For some people their garage is a place for storing anything that doesn’t fit in their house. Battered bicycles, half full paint pots, tennis rackets and rusty tools make us cringe when we open the door and trying to navigate the cluttered floor can be treacherous.
Packed with sharp objects, poisonous substances and multiple trip hazards, a garage can be a dangerous place if safety precautions are not adhered to.
We have identified some common health and safety issues that are simple to remedy and could be the difference between an afternoon in the garden or a long wait in A&E.
It might seem like another chore to add to the list, but keeping your garage clean and clutter free is the way to go:
Any fire is dangerous but garage fires spread quickly and can be disastrous.
Just like any other part of the house, it is essential to ensure the electrics in your garage are safe and fit for purpose:
Like a kitchen, garages are home to a variety of tools, many of which can be harmful if left lying around.
Automatic garage doors have become more common and much safer over the years, but severe injuries can still happen.
Things to consider include:
A general home garage ideally needs to be a child free zone. Explain, in an age appropriate way, that as well as being home to the car it is also full of dangerous things and is a place for adults only.
Just as with children, a garage is not the place for pets. Leaks and spillages are a common way for animals to be exposed to dangerous products and the consequences can be heart breaking. Contact with the skin or breathing vapors can be enough to cause irreversible damage. Once again ensure products are kept out of the way and try not to let pets in the garage.
We recently found out about a new site called Homify which provides masses of inspirational ideas on how to design, makeover or decorate your home. In addition they also write a number of articles featuring the professionals on Homify and we were delighted to be asked to feature on two recent write-ups.
The first article was “Squalor to top dollar: Garage receives a much needed makeover” where the writer looked at how we had transformed a triple garage in Henley on Thames into a smart and sleek place to keep your car along with top notch storage.
The second article titled “Transform your outdoor space: extraordinary garages & sheds” which provided inspiration on how to make best use of your garage and featured one of our makeovers with the title “A Stunning Renovation”.
We are very proud to be featured and thank Homify very much!
Did you know we offer the chance to speak to us in real time via our online chat? Yesterday a future customer contacted us about his garage and wanted some advice, here’s the real conversation that we had. What would you ask?
Garageflex Customer Services; Good afternoon, how can I help you today?
Future Customer: Do you have a design consultation. no-obligation
Garageflex Customer Services: Hi yes we do. We can either assist you by you sending in details of your garage and what you want to store or you can use our design form on the e-store site. This is a link to the design guide if that helps: http://store.garagetek.co.uk/cmspage.php?page_id=35
Future Customer: i have a double garage. It has plasterboards for wall and ceiling, well insulated (it was a sales office before). so wondering what is best to do if I need to fit your solutions
Garageflex Customer Services: OK. The best thing to do if you would like us to give some design advice is to send us an email at info@garageflex.co.uk with your dimensions and if you can take some pictures as well that would be great. Alastair Broom, the Managing Director can then look at it for you and come back with some thoughts. It would also be helpful if you could tell us what exactly you would like to do ie panel all three walls, anything in particular you want to store etc. i hope that makes sense.
Future Customer: ok. will do . thanks.. I need a rough estimate of cost as well.
Garageflex Customer Services: Sorry I should have also said that this is a DIY option, if you would like us to come and see your garage to give you the full design and build service then we can do that for you. A double garage is approx. £9,500 + VAT for this service which includes three walls, a tiled floor and a good range of accessories.
Future Customer: Yes. DIY is fine. Is the cost just doing the walls and floor?
Garageflex Customer Services: it really depends what you want to do and the dimensions of your garage. We don’t charge to do the rough design work for you and once we have done this we can give you an estimate of how much this would be to buy on the e-store and install yourself.
Future Customer: ok. will do . thanks. I need a rough estimate of cost as well.
Garageflex Customer Services: Sorry I should have also said that this is a DIY option, if you would like us to come and see your garage to give you the full design and build service then we can do that for you. A double garage is approx. £9,500 + VAT for this service which includes three walls, a tiled floor and a good range of accessories.
Future Customer: Yes. DIY is fine. Is the cost just doing the walls and floor?
Garageflex Customer Services: it really depends what you want to do and the dimensions of your garage. We don’t charge to do the rough design work for you and once we have done this we can give you an estimate of how much this would be to buy on the e-store and install yourself.
Future Customer: ok. lets do that. thanks
Garageflex Customer Services: No problem at all. So if you would like to send us the details, dimensions and some pictures we can look at the design for you. Where are you based? This may impact on your shipping costs.