Garage Sales

Kathleen Chester asked:




Garage floors get exposed to a variety of corrosive substances every day. Chemicals like grease, battery acids, antifreeze solutions, salt and motor oil can corrode garage floors made of concrete on prolonged exposure. The sad thing is that in spite of these risks, garage floor is often the most neglected portion of any house. People may put up granite or marble tiles in their kitchen and bathroom floors, but few ever pay much attention to the cold, damp garage floor. Putting up dry walls in a garage is a good choice to opt for but that still won’t protect the floor. Some form of protection for the garage floor is necessary, if it is to be expected to last long.

Garage floors can be protected from everyday corrosion by a variety of protective measures. Vinyl or lacquer paints can be applied to the floors. But the process is both time consuming and laborious. Not exactly the thing a busy professional can do in a short time period. For the people with little time in hand, garage floor tiles are the best options.

Garage floor tiles come in disposable packages and already have adhesives applied to the downside. These can be peeled off and pasted on the garage floor after it has been cleaned to make it free of grease and oil, just the way one would apply stickers. Minimal amount of equipments are required for the task. Just a pair of kneepads, a sharp utility knife (to cut the overlapping tiles to shape), and a measuring tape are needed to carry out the process. The time required is not too great either. One or two days of effort are usually enough. This makes it the ideal weekend project.

Garage floor tiles come in various colors, patterns, and shapes. The most popular patterns are ribbed, coin shaped, or diamond shaped. The tiles completely resist any sort of corrosive substance and can be washed, swept, or hosed to clean them. These are highly resistant to chipping and peeling, and can withstand the weight of even the heaviest vehicles. The tiles are also heat resistant and thus can be applied in any season.

The garage floor tiles can increase the market value of a house to some extent. If a house owner chooses to sell his/her house in future, the tiled garage floor will raise the price of the house to quite an extent and will also entice prospective buyers at the same time. Application of tiles on the garage floor is thus a good combination of protection and value addition for any house.



DAN

Jim Kesel asked:


If you are searching for a quality garage door for your home you might want to consider CHI garage doors. CHI is known for its quality and durability. In terms of garage door pricing the company’s products are considered to be in the mid to upper price range. When it comes to garage doors it really is not smart to cut corners. In almost every case the garage door opening is potentially the weakest part of your homes structure. This is especially true if you live in areas that have severe thunderstorms, hurricanes or other high wind events. Experience has shown that once you lose your garage door the next thing you frequently lose is your roof.

CHI garage doors are featured as standard, medium, premium and carriage house lines. In recent years carriage garage doors have become very popular in new home construction. CHI garage doors have several designs that provide garage door that will accent many homes. The doors have a number of exterior facings that include wood, fiberglass or steel. Steel doors are probably the best door that you can purchase. They have a galvanized steel front and back with polyurethane foam insulation that gives a high insulating factor. Joints on all the CHI garage doors have either a tongue and groove or shiplap panel joints that will keep the outside elements out of your garage.

When building and designing your home make sure that your contractor and architect know that you want a good quality garage door included in the construction. CHI garage doors makes and sells a good number of standard and medium doors. While these doors are of good quality they are frequently called contractor doors by the building community. Again considering the risk of a failed garage door during a storm and/or lack of strength to deter illegal entry, cutting corners on your garage door just does not make senses.

We recommend that you consider double sided doors constructed of at least 26 gauge steel. The premium CHI garage doors achieve this bare minimum by using a combination of 27 and 25 gauge panels. However CHI garage doors do not meet the high wind codes of South Florida and other jurisdictions. CHI doors do feather polyurethane foam insulation that is sandwiched between two layers of steel that will provide some degree additional strength. Never the less if you live in an area with high wind risk it would be best to look to other manufactures.

If you are going to install a workshop in your garage or live in areas with extreme cold temperatures you should look for a garage door with a high R-rating. If the garage is going to be heated or air conditioned then you will want an R-value of at least 14. Unfortunately most of CHI garage doors do not meet this minimum standard. Many of CHI garage doors do provide R-values that range from 6 to 9 which is adequate for unheated garages.

In general CHI garage doors provide the quality you need to protect your home and provide the style and look to accent it beautifully.



WALTER