Many people have decided that instead of using their garage for parking cars they will get more use out of their garage if they turn it into a workshop.  Most people feel that having an extra room to use is more important than parking their car indoors.  If you have a neat organized workshop you might even be able to use your garage for both purposes.  As long as you workshop is positioned around the perimeter of the garage you can still bring your car inside if snow or ice is in the forecast.  Also you may choose to park your car inside most of the time and only park it out the worse when you’re in the middle of a project that needs a lot of space.  However you choose to situate your workshop to be sure that you leave space around the items that you will need to get to for general maintenance and repairs such as your electrical box, your water softener, and your hot water heater.

Here are five simple and inexpensive steps that you can use to make your garage a handy workshop.

1)      1. Make yourself a workbench.  This can be an intricate piece that runs the full span of your back wall in your garage or it can be as simple as an old door or scrap wood that you put on top of saw horses.

2)      2. Give yourself some storage.  There are many expensive wall units that you can purchase to mount on the walls of your garage and above your workbench.  You can also choose a less expensive route such as mountain pegboard above your workbench.  Strategically placed the peg hooks according to the size of tool you will be placing on the board once you have your tools and plays trace around them with a black marker so that once they are removed you will know exactly which hook they belong on.

3)      3. Keep your small items organized.  If you’re going all out there are many different organizational tools that you can purchase from home improvement stores.  Get yourself bins of all different sizes so that you can keep track of your screws and nails and other small items.  If you are on a tight budget try to save old jars such as spaghetti sauce jars, peanut butter jars, or any other type of Jordan has a screw on lid.  After the jars are empty and clean sold them in hot water to loosen the label one should peel off the label you can use a permanent marker to write what you want to store in the jar also if the jar is clear glass or plastic you can easily see what’s in the jar.  Use these jars to store nails, screws, nuts, bolts, and any other small items you have a line around your garage.

4)     4.  If you’ve mounted some shelves in your work area make sure you give yourself a place to store racks.  You can either use and old box that you have in the house or go out and purchase a plastic bin that has a lid closure.

5)      5. If you have yourself a large work area a final tip is to use an old tackle box or go out and purchase a small tackle or tool box.  Having this sort of item is good for transporting everything you need for one particular project.  Put everything you’re going to use including hammers and nails and screws and screwdrivers and tape measures and rags into the small box so that you have it all at your fingertips and you don’t have to keep running from one side of the garage to the other to gather things as you need them.

Small things will keep you better organized and make your projects much more enjoyable than if your garage is a big jumbled mess.

If your garage has seen better days it may be time to get your garage a facelift.  There are many things that you can do to make your garage more appealing.  You could simply organize your garage and buy some new storage racks so that the items you keep in your garage are neat and clean and easy to get to.  Always make sure that electrical items remain easy to get to.  If you ever have any plumbing or electrical problems you will need to be sure that the professionals can easily reach your electrical box, your hot water heater, and your water treatment tanks.  So before you add any organizational features make sure that you keep in mind you will need to leave space around the aforementioned items.

You can build yourself a workshop in your garage.  Having a nice work bench is something that most homeowners can appreciate.  Even if you only use your workbench to do small repairs it’s nice to have one area in your garage where you can take things to glue them or make repairs.  It’s beneficial to have all your tools handy in the same area so besides building a workbench you should also make sure that you put some peg board or other storage units close by to hold all your tools and home improvement supplies.

On other thing you can do when you’re thinking of getting your garage a facelift is to install an automatic garage door opener.   This will make your life much easier and more pleasant.  While you’re at it you should consider replacing your garage doors.  There are so many beautiful new styles of garage door available.  Particularly if your garage doors face the street you might want to think about upgrading to a fancy carriage door style.  This style of door will really complement most modern homes.  

Nowadays you don’t even have to custom order this style of garage door, most home improvement stores either have them in stock or can order them in in just a day or two.

In addition to a new garage door upgrading the flooring of your garage can make a huge impact to the overall aesthetics of your home.  There are products that you can roll on just like paint then added a fun sprinkle of color and when it dries you have a floor that looks like the floor of a car showroom.  In addition to having a beautiful floor, most of these products are also non-slip so you will have a safe surface to walk on.  You can also try interlocking garage floor tiles.  These come in a multitude of colors and patterns they are made of polypropylene and are usually very easy to install and keep clean.

Whatever improvements you decide to make to your garage you are sure to enjoy them for many years to come.  Any time you make improvements homeowners will have a sense of pride and accomplishment in their home and enjoy it that much more.

If you’ve recently reorganized or remodeled your garage and now have a nice workshop or a home office you may be wondering if you should use something to climate control the space.  Most often the answer is yes your garage really wasn’t meant to be a livable space most often garage is our only meant to house your car and lawn mower. 

If you begin to use your garage as living space you will need to deal with one major inconvenience the weather.  In particular winter weather is difficult to manage in the garage.  In the summer you can just raise the garage door and open the window and make use of any breezes and natural air flow.  However in the wintertime you just can’t get around cold weather.

Luckily, there are many ways that you can warm up a converted garage without having to resort to paying a contractor to tie in your heat and air system.  A porcelain heater is a good short term solution but they’re not meant to warm up and large space for prolonged periods of time.  So if you only plan on using your garage work space for a couple of hours each day you can situate a porcelain heater near you and be fairly comfortable. 

Another good idea is a kerosene heater most of them have an electric starter which makes them easy to turn on they also usually have a thermostat to be able to regulate the heat.  Unfortunately the downside of kerosene heaters is that they smell like, well, kerosene.  So if you have any issues with the smell of kerosene this type of heater probably wouldn’t be the best choice for you.  They can also be dangerous around young children or rambunctious pets so you definitely would not want to leave the heater unattended where it can be tipped over and you need to be sure to ventilate the garage to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

Garrett cedars are good option if it’s in your budget.  You would have to hire a professional to run the gas line and install the heater unless you have specific training in this.  Since this is a more permanent solution you need to make sure that you will want the gas heater for years to come.  There are many makes and models of gas heaters many are very affordable.  One of the pros of gas heaters is it will give you a consistent in warm environment.  Most of these heaters are available in both Manual and thermostat controlled types all you have to do is set the temperature you desire and leave that to do its job just like the heater in your home.

The two types of gas heaters you can choose vented or ventless.  A vent-less unit uses air from the room while the event of model events directly out of the house to the outdoors.  The disadvantage of ventless is that you have to make sure the room is vented because the unit will use air from the room and needs a constant supply of fresh air.  Another advantage to gas heaters is they have a fairly low cost of operation when compared to kerosene or electric heaters.

Whatever heater you decide to install in your garage make sure you keep within your budget and hire a professional with any installations you are uncomfortable doing yourself.