Garage Makeover 101

Garages can turn into unpleasant bat caves if not properly maintained. It is highly recommended to give your garage a makeover after just a few years of moving in. Do not wait until you have accumulated and stored so much stuff because it will be more difficult to clean and fix. From garage floors all the way to the ceiling, here are some helpful tips in accomplishing a garage makeover project:

Remove All Stored Items

To be fully informed about the real status of your garage, you must take everything out of the garage. It is highly recommended to do the makeover on a fine weather so you could just haul all your stuff onto the driveway. Just make sure to line them up nice and tidy to make it easier to put back in later in the day.

Clean the Garage Flooring

Oftentimes, the garage floor has some hints of grease, paint, and scratches somewhere. Using a hose and a mop, or a brush for stubborn dirt, remove mud, dust, and grease. If you need a special product cleaner, make sure to use it according to manufacturer’s instructions. You may also coat a concrete floor with epoxy floor coating. This helps cover up damaged spots, improve the look of the floor, and protect the slab from worse damage. Epoxy flooring is resistant to impact, abrasion, paint and oil spills, and heavy vehicular traffic.

Paint the Walls

If your walls are not painted yet or if it is but it looks outdated, a fresh layer of paint can make a huge difference. Choose colors that match your floors and in lighter shades. Dark garages look small and scary but bright garages look more spacious and inviting.

Add Storage

Built-in cabinets and drawers are helpful in keeping items in a garage from plain sight. If yours don’t have any and installing some is just not something your budget can entertain right now, there are cheaper alternatives. Use shelves, boxes, or bins if you may. You may also find a used rack or just add hooks for stuff that can be hung. Just make sure that the sizes you buy can accommodate the size of the item that needs to be stored.

Sort All the Stuff

While waiting for the wall paint to dry and the garage floor to cure, sort all your stuff that you have put out on the driveway. Sort them by type, size, or usage. For example, put all small kitchen items in a bin and the larger kitchen stuff into a bigger box, then put those two boxes in one section of the garage to make them easy to find. If you could, print out or write down some labels to help you find stuff quickly and conveniently.

See Full Article Here:} Garage Makeover 101