Great Garage Kits: Go Gambrel for More Space

One of the most economical and attractive ways to increase your home storage is with a garage building kit. Many of these are based on the traditional pole building design, so in order to get the most usable space, consider the gambrel style roof option.

That is just what one couple recently discovered—and it is illustrated in the photo. When Bill and Joan needed additional storage, they were not sure just what kind of building would best fit their needs. At a minimum, they figured they needed something that would allow room to store their two vehicles—a pickup truck and the family van.

And at the same time they really wanted room for Bill’s growing collectables that were beginning to take over the house. As the couple reviewed garage designs, they rejected the traditional “A-frame” style as the attic storage area just feels too cramped.

And yet the footprint of a three-car design, which would have left one bay for Bill’s stuff took up too much yard space.

They finally solved the dilemma by choosing a home garage kit

with gambrel attic trusses. Serendipitously, this also solved issues of site characteristics and zoning regulations. The additional space that opens up with the gambrel truss was just the ticket as the cost for the kit and construction was still well within the couple’s budget.

They also felt it was important to keep the color scheme of the existing house exterior. Accordingly, the garage kit provider sent them color samples of the available vinyl siding and roofing shingles in order to make the selection. They were delighted to discover that the exact same materials and colors were available as those used on the house exterior and roof.

After thinking it over together, they upgraded from the standard seven-foot door height to eight-foot doors to accommodate their oversized vehicles and an additional personal entry door for convenience. For very little additional expense, they added two windows to add additional light that makes it much more pleasant for Bill to spend time upstairs in the new garage.

At the end of the project, both Bill and Joan were pleased at how well the building complemented their existing home. Joan was clearly delighted to empty out some of the stacks of boxes that had been accumulating in the guest bedroom and den. “This garage kit is the best home improvement project we have ever undertaken,” Bill added. “If we had realized how easy it was and how much it would add, we’d have done it a lot sooner!”

Garage Kit: A Great Family DIY Project

Once you’ve tried a do-it-yourself project as big as a pole barn kit, as we did, you’ll be ready to tackle more projects that add to the functionality and convenience of your home, farm, or office. The kits that are on the market today do not require sophisticated knowledge, we discovered. With a bit of help from friends, we’ve saved a bundle while adding to the value of our property.

So after congratulating ourselves on the pole barn we put up for use as a farm storage shed for equipment two years ago, we took a year off. But in May we decided it was time to do something for our own cars. Given that the original garage had “disappeared” and become the family den ages ago, we had been parking our truck and car outside for the last few years.

So this summer we bought a garage kit to put right next to the house with easy access to the kitchen door. Even though we only currently own two vehicles, we purposely chose a three-vehicle model with three separate doors for ease of use. We figured the extra space would eventually be necessary, and it looks like we are well on our way to filling it. And that is even before our two adolescent sons, 14 and 16, have cars of their own. As you will see, they have definitely earned a parking spot when that day comes!

In fact, the space is already being taken over by our growing handyman and handywoman projects, as this is an equal opportunity family. One thing that we are noticing as we pursue more and more of these types of adventures is that our teenaged children are showing more interest.

We did allow them to participate in some of the discussions about color (white) and placement of the building (by kitchen). But at first we did not include them in the actual construction activities. That little taboo seemed to serve as a temptation to pitch in. Finally we did let them help with some of the easier, safer tasks, with supervision. We’ve noticed how they point out the garage with pride to their friends who visit, with a casual “Yeah, I helped build that.” And then they bask in at least as much peer admiration as they get for top scores on video games!

Overall, our experience with pole barn and garage kits has exceeded our expectations. Not only do we have the storage and garage space that we have long needed, but we did it at a much more economical cost. The results of our experience are attractive and absolutely functional!

Also, seeing how the whole family really pulled together to put our prefab garage kit together, we’ve come up with a new motto: “The family that nails together stays together!”

Insulating Your Pole Barn - What You Need to Consider

Insulation is often seen as a non-essential in American barns. We're quite used to walking into an oven during the summer months, and a wind-free yet very chilly building in winter. It's almost a ritual. However, proper insulation for your pole barn package or home garage kit can make the building much safer and more economical as well as more comfortable, and creating a greater variety of uses to which it can be put. Here are the top 5 things to consider when thinking about insulating your pole barn.

1. Insulation can prolong the life of your pole barn
   No matter how high the quality of building materials is, whenever you subject something to extremes of temperature over and over again, day after day, the materials will degrade more quickly than the same structure kept at a steadier temperature. If you want your pole barn package to hang around long enough to get good use out of it, insulation is a must.
2. It's a safety question
   In poorly ventilated structures like garages and pole barns, heat really becomes a safety issue. It is especially important to insulate a pole barn that will house animals (they don't have the option to just walk out when they start overheating), and also for home garage kits that may have children playing in them, who are more susceptible to heat stroke.
3. Essential for humid climates
   Reflective insulation, especially, is vapour resistant and helps make sure that in a humid climate, your garage doesn’t become a sweating mould and mildew pit within weeks.
4. Foam or bubble?
   Foil-Foam-Foil insulation is a little heavier and of course more expensive than Foil-Bubble-Foil insulation - but you may make that difference back in heating and cooling costs anyway.
5. Covering the cost
   Plan at the outset of your garage or pole barn building project to insulate the structure. If it becomes an afterthought it is much more difficult to find the funding.

