A household is incomplete without a garage. 99% of house owners also have some sort of bulky vehicle that is there to, at the very least, make their everyday life easier. If you own a car and a house on a lot, it is simply not enough to own a driveway with some coverage – you need a proper garage so you can store all the necessary items, accessories and tools needed for the proper maintenance of your vehicle.
If you haven’t built this part of the household yet, here are some tips on how to find the right garage for your home.
Appearance matters
If garage building project is an afterthought of sorts, this means that you will have to go out of your way to make sure the overall style and appearance of it meshes well with the rest of the household. Remember – think of the garage as an extension of your household. If it looks like a separate entity, it will damage your curb appeal. In fact, many customers seek out professionals who will build them custom elements for the garage because it is so important that the garage matches an overall architectural theme of a house.
Material is crucial
There are countless types of garage doors out there, but when it comes to the material they are made of, your choice will be crucial for a very simple reason – climate determines its durability. Read more when choosing the right garage doors, you have to be utilitarian first, and only then should you consider aesthetics. Fortunately, the market is so large and diverse, you can easily find an appropriate type of garage door according to your tastes. If you live near the coast, salt in the air promotes corrosion, which makes wood a sound choice, but in colder and damp areas, fiberglass is a better choice and it is more durable. Metal garage doors are good for continental, dry regions.
Think in advance
After you’ve built your garage, you have to take into consideration several other matters: one, you might be “extending” your vehicle family at some point in the future, and two, even if you get into the habit of parking your car in the garage every day, you might have guests coming in and parking on your driveway every now and then. If your driveway is exposed to the open sky, you should consider adding on one of solid carports right above it. Consider purchasing the one that is designed in a way which complements your home, but don’t compromise when it comes to material – as long as the “skeleton” of the carport is made of a sturdy metallic material, you are golden.
More about the materials
Now, there are several additional details you should know about materials. One, wood-carved garage doors are usually the most expensive ones, but they are usually a sound investment if you are aiming at a particular style. It will make your household appear more organic and expensive. When it comes to metal, there is a whole range of choices you can pick from – you can find fairly lightweight metal garage doors, especially if you choose aluminum. Fiberglass is almost a universally accepted as the “no regrets” option because it is truly durable, good for any type of climate and indeed temperature fluctuations, not to mention the fact that the price tag is reasonable.
Remote control and safety
In the 21st century, people rarely install garage doors without remote control. An automatic garage door opener is quite simply more convenient. Still, this means that you and your family members (especially children) have to adhere to certain safety precautions. Whenever the doors are opening or closing, everybody needs to be clear of them; in fact, you can go a step further and draw a line with white paint on your driveway and point it out to your children as the marker that is never crossed when the doors are operating. While accidents due to malfunctions rarely happen, nothing is worth the risk. To prevent accidents from happening, make sure to call in a garage door repair technician as soon as you notice that the doors are not functioning properly.
Of course, while the garage is primarily there for protection and maintenance of your vehicle, we all know that these spaces turn into a multi-functional storage units and workshops. If you follow these tips and choose the right materials, you can also own a spacious garage that fulfills a lot of roles. After all, it is more than a place where you can park your vehicle(s) – the functional garage unit is an extension of your home and an element that can increase the value of your property significantly.