Is Your Garage Ready for Summer?
Summer is a hot and busy time for families in Henrico County and the Richmond and Chesterfield area. There is often a lot of coming and going to swimming, biking, picnicking, hiking, sporting events, and other summer fun. And this is not to mention all the home fix-it projects which have made their way into the garage, waiting for time on the summer schedule.
Two important considerations for making your garage space more summer-friendly are getting the space organized to make summer outings and projects easier and making sure the door is well insulated, preventing summer heat from making the garage unpleasant to venture into and transferring heat to the house.
Organizing Your Garage for Summer Fun
If your garage is home to equipment and supplies for summer activities, getting these items organized by putting like items in the same area can go a long way to making them easily accessible. Making outdoor equipment easy to get to can be a significant encouragement toward getting family members more involved in summer activities.
Hanging bikes on wall racks is a good way of freeing up floor space for things which must be on the floor. A rugged garbage can makes a good container for miscellaneous small items like bats, mitts, balls, and skateboard, and also keeps these items from becoming trip hazards on the floor.
If you and your family like heading out to the pool or lake on the spur of the moment, or putting together a last minute picnic and heading for a campground, consider finding a place in the garage where all of the needed paper plates, napkins, plastic forks and cups, table cloth, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, shade screen, and other items can be stored close together where they are easy reach and throw in the car.
Nothing can be more frustrating than arriving at a beautiful camp site only to find a crucial item like the tent or camp stove missing from the luggage. Making sure all the important camping supplies are sitting close together, in good repair, and ready to go can prevent this kind of problem.
If home or car repairs or other workshop projects are a part of your summer plans, taking time to clear off the work bench, organize tools, and sort out supplies and hardware before starting these fix-it tasks is worth the effort. An organized garage work area can reduce time and frustration when doing small repairs around the home and makes starting and finishing the project easier.
Weatherizing Your Garage Door for Summer Heat
If your garage door is not insulated, summer is a great time to get this project done. Once it is done, the garage space will be a bit more comfortable to use on hot days, and less heat will be transferred into the house, helping with energy savings and air conditioning costs.
If your garage door is made with a single layer of uninsulated metal or vinyl, it is highly susceptible to heat transfer and worthwhile to insulate. Simple to install kits for the DIY repair person are available for most garage doors and come with glue-on insulation panels cut to size, but it is important to get a kit made for the specific manufacturer and model for your garage door.
The space at the bottom of the garage door can let in hot air from outside if it is not adequately closed by a garage door sweep at the bottom of the door. A garage door sweep also keeps drafts out in the winter, along with dust, leaves, bugs, and even mice and squirrels.
The area surrounding the outside of the garage door is another place to check for weatherization improvements. The door jamb sometimes pulls away from the siding, creating a crack which can let outside air into the garage. Fix this with a high-quality, paintable, outdoor caulk, and check the same area around the door leading from the garage into the house. If cracks around the jambs on garage doors are larger than a half inch wide, fill the crack with a spray foam product before caulking.
Another solution to a badly insulated garage door is having it replaced with a pre-insulated or solid garage door with a high R value. Summer is also a great time to have your garage door serviced, so it will be in good and safe working order for summer living.
Let Commonwealth Garage Door get your garage door ready for your summer lifestyle.
