How to Make Sure Your Garage Stays Warm in the Cold Winter Months

Maintaining a well-insulated garage provides you with a useable workspace year-round. However, even if you don’t plan to use your garage much, or at all, during the freezing winter, there are still reasons to winter-proof your garage. If your garage gets too cold, it could damage equipment or vehicles stored inside. For example, if you have a power washer and the temperatures reach freezing levels, the water inside the hoses freeze and crack. The paint in your garage may also separate as temperatures drop during winter. To protect yourself against these problems, winterize your garage before winter hit.

Install a Garage Heater

Heat your garage with minimal construction costs and space requirements by installing a heater. The first choice is whether to select an electric or gas-powered heater. A gas-fired heater is typically cheaper to run, but more difficult to install, as you need an exhaust vent and a gas supply. Electric heaters are easier to install, but they cost more to run than a gas unit. Generally, if you live in an area where you need occasional heat or have mild winters, an electric unit is the best way to go.

Finally, you may want to consider installing a mini-split heat pump. Capable of providing year-round cooling and heating while only requiring a narrow hole through the garage wall, a heat pump is an efficient way to control the temperature in your garage.

Replace or Fix Weatherstripping

Weatherstripping produces a seal between the garage door opening and the garage door. As time goes by, the weatherstripping cracks and becomes brittle, which lets air pass through the door. An easy way to check if your weatherstripping needs repair is to feel near the garage door for air. If you feel air entering, take off your existing weatherstripping and remove any sealant. Try to make the surface as smooth and clean as possible to create the best possible seal. After removing the old weatherstripping, close the garage door and simply align your new weatherstripping against the garage door.

Insulation

Heat travels through solid surfaces, which is how the warm air in your garage escapes. To prevent this, insulate your garage walls and door. Even if you have a heater installed, not having proper insulation leads to wasted energy and a high utility bill. Insulation must be installed securely and snugly, and in most cases, it’s best to hire a professional to handle the job. A knowledgeable installer knows how to pick insulation with the correct thickness for your walls and has the experience to install insulation that’s snug but not too tight.

Replace Your Garage Door

If your garage door is properly insulated and you still feel cool air entering, then consider installing a new door. Some modern garage doors have recessed panels and an insulated design, providing immediate protection against the cold and making it easy to replace the insulation in the future if needed.

Caulking

Cracks and gaps allow heat to escape your garage, and caulking is a useful way to cover existing cracks and gaps near your garage door, windows and other damaged areas in the garage. If you’re caulking the garage yourself, focus on areas where two different materials meet, such as wood and brick. Before starting the job, clean the area where you’ll be caulking and make sure the area’s completely dry to stop moisture from being sealed in.

All of these garage-warming repairs can be performed by yourself, or you can hire a professional to do the job. Depending on your level of confidence, you may want to handle the easier tasks yourself, such as caulking or replacing weatherstripping, and then hire a professional for the more difficult tasks like installing a garage heater. In some cases, your heater’s warranty is only valid if you have it installed by a licensed professional.

Demo Day: Important Precautions to Take When Gutting Your Fixer-Upper

Buying an older home or living in one requires special precautions before you can start the gutting process. There are a lot of variables to consider and for homeowners with no construction experience, this guide will be a useful tool to help you safely gut your old fixer-upper. Older homes hold all kinds of hidden secrets in the walls, attics, and foundations. Before you start the demolition process, you should read this guide fully in its entirety.

Important Precautions

 Building Permits: It is illegal in a lot of states and communities to undergo a construction project without a building permit. You can go to your local city hall or town office and apply for a building permit. Building permits are dated with an expiration date, so you only have so much time to get your project done or you’ll have to go back and get an extension on your permit.

 Historical Buildings: There are a lot of old fixer-uppers that are classified as historical landmarks by the state you live in. Before construction begins you need to know if your project falls under these guidelines because any alterations to your project need approval from elected officials in your community. In most cases, the exterior of a historical building must remain the same. Professional restoration contractors in this sector are highly advised.

 Structural Safety: A certified home inspector should be called in to access the structural integrity of your building. There are a lot of older buildings that have wood framed exterior walls and interior support walls in older buildings that are subject to termite damage, rot, and water damage. If you start gutting wall coverings, it could weaken the structural integrity and unexpected collapses can occur with the possibility of bodily harm.

 Mold Spores/Asbestos/Lead Paint: All three of these are very dangerous substances that can cause serious internal injuries and even death. Call a professional remediation business and have your building inspected for dangerous airborne contaminants that are magnified tremendously when disturbed. This can be a very costly mistake and one that needs to be taking seriously.

 Debris Removal: Gutting your fixer-upper is going to generate a significant amount of waste materials. If you have access to a truck with a universal open box-style trailer this is one option of removing your debris; however, there are a lot of landfills that will charge you per load by unit weight for disposal at their facility.

You can also call your local waste management providers and order a contruction dumpster to place at your job site. This is the best method for removing construction debris because once you put the debris in the dumpster, you’re done. There’s no need to handle it a second time and in most cases is more cost effective.

The Rewards and End Results

Gutting your fixer-upper can be a lot of work, but in the end it’s one of the most rewarding experiences. Restoring and modernizing an old house has a lot of long term benefits as it pays homage to the time period it was constructed, gives your community a classic look, and is a reminder of when most of these houses were built with hand tools.