Do it Yourself Prefab Garage Kit

For homeowners searching for a way to gain a little extra space a metal garage may be the ideal solution. Prefab garage kits can easily be added to a property providing storage space that is protected from weather damage while remaining easily accessible. One other option that makes this a particularly economical solution is to build it yourself using a prefabricated metal garage kit.

This type of kit is designed to be easily assembled by the purchaser. Standard hardware is used so that the metal garage can be installed using common tools. Doing the assembly work personally saves the money that might be spent to hire a professional builder. Since they are available in a wide variety of styles and sizes prefabricated metal garages are easily customized.

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To aid in the construction process each prefabricated metal garage kit comes with a building manual that is easy to understand. Before starting the materials should be checked against the list in the manual to be sure that all pieces were shipped. This would be everything from the larger frame and panel pieces to the smaller standard sized bolts and polyethylene washers used in all the connections.

Building the metal garage would follow a process similar to these guidelines:

1. The major components of the garage are the build arches, raise arches, and end wall panels. To make construction quick and easy these pieces are pre-cut and pre-drilled and have weather stripping and heavy-duty curved angles. A local hardware store should have any tools needed for assembly if you do not own them.

2. A foundation must be laid before the building is installed. To ensure a stable building a solid, durable foundation should be chosen. The land to be used should be level and firm. An easy to install foundation is concrete that can be poured as a floating concrete perimeter footing.

3. The build arches and raise arches are put up first to form the side walls and roof. To avoid leakages the joints must be tight and the arches firmly attached to the foundation. Raising the arches may require assistance and for taller garages scaffolding may be needed.

4. The metal garage is finished with the end wall panels. To assist in accurate installation the panels are pre-cut and numbered. Their design allows them to easily be bolted onto the base connector and end arch panel. The end walls can have door and window openings installed that are steel-framed. Any type of door can be used to finish the project.

Prefab garage kits are useful for a multitude of situations. They provide extra storage and organizational space. This can function as storage for items used on occasion such as gardening equipment or outdoor activity gear. It can also be used for large, awkward items like lawn mowers or snow blowers. For recreation they can be formed into children's playhouses or into workshops. Whatever the need the installation of a prefabricated metal garage kit can add the needed space while remaining cost effective.

Do it Yourself Prefab Garage Kit

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Organizing Your Garage the Right Way

How do you know it's time to get the garage in order? When people marvel that you're able to get the car into that narrow pathway in a wall-to-wall sea of boxes, tools, ladders, fertilizer bags and holiday decorations, aka ''the garage,'' it might be time to organize. When it's December and you finally locate the Halloween decorations...again, it might be time to organize the garage. When the squirrel family is looking for new lodging with more square footage...it's definitely time to organize the garage. 

Step One

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Take everything, repeat everything, out of the garage. This includes every can, every bottle, every last nail. Sort things on the driveway in three labeled piles: KEEP, TRASH and DONATE/SELL. Be sure to get rid of anything you no longer use. When you have two children, do you really need eight bicycles? Donating to a charity is a great way to teach children to share their possessions with less fortunate children. If you have a family heirloom that you love too much to throw away, find a new use for it. An old wagon that Grandpa built can be painted and taken into a bedroom for displaying stuffed animals or storing books and toys.  Once everything is sorted, the process will move more quickly.

Step Two

The next step is a fresh coat of paint on interior surfaces. A lighter color paint will create the illusion of more space; a light, metallic gray, for instance, on walls and ceiling will brighten the area. The floor can be painted with a heavy-duty garage floor coating, or covered in thick vinyl/rubber sheeting made specifically for garage floors, applied with two-sided adhesive tape. Another flooring option is modular garage floor tile.

Step Three

Garages are meant for cars, but the space serves many other roles, including workshop, potting barn, auto supply station and year-round storage area. The secret is to utilize vertical space. Storing as many items as possible off the floor is the best way to create a clutter-free garage.

A wall-mounted track, screwed to the wall, is an ideal system. One track can be installed approximately 7 feet from the floor for long handled items such as a broom, shovel, rake, electric trimmer, lawn furniture and ladders. Another track can be installed approximately 3 feet from the floor. This is a good place for hoses, sprinklers, dustpan and brush.

Tracking systems can be equipped with hooks, shelves, drawer units and baskets for hand tools, garden supplies, cleaning essentials.  Designate one basket or drawer for carpentry tools such as hammer, pliers, wire clipper, jars of nails and screws. A metal receptacle can be included for trash, and another could be used to keep rock salt handy for icy mornings in the winter.

A pegboard with hooks and accessories is another good wall system. Any wall-storage method that keeps items of the garage floor is a valuable organizational tool.

Open-frame walls are perfect locations for small shelves. Ledges can be installed over windows and doors for seldom used items such as lanterns and other seasonal garden items.