4 More Easy Steps to a Well Organized Garage

Most houses have them ... a little dumping ground where all of the 'too-hard' items go. The metal garage is so often the place where things that need to be fixed, are being stored for another day, or are just too mixed up to be used end up going. It does take some time - but when you invest the time and effort in both tidying up, and setting yourself up so that it doesn’t get into that state again, there can be a palpable sense of relief in the house. Here we look at some useful ways you can set up your home garage kit so that it remains clean, well-organized ... so that the impossible can occur!

1. Get some help from Peggy Sue
   If you don't want (or need) to invest in toolboxes, pegboard is a wonderful way to ensure that things within your garage are accessible and organized. It'll also help your projects run more smoothly, and may even inspire you to start some new ones!
2. Liven up dead space
   If your home garage kit walls have exposed studs, you can get shelving to help utilize that dead space. You can either preserve your garage's interior space by building very narrow shelving that just fits within the bounds of the studs, or create shelves that can be used for a variety of different purposes and build past the studs.
3. Know when to fold 'em
   If you will be keeping your car in the garage for much of the time and have limited space, build a folding table to use as a temporary workbench instead of cramping your style with a larger and more permanent one. The folding bench can even be hung on the pegboard when you aren't using it!
4. Keep it together
   This is more of a technique than a 'thing' to use to help keep your garage well-organised. However, if you keep like with like, it is easier to pack up, easier to remember where things go, and easier to maintain all that work you did cleaning out your junk at the beginning of your garage journey!

4 Easy Steps to a Well-Organized American Garage

Do you run through your garage kit as soon as the car's parked, hoping that you don't get buried under a falling pile of random junk? When you tell the kids that something is "in the garage", do they get a hopeless look on their face, knowing that it is forever lost?! I know that hopeless look all too well! It is difficult to find the time to organize your garage properly, but soooooo rewarding once it is done. Today we check out the 4 starting steps you can take to reclaiming your metal garage as a useful part of the house.

Don't get floored!

Make sure that the floor is never your only place to put something. Apart from the lawnmower, perhaps! If you want to be able to keep the garage tidy, you need an easier system that stacking everything in piles around the edges of the garage floor. All of the below will help:

• Start again with a new prefab garage kit, selecting a model that has plenty of shelving and inbuilt storage space
• Have custom shelving built for your garage
• Invest in a toolbox or two
• Set up hooks and nails on a piece of pegboard on the wall to keep tools and implements accessible

Take it to the store

Not the sort of store that you have to pay money to! Make sure that anything that will rarely be used is actually stored away, where it won’t clutter up your mojo. Stackable plastic containers are the new-school option for self-storage. Some of them even have a little card holder, where you can insert a piece of paper that says what's inside the box.

High shelving

High shelving is perfect for items that are only used seasonally, or are simply being stored because they are waiting for their 'time to come again'. Custom made storage options can create a miniature attic within your garage roof.

Lockability

Almost every garage in America has a cache of things in the garage that you wouldn’t want a toddler to get hold of. Make sure that you have at least one area that is well-toddler proofed. Keep items like half-empty paint cans, gasoline or diesel fuel, aerosol cans, methylated spirits, cleaning fluids etc in this area. It's best to combine the two traditional safety methods - keeping things high and locking things away. It only takes one instance of forgetting to lock a low cupboard to result in disaster, and squirrels or cats can knock dangerous items from high shelves.

5 Creative Uses for Your Garage Space!

Haven't bothered to put up a garage because you only have one car? Feel that since there's no hail or tornadoes and a low crime rate in your area, your vehicle will be pretty safe? Of course, the need for a sturdy metal garage isn't quite so pressing if your cars don't really need protecting ... but there are so many other cool uses to which you can put your garage! Today we get you excited about grabbing your own garage building kit, by exploring 5 creative uses for your garage space.

Home gym

I don't know about you, but I find it immensely difficult to 'just exercise in front of the television' ... though it's a favorite piece of advice from personal trainers! Setting up your garage as a home gym helps create a sense of purpose for when you're in the room - there are no ordinary distractions about. Plus the heavy equipment won't compress your carpet.

Games room

A pool table, a pinball machine, a dartboard ... and the women of the house can instantly reclaim their living room space or kitchen table back from the guys! That is, until the girls feel like knocking back some beers and shooting pool ...

Laundry room

Traditional laundry rooms are cramped and ill-equipped. If you're erecting your own home garage kit, you can design your laundry space however you like. Give yourself room to sort your white and colors without dropping them on the floor, and to figure out what can go in the dryer and what needs to be hung on the line without filling the entire floorspace!

Mud room

It's a fabulous idea to get people to take their shoes off before they stand on the carpet ... but if it has to be done outside in the rain, that just ain't gonna happen! Make your garage into a mud room - pop a shoe rack, a chair and a towel in there so people can dry off and make themselves decent before they even come near the house, and save yourself some cleaning time.

Art studio

It's so much easier to be creative when you have a space that's away from the normal demands of life. Even if the 'big people' of the house aren't particularly artistic, the garage is a great place to set kids up with their paints, glues and smocks.