Make Your Garage Even More Useable with Affordable and Functional Upgrades

Do you have a garage, but wish you could make it better and more usable? If so, you're far from alone. According to the Wall St Journal, 89% of garage-owners want to make their garages better. In too many cases, a person's garage is basically a large junk shed that might have room for a car, with a lot of space either going to waste, or being used in a way that prevents it from being used well.

Most homes have a garage - but not many people make the best use of that space!

A garage doesn't have to simply be a place to store cars and whatever other stuff you happen to put in it. With some simple upgrades, such as better garage cabinets, slatwall, or flooring, your garage can be transformed into a space you love to be in. It can be a far better environment for working or for hobbies.

It's also a great way to show off if you want the neighbors to be envious. Do you have a garage you want people to see, or are you afraid to leave the door open? A few upgrades could give you the best garage on the block!

At Garage Finisher, we specialize in helping people in Cleveland make the most of their garage! Whether you want more room for cars and car repairs specifically or want to turn your garage into a more general-purpose working space, we've got plenty of affordable ideas to make it better! Garage Finisher is here to help you turn your plain garage into a wonderful working space, and we have extensive experience upgrading garages to meet our customers' needs.

Five Great Ways to Turn Your Garage into An Excellent Working Space

1 - Clean out all the junk and Prepare the Space

Before you can even think about upgrading, you've probably got some work to do; you need to clear out all the junk. Don't worry, a lot of people are in the same position. It's so easy to use a garage as a 'junk room,' but over time, it fills up with clutter and things that - realistically - you just aren't going to use.

The practical reasons for this are obvious: the less junk is in your garage, the easier it will be to install new garage cabinets or flooring or other upgrades. However, the other reason is that too often people use their garage as a dumping ground for stuff they won't throw out, but probably aren't going to ever use. It's time to change that!

Go through your garage and think hard about the things you're storing in it. As a rule of thumb, if it's something you haven't used in the last year, you probably don't need to keep it. Or, at least, it's probably something that should be moved into another storage location, such as a basement or attic.

De-cluttering your garage will make any future work much easier, as well as ensuring you have a great well-organized garage at the end of the upgrade process.

As a rule of thumb, if you have something in your garage that you haven't used in at least one year, you're probably never going to use it. Hold a garage sale or donate anything usable to charity. Free up as much floor space as you can.

The other thing to consider is the condition of your current concrete floor.  Is it good enough to keep using as is? If your floor is older, and is already heavily damaged or stained, you may be happy to hear that in most cases you don’t have to consider ripping it out and replacing the slab. A professional can repair the cracks and pitting and apply a durable coating system on top of the existing concrete that can last the life of your garage and really improve it’s appearance and durability.

2 - Install a better floor - Garage Flooring Upgrades

Most garages only have a naked slab of concrete for a floor. This works, but it's going to make for an unpleasant working environment. Concrete sucks up spills like a sponge, and if you've spilled something like oil that's going to stain, it's going to be permanently stained. Concrete also tends to attract dirt, dust, and other small particles like metal or wood shavings and is hard to clean.

On top of that, concrete is extremely vulnerable to damage since it cracks easily and is damaged by road salt.

You can make your floor so much better, and more usable, by installing a resinous coating on top of the concrete. A material such as polyaspartic floor coating creates a single smooth surface that is stain resistant, easy to clean, and exceptionally strong. A resin-coated garage floor will be ready for anything you throw at it for years to come and will not be damaged by road salt.

Most garages start with a basic concrete slab, but that should not be the final floor. Concrete is easily damaged, and when it becomes pitted or develops a crack, that becomes a tripping hazard. It's not particularly easy to repair, either.

Basic concrete is also porous, so it is exceptionally easy to stain. If you spill some oil, for example, that stain isn't coming out unless you want to grind off the top layer of concrete. Even worse, bare concrete can be easily damaged by the salt that is applied to the roads to keep them safe.

The best way to upgrade garage flooring is with resinous coatings. Resin-coated-concrete has been used since the mid-20th Century due to its strength and durability. Over the years there has been development of improved formulas. 

Simply put, a layer of extra-hard resin is poured onto the surface, then spread out evenly and allowed to dry. Once it cures and hardens, you get an edge-to-edge surface that is exceptionally resistant to damage, difficult to stain, and very easy to clean.

There are several different resins used, with epoxy or urethane being the most common options in the past. However, in the last couple decades, a new option has emerged as the clear front runner: polyaspartic coatings.

Polyaspartic coatings are even stronger than epoxy, and almost impossible to damage without going out of your way to do so. Even dropped heavy items are unlikely to cause damage as a good polyaspartic blend can be ten times stronger than epoxy. Polyaspartic materials also have better chemical resistance than most other resinous coatings and can stand up to anything which you're likely to have in a typical garage. The most damaging substance to a garage floor is road salt and that does not harm a good polyaspartic floor. Polyaspartic in not damaged by UV light, unlike epoxy, so there's no reason to fear leaving your garage door open on a sunny day. 

