7 Common Mistakes People Make During Garage Remodels

When it comes to garage remodels, there are 7 common mistakes made. Your home has a few areas that probably get more attention than others when it comes to remodeling.  For example, the kitchen and bathroom spaces tend to be the most common fixer-upper projects that homeowners engage with, primarily because the appliances and fixtures tend to become noticeably dated.

In most cases, there’s another area of your home that would seriously benefit from an overhaul, and which would add a lot of value to your property’s resale value. I’m talking about the garage.

That’s right, your garage. While garages are intended for storing vehicles, most Americans also (or exclusively) use their garages as storage space, or a venue to hang out in (in colloquial terms, you might call this a “man cave”).

That said, once you realize the golden nugget right under your proverbial home-owning bum, you’re likely to suddenly have the desire to fix that garage up. But in the process of doing that, we humbly implore you not make these 7 rookie mistakes.

DIY Garage Remodels

Here are some common reasons people choose to do home garage remodels themselves: budget, confidence, and satisfaction. You may think that doing it yourself will save you money. It can, if you know what you’re doing, you’re skilled at it, and you have loads of experience doing it. If you don’t meet any of those criteria, then you’re setting yourself up for a big loss.

You may have the confidence to think that you know what you’re doing, but it’s important to be honest with yourself. It’s also important to realize that home improvement projects are often a can of worms. You think you only need to do one thing, but then once you get to work you see that four or five other areas behind the walls (sometimes literally) need improvement.

Of course, you may also look forward to the satisfaction of having done it yourself. But remember, if you don’t end up doing it correctly, you won’t be satisfied. So save yourself the time, money, and hassle, and just get a licensed, insured, qualified person or crew to do the work. You won’t regret it.

Not Having an Action Plan

Where are you going to put all your stuff while the garage is being worked on? Will it be worked on in the winter, necessitating storing your cars somewhere else? What will you do if you discover other things that need fixing, or if the remodeling hits a bump? What do you envision your garage looking like once it’s done, and where will you get all the materials for that?

You see how many questions there are to address? A solid action plan will help the journey of your garage remodeling go smoothly. It can be tempting to just leap in and do, but if you don’t have a plan, you won’t enjoy the bumpy ride.

Buying Cheap Materials

When it comes to garage remodels, especially when it comes to flooring, going the cheap route with garage repairs will not yield satisfactory results. Floor paint or DIY kit are only going to provide a temporary fix for an aesthetically unappealing and structurally crumbling concrete slab. A better bet is to get a professional team to apply a solid floor coating to give your garage floor more longevity.

The same is true for all the other materials. If you pick out cheap cabinets, prepare for broken hinges, misaligned doors, and the whole kit and caboodle of annoying things that come about when you do a home improvement with discounted goods.

Cheap garage doors are also considered to be the riskiest investments you can make since they are not sturdy during winter storms and they can easily get damaged with deterioration.   As much as your budget allows, go for the gold when it comes to improving your home, and don’t think that just because it’s the garage, you can settle for less.

Making Extra Living Space

It can be tempting to leverage your garage remodeling as an opportunity to add to the amount of usable space in your home. After all, it’s much cheaper than adding another room or a second story.

When the time comes to resell your home, you might run into a little difficulty, because most people want to buy a home with usable garage space for their vehicle…even if they intend on using it for storage. To that end, even if you want to transform a part of your garage into another living space, make sure that it can still be used as a garage.

Creating Safety Risks

This one has to be in the do-not-pass-go and do-not-collect-$200 category. While the other categories we mention provide you with opportunities to “slide by” if you have patience and a bottomless wallet (or just no interest in aesthetics) this one can’t be ignored.

Electrical work and installing garage doors are two areas where you really must have a qualified person doing work. When it comes to garage remodels, don’t settle for running a power cord along the wall or weaving it between the rafters.

Garage safety is a top priority and it’s no surprise that many homeowners choose to go with professionals.  It just won’t do in heavy rain, snow, or flooding, unless you’re looking or romantic sparks to fly between your garage and mother nature.

Not Predicting the Future

Not everyone can be Nostradamus, but when it comes to your garage and storage, you need to at least admit that you may not have the foresight to know what types of storage solutions you’ll need in the future.

Make sure that your storage solution arrangement has some flexibility for the future so that you can switch things around as needed. As we go through different phases of life, our storage needs change and you want your garage to be able to timelessly accommodate you and your goods.

A professional company with good experience in storage solutions can help you come up with a design that works and will continue to work.

Garage Remodels Risks

The final mistake we’ll mention about garage remodels is when homeowners who just give up and let the garage be. If your home is several decades old, chances are your garage is in need of serious repair. Again, while other areas of the home (like the kitchen) get more TLC, it’s important for the aesthetic value and resale value of your home to give your garage the attention it deserves.

When you have a clean, awesome-looking space for your cars, which is also decked out with state-of-the-art storage solutions, you won’t have to walk into your garage and feel like it’s just another room in your home. No sir…this garage is part of the family.

Danley’s can build you a garage mistake free!  Call now to get a free quote.