost fully exposed to outside air. Polyurethane foam is sprayed on and it expands to fill every gap.

But no matter which type of insulation you have, if the gaps between the door panels and around the outside of the door aren’t properly sealed, then air can get out and in with nothing in its way. That means you could have a certain R-value for your insulation, but that wouldn’t be the effective R-value of the overall door.

From making it easier for your car to start in winter, to reducing the noise in your garage all the time, there are many other benefits to an insulated garage door. So the next time you look at your door, or are in the market for a new one, make sure it’s well insulated and well-sealed.

Get Ready Now for Your Garage Sale

In addition to warmer temperatures and blooming flowers, spring is also the season for garage sales. Not only do garage sales give you a way to get rid of all the stuff you find in your spring cleaning, but they are also a great way to reconnect with neighbors, get all the family involved and make a bit of money (for your favorite charity?) at the same time.

Even if it’s still a little cold outside, the sooner you start planning your garage sale, the more successful, and easier, it will be. Here are just a few things to consider for your plan.

1. Choose a Date

This might sound obvious, but if you don’t set a solid date right away, other plans can pop up to occupy all the best dates and you end up postponing the sale for yet another year.

2. Get You Neighbours in on the Fun

Garage sale shoppers like to find a neighborhood that has a number of sales so they can look through more bargains in one place. Talk to your neighbors and let them know about your plans. Chances are they have a lot of stuff they want to get rid of too.

3. Gather Your Sale Items

You’ve probably been coming across things all winter that you’d like to make part of a sale. But if you leave it to the last minute to get them together, you’re not going to find half of them. Set aside space in your home or garage to collect stuff as you come across it or think about it.

4. Advertise!

Now’s the time to start planning your ‘promotional campaign’ too. Start looking for and making note of all the local publications and websites you can use to tell everyone about the sale. If you use social media, don’t be shy about telling all your connections too. 

5. Make Signs

You’d be surprised at how much traffic that signs around the neighborhood and community will attract to your sale, even on the day of the sale. Start designing and creating them now.

One more thing to plan on doing for your garage sale: have lots of fun!

General Garage Door Maintenance Tips

Garage Door Maintenance Should Be Routine Part of Homeowner Fall Chores

Many homeowners in Ajax, Whitby, and Durham Region are likely now in the process, or some might say the ritual, of doing their outdoor fall chores. The weather has certainly turned from the hot and humid days of summer to the cool/cold and dampness of the fall, and with standard time about to be reinstated, winter cannot be too far away.

So the time has come to cut the lawn one last time, store the patio furniture, locate the snow shovels and winter boots, and – to inspect the garage door. That’s right, ensuring that the garage door is in proper working order before the truly cold and nasty weather arrives should be a regular part of the fall chores for a homeowner. Although the garage door is expected to work unfailingly at all times, a commitment to routine inspection and maintenance will help ensure that it performs at desired levels, particularly in the winter when it could be needed the most.

While this may at first seem like a time-consuming process among other time-consuming fall chores, garage door inspection and maintenance can be performed rather efficiently and the time invested in these activities can help save or eliminate inconvenience, risk of injury, and unnecessary garage door repair bills during the upcoming winter. Performing a garage door inspection and any requisite maintenance consists of several basic steps:

• Tightening all hardware if or as required
• Lubricating all rollers, hinges, and latches
• Examining rollers for cracks/signs of wear
• Inspecting the condition of weather stripping
• Assessing tracking for damage/misalignment
• Cleaning dust/dirt from tracks, springs, cables
• Listening for any unusual noise during operation
• Looking for dents, chips, rust, rot, in door/panels

Additionally, a parallel set of actions should be performed if a garage door opener is in place. Since the automatic opener is vital to the reliable operation of the garage door, it too should be assessed in terms of its condition and functional efficiency. Inspection and maintenance in this case would encompass:

• Lubricating the drive chain mechanism
• Tightening/re-securing all tracking/hardware
• Checking the travel limits for opening/closing the door
• Assessing door weight balance (disconnect opener first)
• Testing the photo eyes and auto-reverse safety feature
• Listening for any odd/unusual noises while it is in operation

While most if not all of the above steps can be done by homeowners with an inclination for do-it-yourself maintenance, there may be those who would prefer to have a garage door inspection and any general maintenance performed by a professional technician. In these instances, homeowners can rely on the expertise of Whitby Garage Doors.