Perhaps best of all, polyaspartic coatings are fast to cure. They can become usable in less than 24 hours, and installation (by professionals) is quick as well. Basically, you can spend one day having your garage floor coated, and it'll be ready to use the next day.

Unlike epoxy, there really is no downside to polyaspartic coatings as long as they are applied by a professional with a lot of experience with the material. Because polyapartic coatings cure so fast, it’s best to be left up to professionals that knows what they’re doing, or the results might not be what you were hoping for. 

A professional applied polyaspartic coating can easily last the life of your garage.

3 - Got too many cars? Install a car lift.

As a family grows, the number of cars tends to grow as well.  This can be a problem for smaller one- or two-car garages. Fortunately, professional-quality car lifts are more affordable than you might expect.

These allow you to stack two cars 'on top' of each other, effectively doubling the number of vehicles you can store in a garage.

They're also excellent if you have other utility vehicles, such as jet skis or ATVs. Those can go in the top slot for long-term storage, while your primary road vehicle comes and goes beneath them.

Car lift systems could even be used to add storage above your car if you really need more room.

4 - Garage cabinets add utility

If you want a well-organized garage, you need well-organized garage cabinets. Today, garage cabinetry can be built to order, so that it fits perfectly into any size space that your garage might have. These are professional-grade cabinets, capable of storing anything you might need while keeping it close at hand. You can even get cabinets with locking mechanisms, for storing dangerous chemicals you don't want in the house.

Another major issue facing most garages is that storage space is often limited, or not well suited to the work you're doing in your garage. New garage cabinets can be a great way to rectify that situation.

You've got three basic options for cabinet materials: wood, plastic, or metal.

Plastic & Metal can be ideal solutions and can be terrible solutions. With so many varieties of both, you have to be very careful when buying. Both offer quality storage solutions, but both offer cheaper versions that just aren't that durable and will be easily damaged. Some may not even be up to the task of holding heavier pieces of equipment. Sagging, scratching and warping are common. So when you are shopping, take a good look at the quality of design and materials used. 

Depending on the amount of work you want to put in yourself, you can potentially measure out your walls and pick "off the shelf" cabinets from stores. On the other hand, hiring a company for custom garage cabinets will probably cost a bit more, but yield a great set of cabinets that are specifically designed for garages. But it’s important to choose the right company with a lot of experience in cabinet design and installation. 

Plus, don't forget labels! Good labeling is the key to making the best use of garage cabinets and other storage systems.

Warranty should also be an important consideration. Cabinets can vary from worthless short-term warranties up to Unconditional Lifetime warranties like the warranty you receive when buying cabinets from Garage Finisher.

5 - Slat walls put everything you need close at hand

Slatwall is great because it's so versatile. Slatwall can hold up shelves, hooks, baskets, bins, and more.

Do you have a smaller space in front of a wall, where there isn't room for a full-sized cabinet? Add a slat wall instead! Slat walls are amazingly multi-functional. With a few accessories that hook straight into the slats, it can store almost any small or flat objects - anything from everyday hand tools to larger implements such as brooms, shovels, bikes or rakes.

This puts them close at hand, as well as making it as easy as possible to put them away when you're done. 

Or, add shelves or baskets to your slat wall, as needed. There's very little limit to what can be hung on a slat wall. (And they're stronger than you might think!)

The other major option for garage storage are slatwall systems, but this doesn't need to be an either-or choice. The best garage organization upgrades typically use both cabinets and slatwall for maximum utility.

Unlike cabinets, your slatwall layout is never set. If you decide you want to change how things are laid out, just move the various components around. This versatility means that a well-made slatwall can continue being useful for years, even decades, even as your own needs and usage change.

As with cabinets, slatwall can come in wood, plastic, or metal variations. And, just like cabinets, choosing the right slatwall should come down to design, product quality and warranty. You can buy cheap slatwall that won’t hold up long with a useless short-term warranty, or quality slatwall with an unconditional lifetime warranty that you’ll never have to worry about.

Also, consider how much weight you will want to hang on your slatwall. Given that slatwall can involve a lot of weight being put on relatively small attachments, you want the slatwall to be able to hold whatever you might want to hang both now and in the future. It's an investment that will pay off for years to come.

Garage Finishers Makes Cleveland Garages Better

For decades, we've specialized in organizing and upgrading garages for both residential and business customers. We can build you cabinets or slat walls to order, coat your concrete floor with our own super-strong "Forever Floor" polyaspartic blend, or even do a full renovation.

Choose Garage Finisher To Create A Garage That You'll Love!

For nearly 30 years, Garage Finisher has specialized in creating the best possible garages for homes and businesses across Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. We work with you to understand your needs, and can then craft both storage and flooring solutions that create your dream garage.

You can see our work for yourself with our before-and-after picture gallery.

If your garage has become so cluttered that you can't use it, or you're afraid to leave the door open for any amount of time, Garage Finisher can help! We have the best in garage cabinets, slatwall, and of course, our own proprietary Forever Floor custom polyaspartic coating blend.

Contact us today to discuss making your dream garage into a reality.