424 Ogden Ave, Downers Grove, IL 60515
630-852-8485
Recent Blog Posts
Wintertime Garage Safety Tips
Even the most insulated garages can prove hazardous in the winter. From carbon monoxide, to frozen garage doors, the average household garage can quickly become dangerous if left unchecked and unmaintained during the winter. If you are hoping to keep yourself and your family safe for the remainder of the season, pay attention to these common cold weather garage safety concerns.
What Is Safe to Store In a Garage during the Winter?
Most Americans use their garage for multiple purposes, with one of the most common being household storage. The garage is a perfect place to store those odds and ends items that did not find a permanent home inside the house, but what items are risky to leave out in the garage during cold months?
- Paint: People commonly store cans of paint in their garage, but both summer and wintertime conditions can damage paint. Cold temperatures will cause your paint to not last as long, and paint cans stored on cement floors tend to run faster than cans placed on a shelf or another surface.
Is Your Garage a Victim of Winter Damage?
Winter can be a lot of fun. The picturesque snow is perfect for bundling up and catching snowflakes, sledding, or skiing. For your garage, however, winter conditions can lead to damage. Snow, ice, and snow melting products are all capable of damaging your garage in many different ways. This winter, be on the lookout for a few potential ways snow and ice may be damaging your garage.
Your Garage Floor
Water damage to your garage flooring can lead to cracks and slippery patches that put you and your family at risk of falling. If you park your car within your garage, ice and snow can easily fall from your car and lead to built up pools of water left on your garage floor. Unfortunately, in many cases, water left on garage floors is not noticed soon enough, and if left over long periods of time, can lead to damage to the structure of your garage. Preventative measures can be taken, if done early enough in the year, but extensive winter damage to your garage floor may require repairs or replacement.
LED Lighting for Your Garage
It can happen to anybody. You pull up into your garage one evening, step out of your car, and reach for the light switch, only to discover that your overhead garage light has burned out. Even the tidiest of garages can be a bit creepy at night, and nobody wants to feel like they are trapped in a scene from a scary movie. Or, perhaps you are working on a project in your garage, but the dim fluorescent or incandescent lighting in your space is making completing the task difficult. If you are sick of dealing with lighting issues in your garage, consider switching to LED lighting. LED (light-emitting diodes) is one of today's fastest growing lighting technologies, and also one of the most energy efficient options you can choose to install. LED lights are simple to use, will brighten any space, and have a much longer life span than other lighting options.
Energy Efficient
LED is a highly energy efficient technology, and many believe that widespread LED use in America could radically change the amount of energy consumed each year. Most residential LEDs are significantly more energy efficient compared to other options. In fact, products labeled with an ENERGY STAR rating use at least 75 percent less energy than typical light bulbs. For homeowners, switching to LED lights can mean savings on their energy bills. Most users report a drop in their monthly energy bill when they made the switch to LED lighting. On average, one traditional incandescent light bulb costs $4.80 per year to operate. Fluorescent bulbs tend to cost around $1.20 per year, but by far the cheapest option is LED, with each LED light typically costing only $1.00 per year.
America’s Most Famous Garages
Modern American garages are a far cry from their 100-year-old predecessors. From their start as converted carriage houses used to store the automobiles of America's wealthiest citizens, garages have transformed into a household necessity that every home buyer has come to expect. No modern home is complete without at least a single car garage, and most of today's garages do more than simply store cars. From man-caves to apartments to home offices, garages are continuously remodeled, re-purposed, and reorganized to suit the many needs of American families. Life in the United States is centered around the automobile, so it makes sense that, over time, famous garages have popped up all across the country. American garages have been the birthplace of many Fortune 500 companies, provided an early studio for many of today's famous musicians, and have been used by wealthy Americans to house impressive car collections.Take a look at a few of America's most famous and impressive garages.
The Birthplace of Apple Inc.
A Brief History of American Garages
Garages have become an integral part of daily life in America. Many of us use our garage for a variety of purposes: storing our vehicles, working on projects, storing household items, and more. Some of America's most successful companies got their start in garages. Many of our favorite bands launched their careers from garages. Most people use our garage as the door to our homes, so it is hard to image a time when garages did not come standard with houses. In fact, today's modern garages are a far cry from their predecessors of the early 1900's. Do you know how garages came about in America? It all started with one incredible invention: the automobile.
The start of the 20th century brought with it some amazing advances in technology. Most importantly, the automobile started to gain popularity. At first cars were only available to society's elite, those who could afford the expensive inventions. Wealthy car owners soon realized that they needed a place to store their vehicles to protect them from the elements. Fortunately, automobile owners quickly realized that carriage houses, once used to house horses, buggies, and horse travel paraphernalia, could be easily repurposed. Entrepreneurs and those who owned carriage houses saw a great business opportunity. They opened their repurposed carriage houses to the public, and anyone who owned a car was able to rent a space in the house for somewhere around $15 to $20 per month. Renters got a reserved space in the carriage house, which was heated, cleaned, and maintained by the owner.
