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Ideas for Building or Remodeling your Garage

•  Generally, a full-size garage adds more value to your home in case you ever decide to sell.  Think twice before converting your garage into a family room or another living space.  Beside, you will lose all that storage area, and you would have to park your cars outside.  If you live in the northern United States, you would appreciate getting in your car on a cold winter morning and not have to scrape the windshield before leaving the house.

•  If you own a pickup-truck and a sport utility vehicle (SUV), your garage needs to be at least 22 feet by 22 feet, and at least 8 feet high.  A good rule of thumb:  After you park your vehicle, you should be able to walk around comfortably in your garage.

•    If you plan to live in your present home forever, renovate or build your garage so it can accommodate lifts on vans; it should have five-foot minimum access aisle between accessible van and car in the garage.  Garage door height may need to be nine feet to accommodate some raised roof vans.  If the building code in your area requires the garage floor to be several inches below the entrance to the house for fume protection, slope the entire floor from front to back to eliminate the need for ramp or steps.  When building slope, the floor should slope no greater than one inch rise for each 12 inches in length; this formula is designed for ease of walking and preventing falls.  Use 1 ¼ inch diameter handrail, for easy gripping, if you have steps.  Build a five-foot landing, to accommodate wheelchair, at the entrance.  Use smooth, non-glare, slip resistant floor surfaces and use color or texture contrast to indicate change in surface levels.

•     Site and size of your garage should match the house.  If you are adding a garage onto an existing house, plan to tie the roof line together, using the same roof pitch and similar key elements such as gables and details such as rafters, moldings, contrasting paint colors, light fixtures, and window designs.  Match the design of the garage and the main house by mimicking trim patterns found on other parts of your house’s exterior on the face of your garage door.  Your local architect also can help you situate the garage door opening so that from the front of the street the structure doesn’t look like a garage at all.

• The range of garage door styles from traditional to cottage to contemporary make it easy to find an attractive, compatible look.  Selecting an appropriate style of residential garage door is particularly important when an attached garage faces the street.  With the trend of three-car garage and if the garage faces forward, the garage can cover a significant percentage of the house’s frontal perspective.

• Your garage door is the largest moving object in your home.  Some doors weigh hundreds of pounds and if not properly maintained, can injure a member of your family.  Install a garage door that meets current safety standards, and practice preventive maintenance.

•      Update your automatic garage door opener.  The standards require all door openers manufactured after January 1, 1993 to be equipped with non-contact sensors.  The sensors detect when a person or object is in the garage door’s path and prevent the door from closing.
•    For energy savings and security, look for steel garage doors with sandwich construction, meaning the garage doors are constructed with 1 3/8 to 2 inches of polystyrene or polyurethane insulation between steel sheets.
•      Keep your garage door closed and locked at all times unless you are working in your garage and need extra ventilation.  An open door invites curious kids, animals, or even burglars.  A locked garage door provides extra security, especially if you have an attached garage that provides access to your home.  Hire a professional to install a fire-safe door between the garage and your home.  A fire-safe door costs about $200.  Look for the door that has a rating of 90 or above.  A 90- rating means that the door can withstand flames for at least 90 minutes.