Three Common Garage Storage Issues
Posted on April 27, 2010 | Category: House Trivia
Top of the list for obvious garage storage issues has to be not actually having a garage in the first place. If you’re in this situation then the common storage problems that afflict many others are but a distant ambition for you. But all is not lost; assuming you have a patch of land large enough to park a car on then building a garage is not as big a deal as you might imagine.
Your options for building a new garage these day are quite wide ranging, but one of the most popular is the classic wooden garage which combines aesthetic appeal with being relatively simple and low cost to construct. You (or your builder) can either design and build a custom timber garage or purchase a kit that includes most of what you’ll need, including instructions (you’ll have to provide your own concrete for post footings).
The favorite spot to erect any garage is always right next to your house, for the simple reason that access is easier. If you can easily move from home to garage through an adjoining internal door then it’s not only more convenient but also opens up many more possibilities for using the space. Which leads neatly to the next common garage storage issue; wanting to use the space for something other than just a place to park the car.
Many folk quite understandably view their garage as a potential “something else” i.e. a gym or a workshop or games rooms or home office etc, but there’s always the vexed question of what to do with everything that’s already found its way in there? Stuff somehow seems to expand to fill whatever space is available to it and garages demonstrate this particular Law of Nature perfectly.
Well, the “stuff” most commonly found cluttering up your average garage are: vehicles, garden equipment and DIY tools, and things that don’t seem to belong anywhere else. Far and away the largest are of course vehicles and (again, assuming you have a spot of spare land) you can opt instead to shelter these under a carport. As with building a new garage, wood carport kits make this a quick and cost effective proposition and, like most wooden structures, add visual appeal.
With the cars out of the way, garden and household tools can usually be housed in a sturdy, lockable garden shed, especially if it’s kitted out with decent shelf racking. Which leaves the thick tarry residue at the bottom of the barrel; the stuff that’s in the garage just because you don’t know what else to do with it. Which begs a real obvious question: why then are you keeping it?
But if, having removed the cars and tools, you still have a need for some amount of garage storage, at least hopefully now the problem is somewhat more manageable. One common solution is to simply partition a small part of the garage that is to remain for storage and thus free up the rest of the space for “whatever”.
So in summary… Don’t have a garage? Build one; use a kit. Garage already full? Offload stuff to auxiliary spaces such as a carport and shed. Still got stuff to store? Partition the garage into storage and useable space.
» Filed Under House Trivia
Leave a Reply