National Garage Sale Day: Turning wasted space into wanted space

National Garage Sale Day: Turning wasted space into wanted space
Photo Courtesy of SwissTrax.com

Written by Patricia Gay
from Acorn Online

In front of a film crew, a master builder walks around a showcase garage extolling the virtues of stamped steel cabinets. He spies a hook affixed high on a wall, grabs it with both hands, lifts himself up, and swings back and forth to demonstrate the hook’s strength.

The scene is not unlike something from an episode of “Tool Time,” the fictional show-within-a-show from the old series Home Improvement. But this scene is not fictional.

The garage is real and located on Timber Mill Lane in Weston, at the home of Hy and Susan Pomerance. The master builder doing the swinging is Karl Champley, a home improvement expert and host of the shows Wasted Spaces and DIY to the Rescue on the DIY (Do It Yourself) cable network.

Mr. Champley and crew set up shop at the Pomerance garage around 4 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, and generated a series of live broadcasts that aired on TV and radio throughout the morning and early afternoon.

The subject of the broadcasts, each 10 to 15 minutes in length, was how to turn garage sale profits into garage improvements, in honor of National Garage Sale Day which is Saturday, Aug. 9.

With the Pomerance garage serving as a backdrop for the broadcasts, viewers and listeners from New York, Los Angeles, and across the country were offered tips from Mr. Champley on how to organize a successful garage sale and use the proceeds to fix up their garages.

Sleek garage
The Pomerances’ garage measures 20 feet by 20 feet and contains 400 square feet. “Really, it is just a standard two-car garage,” Mr. Pomerance said while watching Mr. Champley in action.

But the garage’s look and design is anything but standard. From floor to ceiling, the space has a sleek appearance, with silver floor tiles and matching silver lockers and cabinets. There is even a matching silver refrigerator, called a “Chillerator,” in the space.

To achieve this look, the Pomerances gave their existing garage, which was a plain and open space, a facelift and makeover. “This was the last room in the house that we renovated, and it was well worth it,” Mr. Pomerance said.

The Pomerance family moved to Weston two years ago from San Diego. A former sports psychologist, Mr. Pomerance is the global head of talent management at UBS investment bank. His wife, Susan, runs a jewelry and Judaica business called Yofi.

With two growing sons, Aaron, 13, and Ilan, 10, the Pomerances faced a dilemma. They loved their home, but needed more space.

Active in sports, the boys were accruing all kinds of equipment, including bikes, skis, baseball bats, and football gear. Their bedrooms couldn’t handle it all.

Not wanting to move, the Pomerances decided to create more usable space by renovating their garage.

“It’s like creating extra square footage to the house,” Mr. Pomerance said.

He got an idea of what he wanted to do by visiting a Sears store in Danbury. There he came across a system of modular cabinets and shelves designed specifically for garages, manufactured by Gladiator GarageWorks by Whirlpool.

Mr. Pomerance then contacted Potomac Garage Solutions to help design and install the system in his garage.

After the garage was emptied, the company laid new floor tiles and installed six locker-size cabinets, six wall boxes, shelves, baskets, hooks, and a heavy-duty Chillerator that can withstand extreme temperatures in an unheated garage.

After a fresh coat of red paint in areas not covered by the new system, the space took on a new existence.

Karl Champley is hooked. —Patricia Gay photo
Bikes, scooters, mops, and bats all hang neatly on the walls, while the new silver cabinets store Mr. Pomerance’s tools, cleaning supplies and painting equipment. The Chillerator holds a supply of cold beverages.

“Our garage has transformed into a fantastic space for the whole family,” Mr. Pomerance said.

The family recently had a pool party for Ilan’s birthday and used the garage as a locker room. “We had 30 boys use the space to change, and it worked out great,” Mr. Pomerance said.

Champley’s spots
The finished makeover was such a success that a representative from Gladiator asked the Pomerances if they could broadcast Mr. Champley’s spots from their garage. Happy with the results, the Pomerances agreed.