Protect Your Garage Floor from Winter Damage
Winter proofing your garage flooring may not be on the top of your mind, but it certainly will go a long way towards maintaining the look and safety of your garage. Winter snow and ice are easily tracked into garages by people and cars, leading to damaged concrete and dangerous slippery patches. Fortunately, there are a few easy and affordable ways to winterize your garage flooring and prevent any future damage. It is not too late to protect your flooring from winter weather this year, so try a few of these easy ideas.
Start with a Good Cleaning
Before trying any winterization tactics, be sure to give your garage floor a good scrubbing. Thoroughly clean the concrete, removing any contaminants that may have been spilled or left on the floor. After cleaning is a great time to make any repairs to your garage flooring that can not wait until spring.
Floor Mats
Floor mats are by far the easiest and quickest way to protect your garage flooring. Also known as floor contaminant mats, these mats are made to lay on the floor of your garage and collect any snow, ice, road salts, snow melt, or other deicing solutions that may be tracked in via your car or boots. Floor mats are easy to install. Simply lay down the mat over problem areas - places like where you park your cars or right in front of your garage door. The mats will absorb any water and collect any leftover debris, and are super simple to clean. Once winter is over, the mats can be conveniently rolled up and stored.
Keeping Your Detached Garage Warm This Winter
Are you dealing with a drafty detached garage this winter? Making upgrades and improvements to detached garages is often on the bottom of most homeowners' DIY project lists, but a little winterization can totally transform a chilly detached garage into a perfect climate controlled space. If you are sick of getting into a freezing cold car every morning, or shivering while utilizing the workspace in your detached garage, try some of these winterization ideas. With just a little work, and a lot of insulation, your garage will be cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and comfortable year round.
Windows
Unless your detached garage is relatively new, your windows are likely the biggest culprits of letting heat escape from your space. As time passes, the wood around the doors and windows of your garage warps, creating spaces for air to pass through. If windows and doors are not sealed and insulated properly, heating the space is nearly impossible. Experts recommend a two part approach to combatting drafty windows. Step one is to caulk the outside of the windows. Second, use weatherstripping to seal the windows from the inside.
Icicles and Ice Dams: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Home and Garage This Winter
Though they may look beautiful, icicles hanging from the roof and gutters of your home and garage can spell serious trouble. Despite making your home look like it is straight out of a Christmas card, the picturesque icicles that hang from your roof each winter can cause major injuries or worse if they fall on somebody, and are also likely indicative of a larger problem: an ice dam. With snow starting to fall across the country, there are a few things homeowners should know about icicles and ice dams, including how to remove them and prevent them in the future.
Icicles
Icicles form as water drips down from your roof, hits your rain gutters or the edge of your roof, and freezes again in a downward formation. Small icicles do not pose much of a threat, but large icicles left to grow over time can be dangerous to you, your family, and your pets. If left hanging, large icicles can become unstable and will likely eventually fall. These sharp and very heavy objects can cause serious harm to any person or animal standing underneath them when they fall.
Get Your Garage in the Holiday Spirit with These Fun Ideas
Holiday decorating is no laughing matter. Each year, millions of Americans transform their homes into festive winter wonderlands. We put up trees, hang wreaths, string lights around our homes, and set up all sorts of holiday decorations. From the amateur decorators who keep it simple, to the seriously competitive decorators who strive for the best decorated house on the block each year, holiday decorating is a fun activity anyone can take part in. Unfortunately, as we all start decorating, one area tends to get missed on most homes. All too often, people forget to decorate their garages. An undecorated garage can look strange, especially when surrounded by decorations on other parts of a home. This year, include your garage in the magic of the holidays by trying one of these awesome holiday decorating ideas.
Light It Up
Wrapping lights around the frame of your garage door can really make your garage stand out, without distracting from your other decorations. You can choose to incorporate the lights with the rest of your holiday decor, or simply use plain white or colored lights to add a bit of festivity. There are a variety of different lights available to suit your household's needs. LED light strands tend to last longer and are more energy effective. If you life in a sunnier climate, solar powered lights are available for those looking to add an environmentally friendly touch.
Which Ice Melting Product Should You Use This Winter?
As winter gets into full swing, homeowners across the country are preparing for cold temperatures and snow. While shovels and snowblowers are a great place to start, especially for those living in snowier areas, you will likely need some type of ice melting product to keep your driveway and sidewalks clear, and ensure easy access in and out of your garage. With the myriad of de-icing products available both in stores and online, choosing the right one can be difficult. Follow our helpful product guide below to ensure you purchase the right ice melting product for your household this winter.
Calcium Chloride - Calcium chloride is a commonly used and widely available ice melting product. Calcium chloride will melt ice in temperatures as cold as -25 degrees, and will do little damage to your driveway or sidewalk. Calcium chloride works quickly, so it is a great product for anyone needing to clear their driveway in a time crunch. Be careful when using calcium chloride near your grass or plants, as too much of the product can do damage to your lawn, flowers, and shrubbery. Calcium chloride is also an inexpensive solution, with 50 pound bags running between $10 to $20 each.
Call 630-852-8485 for a Free Estimate
Services listed are not a guarantee or indication of future work.
