Many people who
were thinking of selling their home and trading their single car garage for a
double garage door have found they are going to have to wait a little longer
for their equity to build up. This does not mean that they can't make their
existing home feel like new. One of the fun parts of a new house is the extra
facelift owners will give their home to increase its sale price.
Selling a home
does not need to be the only reason to want to improve the garage space. Take a
weekend and make it more inviting and accessible. First pack up everything in
the garage. Storage tubs can come in handy here, otherwise a couple of boxes
should get everything packed away. Take a mental inventory. Is the existing
storage enough. Is new shelving or a cabinet needed? If some of the stored
items are large and but light, look to the ceiling for storage. The space above
the garage door may be adequate to store skies, snow sleds, or baby pools. Just
make sure that they don't get in the way of the garage door opener. A local
hardware store should have the hooks or braces for any need.
While one's eyes
are looking up, take a look at the garage door opener. If it is really old or
noisy could it use a tune up or would a replacement be in order. Then look at
the garage door itself. Does it need a good cleaning? Perhaps it needs a coat of
paint? If the garage door is wood and some of the pieces have dry rotted a new
door or door segment will be in order. Consider getting a professional to
inspect it. Check the door lifting mechanisms as well as the opener. Test the
garage doors automatic reverse sensor.
After one works
out the condition of the garage door, clear the space out completely. With the
space completely empty, look at the walls and floor. Start with a good scrub of
the walls and floor. One wants to make sure the temperature is between 50 and
78 degrees so that the cement will dry quickly, but not too fast to be useful.
Use a paste of dish detergent and hot water, or clothing spot treatment for
cleaning up oil stains on the floor.
If the space
really needs an update consider paint. Get a durable paint, remember that most
folks rarely ever think to repaint a garage door so make this one count. There are
also paints for the floor that will bond with concrete and then resist future
oil and water.
After all this
bring the boxes back in and make sure everything has a place. Items that don't
have a place can stay in the box and mark the contents clearly on the outside
with a note to sell or discard after a year.
Now that will
make a garage worth staying around for.