It's a Boy's Club

Posted: 27 July 2009 by Metricon Homes

Tags: garage, storage

The secret world of men’s business is alive and flourishing in garages around the nation.

Once upon a time, just about every home had a shed, usually regarded as the man’s domain. It was a place to tinker with the mower, stash tins of old nails and in some cases, escape the din of the house and watch the footy with a beer in hand.

Today, with urban homes growing larger and blocks of land shrinking, sheds are becoming rare. Hail the contemporary garage. For those ladies reading – I know what your thinking – how is the garage the new shed??

Well at Metricon, we have options on a range of home to include a “workshop” area within the garage. This smarter way of thinking – and designing – can mean mum can still enjoy her large chef style kitchen that overlooks an impressive outdoor room – whilst dad can still enjoy playing handyman in the garage.

Some helpful hints in utilising garage to full capacity

Think storage

When you look around your garage you need to think about storage solutions and what existing features can be used.

Make use of vertical space: where you have height, you have under-utilised space.

If the garage is used for gardening, or as a workshop, build workbenches at a comfortable level and put shelves where you need them so everything is within reach.

Place bins near the entrance so you don't need to drag them through the battlefield on rubbish day.

Storage solutions

Putting shelving in your garage is a do-it-yourselfer's dream. You can buy everything you need for site-built or prefabricated shelves at the hardware shop and it is easy to fit them to your garage. Assess what space you have: between rafters, above benches, or along walls, there are many options to suit your garage. You can make shelves adjustable to accommodate bulky items such as camping gear, and smaller things like Christmas decorations.

Remember to check wall weight ratings to make sure the shelves (and what you put on them) can carry the load.

Another great space saver is a folding workbench; lockable hinges make it sturdy when in use but it folds out of the away easily.

Hang it all

Make use of wall space for all kinds of storage. Some wall-mounted storage solutions include:

• A pegboard
• Hooks and racks – for anything from your garden broom to bicycle
• Grid and module storage – this is adjustable to fit what you want to store, and can change with your needs

This is just the beginning; once you get started you will come up with many more solutions to suit your environment.