Metal Garage Cabinets

The vast majority of garages these days are in a right old mess. Most people just over look their garage and never really bother with it, because of this I’d say about 75% of garages are not getting used for any purpose other than storing junk from the house. Normally when people see the state their garage is in they don’t bother doing anything about it and “leave it to another day”. That other day then turns into months and sometimes years. Its only when there is no room left for anything else that anything gets done about the mess.

To tidy the mess away you really need to have some sort of shelving systems or garage cabinets in place to store everything in. Shelves and cabinets are not going to sort all of your problems, the chances are you will have a whole load of things lying in your garage that you really don’t need any more, but for some reason you are still holding on to them. Once you have sifted through all of your belongings and thrown out what you don’t need, good garage shelving systems can really help to restore some sort of order to your garage.

Garage Shelving Systems

In some of the other posts in this site I have already wrote about garage cabinets, so if you want to find out more about them then please **click here**. Garage cabinets are not for everyone, sometimes there just isn’t enough space to fit cabinets into the garage, or you would rather have certain things on display or somewhere that they are easier to get to, this is where shelving systems come in to play.

In the past our garages would only have been use to store our cars in, but over the years things have changed and these days people use the garage for many more reasons than just car storage. People use their garage as their gym, as a workshop or for their home cinema system. A lot of the time if you want to get a car into the garage there is no chance at all of that happening, between all the clutter and the other things people use garages for. If you want to get back the space in your garage for your car or for some other reason then quality wall shelving systems are what you need.

If you have no shelving to use then every time you find a box and have nowhere to put it, it will end up in the middle of the garage floor, then one box leads to another, then to another and so on. With garage shelving there is now somewhere to put it. All medium sized items will fit onto your shelves no problem, if you have smaller items then you can get some storage boxes, put them all in those and stick them on shelf out of the way.

Shopping For Shelving

When it comes to buying garage shelving there a few routes that you can go down. If you want buy a kit to make up you have two choices. You can go for a metal or wire shelving systems, these can cost quite a bit of money, but they will normally be made to a decent quality and will be able to take a fair amount of weight, perfect if you have got tools for your car to store away, or gym equipment and so on.

If you are after a simple set of shelves then you could look into plastic racking, these will generally cost considerably less than the metal shelves, but they are made to a much lower standard, generally. They wont be capable of holding any great weights. But if you are just looking for something to keep your Christmas decorations on, or your old clothes and such like, then these shelves could be just what you are after.

Then of course you could make your own wooden shelving systems, if you are a dab hand with hand tools and know what your doing this could be a great way to save money, and it also gives you totally control over how they look and how they are arranged. If you have got odd shaped walls then you can construct some shelves to go with the contours of the garage. They also look great if they have been made to a good standard, plus you have the satisfaction of having made your shelves.

So if you need to free up some space in your garage, for what ever purpose, but don’t feel that garage cabinets are right for you then you should have a look shelving systems. Take a stop by your local hardware store and see what they have on offer, or if you are making your own, take a look anyway and you might get some new ideas.

When it comes to buying a new garage floor coating there are so many products out there for you to choose from. I’m going to try and make the process of choosing that little bit easier for you.

There are so many products out there that are made to make your garage look better or to increase the durability of your garage floor. More often than not the garage it totally neglected by home owners, but it is a huge space, probably the biggest floor space in your home, so you should be trying to make full use of it. Either for storing your car away from the harsh weather, or even for keeping your belongings in. If your garage is big enough it can be a multi purpose area and also somewhere for your kids to play in when the weather isn’t great outside, and also to keep them safe, away from strangers and busy roads.

Garage Floor Tiles

Tiles are one of the most popular choices in garage floor coating. There are so many choices for you to think about when choosing it, there are an infinite number of colors to choose from, as well as different materials and sizes of tile. Garage floor tiles are not by any means cheap, but they are very good at their job, they keep the garage looking nice and tidy and they protect the floor from any spillages, such as oil, coolant, brake fluid and so on. Because of the wide range of different colors that you can choose from, a lot of people go a bit crazy when they are decorating their garage, a lot of them decorate in the same colors as their favorite sports or racing teams. Or you could go for colors that match your car or the manufacturer. Garage floor tiles are also pretty easy to install, they are interlocking like a jigsaw, but obviously not a complicated one.

Garage Floor Mats

Floor mats are also pretty popular. Your typical garage floor mats come in a big roll, similar to a carpet, so all you need to do is to roll it out, cut it to shape and secure it down. You need to make sure that all of the edges are well stuck down and sealed up, using a silicon sealant or something similar, to ensure that the flooring is totally water tight. If all the edges are sealed well then garage floor mats will have the same properties as the tiles, resistant to water, oil etc, but will be easier to install, and also quite a bit cheaper.

Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

If you want to go for that showroom look in your garage then an epoxy garage floor coating is what you want to go for. You are going to be left with that shiny, durable flooring that they have at the local dealerships. While the epoxy coating can be easy to apply, a lot of people find it pretty hard to mix it up, also the floor underneath it has also got to be spotlessly clean and free from all moisture, oil and grease, if any of these a present then the epoxy is not going to bond to the floor. For this reason many people just leave it to a professional to do, it might cost more to do it this way, but at least you can be sure that you are going to get the best finish possible. If you want to have a non slip surface then while the epoxy is still drying you can have sand or little beads put on top of it, this will create a grippy surface. Before you can use the garage again you need to wait until the floor is totally dry, the time this takes will vary depending on the weather.

Garage Floor Paint

Using paint for your garage floor coating is the cheapest option you have available to you. It is also something that you can do yourself very easily and without needing to splash out on any expensive tools or equipment. Before you start painting you will need to make sure that the floor is nice and smooth, that there are no cracks or gaps on the concrete. You also need to make sure that the floor is spotlessly clean or the paint wont stick. You will also want to give some thought to using a primer before you paint, this will make the paint adhere better and also last longer.

It might take a number of coats of paint before you reach the look you want, so between each coat of paint you have got to leave the paint to completely dry before applying the next. Paint is not going to last anywhere near as long as the other methods mentioned above, no matter how well it is applied. High traffic areas and areas exposed to a lot of water will be the first to wear away. But because it is so cheap it is not going to break the bank if you have got to redo the garage floor every two or three years.

There is a garage floor coating out there for everyone, if you want to spend a lot of money on the job and have good durability, you should go for floor tiles or mats. If you are on a tighter budget or you just want to give you garage quick facelift then you will probably want to go for the epoxy or the paint for your garage floor. What ever method you choose your garage is going to look so much better once the job is complete. And to make you job even better you might want to consider some garage cabinets to match as well.