Friday, April 2, 2010

Cleaning the Garage Should Be Followed by Organizing

The garage is not just for cars, of course. This space has become very important as a storage area as well. While the amount of storage space in the garage can be limited, with efficient use and some planning, it can take on the job of preserving some of the family's most important possessions. With the right combination of cabinets and shelves, the garage can truly become an efficient part of the family home.

However, because the garage is so important as a storage area, occasional cleaning and renovation may be in order. Homeowners have found there are many options when it comes to reorganizing the garage, from a complete remodeling to a cleaning and rearranging on newly-installed shelves. The final floor plan depends on family needs.

Modular storage kits have become popular for garages, with components that can be mixed and matched to take care of most storage issues. Some homeowners have been ambitious enough to construct their own storage shelves and cabinets, customizing their garage to fit family needs. This may be necessary if the number of items collected in the garage is too much for even the most creative modular kits. It is also possible to use a combination of modular storage kits and rented storage space to solve space problems.

Among the most popular garage storage solutions are plastic containers, wall-mounted racks, shelves, cabinets and woodworkers bench. Cabinets provide the extra protection from moisture and dust that shelves and open modules don't offer. Shelves can provide space very efficiently and make may items accessible. But a number of people have chosen wall-mounted racks as the perfect solution for their garage storage needs. Combining one of these methods with plastic containers will solve many garage-space issues.

It would be great if, on a nice spring or summer day, the homeowner could walk to the garage and find the bicycle or the fishing gear without a lot of digging and searching. If the family wants to enjoy the weather with a picnic, it would be nice if the needed picnic items could be easily found. But if things are scattered around, in a hit-or-miss family members are often disappointed or frustrated long before it's time to leave. Organizing the garage is easy, once the homeowner and family determine where to start.

Garage cleaning and organizing begins with separating items, categorizing things that will be stored together, given away or sold. Sporting goods can be placed in a particular cabinet that may not be opened until the appropriate season. Tools can be placed on wall-mounted pegboards or shelves next to the workbench. During this process, family members should be firm about throwing items away and not getting emotionally attached to something that will just take up space. Seasonal items such as boots, hats, sleds, and so on, should be carefully sorted and stored in cabinets or small closet spaces that can be opened when the items are actually needed. The simple act of organizing and eliminating might even create space for the car!




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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Putting Together Nice Looking Sheds

When it comes time to consider building an outbuilding or storage area for putting away garden or lawn equipment along with anything else that might need to be stored safely, knowing what goes into putting together nice looking sheds -- which make for great DIY project -- might be handy to know. For sure, these storage buildings are a common sight in many a suburban backyard.

There are many kinds of facilities that go by the name of storage shed, and there are just as many ways to go about constructing one. Some of the largest and most intricate of these sheds might even sit on concrete pads, while it is usually the case that most will just find themselves sitting atop a wood-framed foundation or even the ground itself.

Regardless, even if there is a foundation, it is always a good idea to make sure any shed is anchored in some way or another so that it is not picked up by strong winds. Anchor kits aren't very expensive and are very simple to install, too. Once it's been decided to anchor, the next thing to consider is the kind or style of shed to be built, with several types always been popular.

For those who are looking for simplicity in construction, the preferred choice is usually a type of shed called a gable. It looks for all the world like a miniature home, but mainly because it has a peaked roof that slopes down on both sides in equal links. Additionally, the right and left sides are usually longer than the front and back sides. There are a number of good plans on the Internet.

Another attractive kind of storage shed is one that looks like a miniature barn. It is more formally called gambrel roof sheds, and they're usually square; meaning that all sides are equal in length. The most common version of this particular shed is usually 8' x 8'. Building it normally runs less than $600 for materials and the man-hours needed, too. Tools that will be required usually fall into two categories.

The first one is, of course, manual tools. These will include things like a hammer and hand saw, a level and a chalk line, and a rafter square and steel tape measure. Power tools are fairly simple and easy to use and will include a power drill and jig saw along with a reciprocating saw and a power miter saw. All are commonly available at any home improvement store.

It is recommended that any shed be built onto a foundation of one type or another, so construction efforts should focus on this item first of all. Wooden frame foundations that create a solid floor which has been cut and then hammered together are usually the easiest and quickest to build. After that, build all sidewalls and then the roof. Back and front walls and then trim and shingling are done last.

Putting together nice looking sheds really doesn't require all that much do-it-yourself know-how, and there are a great many resources available on the Internet that one can make use of. This includes plans and blueprints can be downloaded and then used for construction purposes. Usually, one of these buildings can be put up in less than a weekend if one is good at using power tools.




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