8 Steps To Organizing Your Garage or How to Make Your Car Smile

Garage Floor Design - Click Here

By Linda Meckler

Do you have a garage where you park your car? Do you have a garage where you store your junk? If you have answered either question, read on.

A garage for most of us is where we park our car. It keeps our cars safe from car thieves, mischievous teenagers with baseball bats who love to bash car windows. It also keeps your car clean and out of the hot sun which protects the paint job.

But there is also the junk which stores all our years of history. All our clutter which has seeped from the family home out into the garage. The garage is now a place of storage of the family's treasures and garbage. How do we take back our garage - our space? When do we retake back the space allotted to our cars?

If we asked the cars where they would like to live, what answer do you think they would pick. The nice safe cozy garage, the driveway or the street?

HOW TO TAKE YOUR GARAGE BACK:

(1) Remove all the items in the garage and take them outside.

(2) Pick up all the trash on the floor and throw in garage bags.

(3) Sweep or vacuum the entire garage floor.

(4) If possible, hose out the floor. Make it as clean and sanitary as you can.

(5) Sort through all the items and make piles.

(a) Keep

(b) Garbage

(c) Donate

(6) Put all items in plastic containers which you are keeping and store on shelving or up in the rafters.

(7) Keep all the same items together.

(8) Hang tools, lawn or anything on the walls from hooks. Anything which can be moved above ground level is a real winner.

When you are finished with these 8 simple steps, you will now be able to make your car happy and smile. It can now live in your nice clean garage.

Give garage floor a new look and extended life

Garage Floor Tiles
WOW!

by Frank Wagner/Copley News Service

Once you open the door, the garage becomes the most visible part of your home. With proper care, its floor can make a difference in how the world sees your house.

The garage floor can take a beating with oil, salt and other substances being tracked in and ground into unprotected concrete. Floor coverings can not only change the appearance, but extend the life of the garage floor.

A simple coat of latex paint is watertight. It resists stains and protects the floor from things that are tracked into the garage. There are more ambitious coverings that can add to your garage's appeal and protect it from the world around it.


EPOXY
Epoxy is an economic way for the do-it-yourselfer to give the garage a face-lift. "Anyone can do it," says Nicole Richter of Epoxy-Coat of Mount Clemons, Mich. "Even I can do it."

Make sure the epoxy you buy is formulated for garage floors (wall epoxy uses different formulations that aren't as well-suited to garage floors). "Ours is a two-part epoxy," says Richter. "There are resins and hardener that you mix." There are also nonslip oxides applied after the epoxy is spread.

The resins, which give the epoxy its hue, come in two standard colors: gray and tan. Other colors are available as options.

Generally, according to Richter, one person will need two days to apply the epoxy. The first day is prepping the floor using a diamond grinder or a sander with 8-grit paper to remove oil and other stains.

The second day is spent mixing and applying the epoxy with a squeegee and nap roller, usually in 10-by-12 sections. Later, nonslip aluminum oxide or colored flakes are added.

Materials run $265 --- an additional $20 for nonstandard colors -- for a two-car garage. According to Richter, the epoxy carries a lifetime warranty against peeling and hot-tire marks; the oxide and flakes are warranted for five years.


FLOOR MATS
Perhaps the simplest way to revamp your floor is with a mat. Mats are sturdy, stain-resistant means of protection and quickly installed.

According to David Begley of Better Life Technology in Lexena, Kan., maker of G-Floor mats, a mat will "hide cracks and stains, is cheaper than epoxy and we think (it is) superior."

The G-Floor standard grade is designed for residential use. According to Begley, mats were originally the width of vehicles, but as more people wanted to cover entire garage floors, the company started making alternative sizes; 20-foot deep mats are available in sizes ranging now from 7 ½ to 10 feet in width, so two mats will cover a two-car garage.

A mat does not require any preparation or adhesive; once you get it in the garage you unroll it and the floor is covered.

Mats come in six colors and a clear one is being developed to protect floors with epoxy coatings. Prices range from $135 at Sam's Club to $210 on the Internet for a 7 ½-by-20 mat. The mats typically last 10 to 15 years, according to Begley.


FLOOR PROTECTORS
A more elaborate variation on the mat is the interlocking modular floor. Like most mats, floor protectors tend to be of made polyvinyl, a flexible PVC.

The protectors consist of nonslip squares that interlock, much like a jigsaw puzzle, and don't require adhesives. Most residential applications can be done in about four or five hours.

Squares can be mixed and matched to create lines, checkerboards or other patterns. One maker, On the Edge Marketing, has tiles with auto logos, including Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and Mustang. Another maker, Swisstrax, can create a custom logo.

Each tile costs $4 to $7.50. Swisstrax warrants its product for 12 years; a competing product made by On the Edge Marketing carries a 10-year warranty.

