I’m sure your garage is like most – messy, lots of boxes stacked up, you can’t find anything, and it’s freezing in winter months with barely any light to see anything. Watch the video below for great garage home improvements from floor to ceiling ideas: Click on the middle arrow to play the video:
Garage and Attic Lighting
Most garages and attics have the one or two basic “builder special” ceramic fixture. It barely gives off enough light to do anything. Proper lighting is important, especially if you are planing on living in your home for a long time. Let’s get some LED lights both in your garage and attic area. Better yet, with a bit more in your budget, you can have installed some solar tube lights. Once you spend the initial investment, you’ll have free solar lighting in your garage for the rest of your life. This project is one of my favorite garage home improvements.
Strong Attic Stairs
Most home builders also put in a flimsy drop down staircase. I’d highly suggest replacing this staircase with a heavy-rated staircase. You’d be surprised how much you weigh when carrying up those heavy Christmas boxes each season. Most people hate going into their garage attics anyways, so why not make it as pleasurable as possibly by having sturdy stairs that you aren’t afraid to use.
Installing Cabinets
If you plan on doing a kitchen remodel project in the near future, keep those older kitchen cabinets and repurpose them by installing them in your garage. These are great cabinets to store the smaller items that you don’t want to lose on the floor or in between the larger things needing to be stored. Best yet – they are FREE!
Drywall & Paint
Most homes I go in just have the builder special of some drywall (mostly damaged by now) with fire code tape. Have a professional drywaller come in and finish off the walls smooth and seamless. Then have your walls and ceiling painted. While at it, install some cheaper trim work on the baseboard area (don’t forget to caulk it too). This is great to keep out the ants, bugs, and those mice that want to take up free residency.
Epoxy & Polyaspartic Flooring
Epoxy and Polyaspartic flooring really improve the value of your garage. They will give the area a very showroom or professional look and feel. These coatings work best when the floors are properly prepared before the coating is applied. You can get a water based epoxy or polyaspartic coating from the store and apply it yourself, but the professionals will have better quality material and can handle problems that may arise with your concrete. There are many benefits that come with garage floor coatings.
Garage Home Improvements – Garage Heater
My favorite garage home improvements project is installing a good, commercial grade garage heater. If you live in any cold-winter region, this is one of the best improvements you can make to your garage. The cheaper versions only keep your garage barely above freezing. With a commercial grade garage heater, you can do projects all winter long.
Lotz of Logic – Recap Time
I’d highly suggest putting your garage on the list for home improvement upgrades. My favorites are the ones I mentioned, with the garage heater and solar tubes being the ones I love the most. Heat and light – can’t live without them. Ha. And putting in sturdy attic stairs and cabinets would be my second favorite. This will add new life to your garage. The garage floor coating and painting the walls are the least necessary, but give your garage a total finished look. While your already working on the front of your home take a look at your front porch for curb appeal updates.
Don’t forget, if you need an estimate on getting some garage home improvements done, give me a call. My team and I have been serving the Orland Park, Homer Glen, Mokena, Frankfort, Tinley Park, New Lenox, Lemont, Orland Hills, Palos Park, St. John IN, and all of Chicago area for 30+ years. Check out my 150+ Videos on YouTube where I give DIY home improvement advice weekly.