Furthermore, such routine garage door maintenance may uncover a potential or existing issue that requires immediate attention before more serious and expensive complications arise. Subsequently, any repairs or replacement parts that may be needed can be done or installed respectively by the garage door professionals from Whitby Garage Doors.

Expert Garage Door Installation and Repair for Ajax and Whitby Homeowners

Along with providing their expertise in garage door inspections and general maintenance for Ajax, Whitby, and Durham area residents, the skilled technicians at Whitby Garage Doors can capably perform installations and/or repairs that include but are not limited to:

• New garage doors
• Broken springs and cables
• Damaged/bent tracks/rollers
• Automatic garage door openers
• Damaged/broken panels/windows
• Door balancing and/or misalignments
• Weather stripping and aluminum capping
• Replacement of cracked/broken windows

For all garage door installations, repairs, and general maintenance needs, call the skilled technicians from Whitby Garage Doors today at (905) 441-1512 to arrange a service visit at your earliest convenience.

Award-Winning Garage Door Repair Company Expands its Service to Whitby

There are contractors who might take a few liberties within their advertising when they state that they are the top ranked provider in their specific trade or geographical market. In actual fact, when consumers listen more closely to these ads, they may quickly come to realize that those contractors are merely emphasizing aspects of their business that are either non-essential services or elements that cannot be quantified.

The fact that someone uses better quality paint does not make them a good painter, nor does staying open later make a restaurant the best place in town to have a meal. What consumers want most in return for their money is quality workmanship and exceptional customer service – workmanship that they can see and service that makes them feel like they are the most important customer on the planet.

When the workmanship and customer service in question relate to garage door repair, the team from Markham Garage Doors has certainly earned its reputation as the number one garage door repair service in Toronto and the GTA. And this is not just an empty or unsubstantiated claim – the company was recognized as the HomeStars Best of 2012 Toronto Awards recipient for Garage Doors and Hardware. HomeStars is a free online feedback service that assists consumers in finding reputable contractors and suppliers in a number of different trades or markets based on written commentary from previous customers who have used their services.

To read some of the actual customer feedback and testimonials written about Markham Garage Doors, please visit: Home Stars or our Google+ Page.

Perhaps equally impressive is the fact that Markham Garage Doors was established less than 10 years ago, so it has developed this reputation rather quickly. Now, this award-winning customer service is available on a full-time basis to residents and businesses in Durham Region with the recent launch of Whitby Garage Doors, a division of Markham Garage Doors.

Although residents of Whitby and Durham Region have been able to access this level of customer service through Markham Garage Doors for many years, the company now has a dedicated service technician who resides in the region and will be the primary contact moving forward for any and all garage door repair service from Whitby Garage Doors.

A Garage Door Repair Service Dedicated to Exceptional Customer Service

If it were not for customers, there would be no need for customer service. And when a customer contacts a garage door repair service provider, they are likely not looking for an update on the weekend weather or inquiring about the score of last night’s game. They have a need for garage door repair and they would like it addressed expertly and quickly to minimize any inconvenience/disruption for themselves and/or their family.

To that end, the staffs of Markham Garage Doors and Whitby Garage Doors exhibit an attitude to customer service that accentuates many of the key aspects that consumers expect when they need to hire a contractor. This customer-focused approach includes:

• Immediate response to messages/contact
• Written and detailed no-obligation estimates
• Convenience – estimates in person or by phone
• Knowledge/experience with all types of garage doors
• The use of top quality products and parts
• Punctuality with scheduled service calls
• Emergency repair service available
• Reasonable and affordable pricing

On any given day, anywhere from two to 10 Markham Garage Doors trucks can be seen on calls throughout Toronto and the GTA, providing customers with their award-winning garage door repair service. Through its mobile van service, Whitby Garage Doors will now be equally visible to residential and commercial property owners in Durham Region.

For more information on the dedication to customer service from Markham Garage Doors and Whitby Garage Doors, view our YouTube video.

To learn more about the award-winning garage door repair service now available in Durham Region from Whitby Garage Doors, view our garage door services.

For your garage door repair needs in Whitby and Durham Region, call the dedicated technician from Whitby Garage Doors today at (905) 441-1512 to book your no-obligation consultation. We look forward to meeting you!