Floor Tile Manufacturer Swisstrax Announces New Sponsorship and Clientele Additions

from eMediaWire

New partnering with several well known companies is keeping Swisstrax a top modular flooring provider. Now partnering with Hendricks Motorsports, owner of several well known racing teams, in providing flooring for on-site use at racing events. XV Motorsports, as seen on television’s Dream Car Garage, is also in process of bringing in several thousand square feet of the Swisstrax Ribtrax style tiling for display of their luxury auto accessories. In addition BMW of North America is working with Swisstrax on a plan to outfit their dealerships with the flooring to showcase their cars.

Palm Desert, CA (PRWEB) -- Swisstrax Inc., supplier of advanced interlocking floor tiles and garage floor products continues its growth and is proud to have provided their top quality product to the following clientele.

They have recently worked with Hendricks Motorsports, owner of several well known racing teams, in providing flooring for on-site use at racing events. XV Motorsports, as seen on television’s Dream Car Garage, is also in process of bringing in several thousand square feet of the Ribtrax style tiling for display of their luxury auto accessories. In addition, according to Swisstrax LLC President and Owner Randy Nelson, BMW of North America is working with Swisstrax on a plan to outfit their dealerships with the flooring to showcase their cars. Other dealerships are currently working with Swisstrax LLC, and local distributor Owner Mike Astle of Empire Swisstrax. The two business partners, who share an office, showroom and warehouse in Palm Desert, are coordinating efforts to provide Volkswagen and Mini Cooper dealers with similar display pads for presentation of their autos.

Swisstrax has been servicing both residential and commercial users for garage floors, patios, aircraft hangars, show booth floors and showrooms for 15 years in Europe and now 2 years in the United States. Recently, this modular and garage flooring has been seen at several trade and industry shows, including boat shows; client Paradise Marine displays their boats and yachts on show floors up to 2500 square feet. XV Motorsports is also using the product for presentation of their auto accessories at shows.

Upcoming shows where Swisstrax will be displaying include SEMA (Specialty Event Marketing Association) in Las Vegas 10/31/06-11/03/06 and PRI (Performance Racing Industry) in Orlando, Florida Dec. 14-16, 2006.

New products Swisstrax is bringing to the market in the next few months include Teaktrax, a wood interlocking tile best for patio and deck applications and Floortrax, a tile similar to the Diamondtrax tile already in production, but with a smooth “epoxy-looking” profile, which is good for garage floor and indoor applications.

Remember – Swisstrax, Inc., for the next generation of floor covering. Swisstrax interlocking floor tiles are the ultimate solution for cracked, chipped or stained concrete floors. Great for garage floors, patio floors, convention flooring, pool areas, or anywhere you need an attractive alternative to concrete floors.

Swisstrax, Inc.
77-770 Country Club Drive, Unit C
Palm Desert, CA 92211

Garage Flooring - Increase the Value of Your Home by Thousands

by Tom Turner
Improving your garage flooring may increase the value of your home substantially. By spending one simple weekend going around the area and looking at homes that are for sale - You will find that many of these homes on the market today do not have a nicely finished garage floor.

If you plan to sell your home in the near future you can increase the value of your home greatly and place your home into a league of its own by refinishing the garage flooring. But simply at any few nine shelves and then a nice gray sealant coat to the floor you will be amazed at how nice and clean it makes your garage look.

Repair Any Damage First
The key to having a successful job was to make sure that you clean the floor thoroughly and seal any cracks it may be in the concrete prior to adding any type of sealant. Some materials will seal before as you apply a so you can check with the manufacturer to see what kind of preparation needs to be done before beginning the project.

A Garage Mat Is Easy
Another very nice solution for garage flooring is to use a garage mat. One of the advantages to using a mat on your garage flooring is the convenience of installation. A garage mat will protect your floor from practically all types of chemicals and other harmful damage.

You can find garage mats in many different colors and styles. The traditional black and white checkerboard look is probably one of the most popular and sought out designs today. These types of design will ad a considerable touch of class and style to your garage flooring.

Garage Floor Design

There's no better way to make a point than to show a photo! The above photo was taken to illustrate the transformation made by a do-it-yourselfer garage floor makeover project. The garage floor tiles were supplied by SwissTrax. SwissTrax manufactures a durable, interlocking modular garage floor tile in many colors and a variety of tile styles.

This blog is all about the Garage Floor Design. Our major resource of information is SwissTrax.com. We will gather information and photos and post the details here for you. Should you have any questions, please call.

The garage has become more than just a place to park a car. In many homes, the garage area has become an extension of the living quarters. As you can see in the photo above, the Garage Floor Design completes the space and makes it a clean area for many projects and tasks. Join us in examining many ways to tranform your garage into a successful interior design project.