Step Four

Find a convenient corner to use for a potting station. An ideal spot would be near a sunny window that overlooks the garden. Near a doorway is also a good location for easy hauling in and out of heavy potted plants. A potting station also needs to be close to a water supply, either use a long garden hose connected to an exterior spigot, or a four-gallon metal watering can that can be transported easily. The area will be busiest in spring and summer, but when the weather is cold, the area can be used for tending to houseplants, storing bulbs or planting and cultivating seeds.

Hang metal buckets or wire baskets on walls to hold garden twine, scissors, and plant markers. Larger items, such as hedge clippers and pruners can be hung on the wall on hooks. Equipment such as rotary spreader and wheel barrow can be hung on large hooks and held again the wall with bungee chord, with the lawn mower stored beneath on the floor. Bins on casters, either galvanized metal or plastic, are perfect for storing bulky quantities of fertilizer, grass seed and potting soil.

A potting station needs a work surface. A table or desk is one option; another is a table-top without legs attached to the wall with a hinged bracket. When the surface is not being used it can be dropped down against the wall, out of the way.

Step Five

Create a storage wall for holiday decorations, bulk grocery purchases, seasonal items and sporting equipment.  A long, high shelf is the perfect place for the picnic basket and cooler or fishing tackle and rods. Shelves on the wall can be used to store household items bought in bulk, such as bottled water, rolls of paper towel, cleaning supplies, and dry food. A substitute for shelving would be a metal cabinet. Another cabinet without shelves, or a portable closet, can be used to store golf bags.  

Underneath the shelving (or alongside the storage cabinet), a painted, pine storage chest with bins inside is perfect for balls, roller-blades, or helmets. Equipment can be sorted by family member or season. This is also a good location for recycle bins for plastic, metal and glass, plus a wire basket and twine for newspapers. 

Bicycles can be hung on hefty hooks on the wall; or suspended from ceiling-mounted hooks.  Another good location for the hooks is on a center support beam; one support beam can accommodate two bicycles.

A separate closet or metal cabinet can be designated for holiday decorations, stored according to season. Shelving is also an option if everything is stored in separate bins. 

Finally, with a place for everything and everything in its place your garage will be a daily convenience and source of pride. There'll be no more wasting precious time searching and not finding. Instead, you'll know exactly where to find what you need for work or play.  Once organized, you can say farewell to clutter and hello to a more pleasant lifestyle....and you car will finally no longer feel like an intruder in its own home. 

RESOURCES:

''Clean Out Your Garage,'' Real Simple Home & Organizing, Real Simple Magazine, Time Inc., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10020 (877) 747-1048

"Get Organized, Expert Tips & Ideas," The Container Store, Coppell, TX 75019 (888) 266-8246

www.containerstore.com

"Organize Your Garage," Lowe's Home Improvement, Lowe's Home Improvement, Lowe's, North Wilkesboro, NC 28656, (800) 445-6937

www.lowes.com

Organizing Your Garage the Right Way

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3 Simple Tips to Turn Your Garage Into Your Workshop

So you're tired of your hum-drum garage merely being a place to park your car and collect years of junk. Believe it or not, your garage has much more to offer than being that scary part of the house the kids are afraid to go near. You have roughly 480 square feet of space being completely unutilized. So what can you do? How about turning that valuable space into a workshop?

Creating a workshop in your garage is easier than you think. It just requires a vision and some helpful tools you might already have lying around. Here are some tips to turning your garage into the workshop of your dreams.

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Clean Sweep

Before adding more junk to an already junk filled space, your first step is to clean out the existing items cluttering the room. Get rid of all the stuff you don't need. Clear out old boxes and group miscellaneous things together so that you can put them away neatly once you get your workshop put together. After reducing the clutter, clean the garage floor. Simply start with a good sweep of all the corners and in dark areas. Next, get some heavy duty floor cleaner and mop the garage floor.

The Essentials

Now that you've got a blank canvas to work with, you can start to design your ultimate workshop. Do you need a workbench or do you have old materials lying around that you could use to make one yourself? Will you need more storage? Toolboxes? Saws? Really think about what you'll be doing in your workshop and write a list of what is essential to make it functional.

Put the Puzzle Together

Now it's time to put your room together. By now you should have purchased all of the organizational tools and storage you need like a workbench, toolboxes, shelving and racks. Arrange each item so that it's convenient to you but also out of the way. Storage items that aren't used very much should be stored overhead whereas tools and equipment should be stored on workshop walls or in toolboxes for easy use. If you purchased extra cabinetry, try using the drawers and shelves for the things you'll use often, but not as much as your tools. Stuff like rags, stencils or wood scraps are ideal for these areas.

The garage is so diverse in utility; there really is no reason to be unhappy with it. You can create any type of haven you'd like whether it be for fixing cars, for crafts with the kids or an art studio. The sky's the limit so let your imagination run wild and get busy creating your masterpiece.

3 Simple Tips to Turn Your Garage Into Your Workshop

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