Garage
makeover makes space usable
By Jeffrey Fazio
DriveTime Columnist
When
I was looking to purchase my first home a couple of years ago, the
Realtor that I was working with asked me what I was looking for in a
home. I said a garage.
I
figured everything else was negotiable, but a garage was a must. In
fact, my ideal home would be a massive loft above a six-car garage.
Apparently they don’t just build them that way, although I’m sure
it would not be hard to find a custom builder willing to tackle the
project.
My
budget didn’t allow building, much less custom building, into the
realm of considerations. So I ventured out with my Realtor looking for
the perfect garage, preferably one that had a house in the yard.
As
it became clear that the perfect garage was eluding me (and my budget)
and time was running out as my apartment lease was coming to a
formidable end, I really needed to decide on a home. Suddenly finding
a good home became more important than finding the perfect garage, so
I started to comprise in order to have decent shelter.
I
ended up buying a very old property that had a one-car detached
garage. The garage was not anything special, but it was a garage.
Some
would say it had character. I would say it had issues.
The
inside of the garage was dark, dank and completely unfinished. The
only form of illumination in the garage was a lone desperate tungsten
bulb hanging onto the peak of the ceiling for dear life some 15 feet
above the concrete floor. Trying to light up the entire garage with
that one little pathetic bulb was like trying to wash an elephant with
a single glass of water.
Even
worse, the shingles on the roof were disappearing faster than a
middle-aged man’s hair, which inevitably caused the roof to leak. At
first, the leak resembled the steady drip, drip, drip of a coffee
maker, but within a few months it was more like a shower in a cheap
motel. It seemed to sprinkle everywhere but where you expected it to.
The
ceiling was becoming so holey that I was starting to think my garage
was a religious site. As the ceiling quickly decayed, I was hoping
that I would see the image of Jesus or Mary in the water stains so I
could sell the roof on eBay and retire.
I
had no such luck.
By
the end of last summer it became apparent that if I didn’t want my
garage roof to become my garage floor, I had to do something and do it
quick. A friend of mine and I spent a weekend tearing off the old roof
and slapped on a new one.
It’s
amazing how much of a difference a solid roof makes you feel about a
space. The worthless space of a garage I had not enjoyed for nearly
two years suddenly became a safe place to store stuff and work. I was
inspired.
Over
the course of the next few weeks, I did some very simple
do-it-yourself homeowner projects to the garage. My first undertaking
was hanging four banks of fluorescent lights. It’s amazing how a
space immediately takes on a different character when you can actually
see it. Let there be light.
From
there I moved forward with putting white paneling over the exposed
dark beams. This was a quick and inexpensive way to finish the garage
walls. Since it is a detached garage I was not concerned about
insulation. Installing paneling was significantly faster than putting
up drywall and painting. The paneling is also great for a garage since
it simply can be wiped clean. The large panels of white also helped
reflect all of that newfound light to make the space even brighter.
After
that, I built a really nice custom workbench. When I was finished, I
installed some shelves and cabinets. It’s truly amazing how far
$1,300 and a few weekends of hard work can go toward completely
changing a space.
At
this point I can hardly believe that it is the same dilapidated garage
that came with my house. Of course, the disintegrating garage door is
still functioning as a cruel reminder of the way things were in the
not-so-distant past.
|