The garage makeover was right up Mr. Champley’s alley. As the host of Wasted Spaces, he helps homeowners transform unusable basements and garages into areas that provide practical storage and living space. In an episode airing this week on DIY, he helps a couple build a storage shed and cabinets in a small garage space.

A seasoned television personality, Mr. Champley had no problem handling the fast pace of Friday’s live broadcasts. One minute he was on TV in New York, the next he was fielding calls from a radio show in Phoenix.

Each spot moves quickly. With the garage as a backdrop, Mr. Champley, in his native Australian accent, discussed clutter with a television host, while Mr. Pomerance watched on a television outside under a tent.

“Clear the clutter in your garage and you’ll find more square footage in your home,” Mr. Champley said. “If there are items you haven’t used in 12 months, they should be cleared out. Give them to someone who’ll use them.”

He advised viewers to hold a garage sale, especially in light of National Garage Sale Day. “It’s a great way to clean your house and make some money, and it’s something the whole family can do together,” he said.

Anything not sold at the garage sale can be donated to charity, he said, and he mentioned that Habitat for Humanity will come to the home for items that don’t sell in the garage sale. “They come in a truck, pick everything up, and it works out fine for everyone,” he said.

Mr. Champley then advised viewers to reinvest their garage sale money back into their garages. He pointed to the cabinets and floor in the Pomerances’ garage to show how a plain garage space can be transformed.

“Now you can feel proud of your garage,” Mr. Champley said.

After several broadcasts in a row, Mr. Champley took a short break and munched on some fresh fruit. Originally from Australia, he and his wife, Diane Matthews, moved to Los Angeles in 2001. Their little son Kai is well known to TV viewers as Baby Bob, the chipmunk-cheeked, smart-talking baby on the Quiznos Sub commercials.

But just as Mr. Champley started to relax, he was called back to the garage as the next set of broadcasts was about to begin. A talk show host in Miami tells him how nice the Pomerances’ garage looks, and once again, it’s show time.

Hot new plan in the works for Lyons Plain firehouse

An artist’s rendering of the proposed Lyons Plain Firehouse
shows new garage bays facing away from the street.

Written by Patricia Gay
from Acorn Online

Members of the Weston Volunteer Fire Department are often called on to save buildings from being destroyed.

But there is one building in town they would like to see come down — their own firehouse on Lyons Plain Road. “The building is in really poor shape,” said Weston Fire Chief John Pokorny.

With cracks in the floors and walls, leaks, poor heating and ventilation systems, a separating chimney, and decaying cinder block walls to contend with, the department is proposing to tear the existing firehouse down and put a new one up in its place.

Curtis Gunn, president of the department, said he would like to break ground for a new firehouse in March 2009. But first there are two obstacles the department has to overcome — funding, and land use approvals. The Lyons Plain firehouse serves homes in Weston east of the Saugatuck River. The town has a second firehouse in the center of town on Norfield Road

The Norfield firehouse is owned by the town of Weston. But the Lyons Plain firehouse is the fire department’s responsibility because the department is the property owner. According to attorney George Guidera, who represents the fire department, the Lyons Plain Road property was deeded to the fire department for the express purpose of constructing and operating a firehouse. In the event the property ceases to be operated as a firehouse, title would revert to the heirs of the previous owner. “As long as there is a firehouse on the property, it belongs to the fire department. There’s been a firehouse there for 61 years and there will be a firehouse there for 61 more years,” Mr. Guidera said.

While the town of Weston provides equipment and trucks to Lyons Plain, and some benefits to its firefighters, it does not pay for the maintenance and repair of the Lyons Plain firehouse building. Those costs are borne by the department. The town also does not pay salaries to the firefighters, as they are an all volunteer service.

Cost
The estimated cost for a new firehouse on Lyons Plain Road is approximately $1.8 million, according to Mr. Gunn. The fire department has $900,000, half the total cost, available for the project. “The department knew this expense was coming and has been putting money aside for it for several years,” said Mr. Pokorny. The department’s funding sources have come from donations as well as the proceeds from the sale of property the department used to own on Dillon Pass, he said.

But the department still needs $900,000 more for the project so it is asking the town to help. Mr. Gunn and other members of the department have asked the selectmen to consider allocating $300,000 for the next three years so they can make their goal.

First Selectman Woody Bliss said he supports the project. “I agree, the firehouse needs to be redone. It needs to be done right,” he said.

The fire department’s plan needs to be presented to the selectmen as well as the Board of Finance before funding can be authorized, Mr. Bliss said.

Urgent need
Chief Pokorny said there is an urgent need to replace the Lyons Plain firehouse before it falls apart or sinks into the ground. The building dates back to the 1940s and has had several renovations done to it over the years.

“What’s now the existing garage is made of cinder blocks and they are in bad shape and starting to crumble in places. I’m not sure if the building will last two or five years. It’s becoming unusable,” he said.

Inside, the main floor of the building’s meeting room has a long, deep crack that runs down the center. Outside, the chimney is separating from the building. The department first considered making repairs to the building, but when the costs were added up, it was just about the same to build a new structure, Chief Pokorny said.

If the building is not replaced and is forced to shut down because of structural problems, a portion of the town would be left without emergency services close at hand. “The response from Norfield to that side of town is pretty long,” said Chief Pokorny.

Mr. Gunn agreed. “Fire trucks would be dispatched from the Norfield firehouse, meaning a longer response time to get to Lyons Plain, especially with Cartbridge Road out of service,” he said.

Mr. Gunn recalled several emergencies in which the Lyons Plain firehouse was the first to respond, including the rescue of a family by boat when a storm flooded the Saugatuck River, and a fire at a home on High Noon Road that was contained to the garage and did not spread to the house. “We saved that home,” Mr. Gunn said.

Same footprint
While the new plan calls for considerable changes to be made to build a structure that is compliant with building and safety codes, one thing would remain the same. “The new firehouse would have the exact same footprint as the existing one,” said Mr. Gunn.

That means the firehouse, which is only several feet from Lyons Plain road, would not move any closer, nor would it expand in the back or sides. The new firehouse would however, go upwards a bit. “The existing firehouse is 3,200 square feet. That includes the garage bays and everything,” said Fire Captain Larry Roberts. He said the existing garage bay for the fire trucks takes up about 2,000 square feet.

The proposed building would measure approximately 6,000 square feet. “The new firehouse will have two stories and will include garage bays for three vehicles. The bays will take up about 2,800 square feet of garage space,” Mr. Roberts said.

The height of the building will be taller than a residential structure because the fire trucks are nearly 10 feet tall. “In order to get a truck parked, the first floor needs to be about 13 feet tall just for the vehicles. It’s a necessity to have a taller structure because we can’t make the trucks any shorter,” Mr. Roberts said.

Another change with the garage bays should result in a major improvement with safety. The bays currently face Lyons Plain Road and are only several feet from the street. This means the fire trucks have to back into the bays by pulling onto Lyons Plain Road.

With the new design, the bays will face the side of the building which opens onto a parking lot. This will allow more room for the trucks to maneuver, without going onto the street. “It is a much safer design,” Mr. Gunn said.

Adding a bay
The design also calls for adding one more garage bay, raising the number from two to three. “This will allow room for an ambulance if needed at the firehouse. The present bays are tight, and one of our trucks barely fits into it,” Mr. Gunn said.

On the second floor of the new building, there would be space created above the garage for a training room that would be used for the department’s meetings and social events. On the ground level there would be room for an office and bathroom as well as the garage bays.

In the basement there would be space for a gym and workroom. The building would also have an elevator to make it handicapped accessible. The new building would also get an exterior facelift and would be re-modeled so it resembles a country barn, fitting in with the rural character of the neighborhood. The existing building is gray and non-descript.

Mr. Gunn said he understands the department’s plan needs to be approved by various town boards and he hopes the public will come to those meetings so they can learn more about the project. “The volunteer fire department saves the town a lot of money. It is one of the best bargains the town has. I hope the town will support this project because time is of the essence for this building,” Mr. Gunn said.