Garage Talk - Blog

The Californian section of the North County Times Online reports on the 38th Annual Murrieta Father's Day Car Show that was held on Sunday the 15th. The link can be found HERE. It looks like a great day was had by all... car owners showing off their classic autos, while onlookers and enthusiasts were either impressed or a little envious at all the awesome wheels on display. As car show attendee Ed Lambert remarked: "I like these smaller car shows, mainly to meet with family and friends. Shows like this are a little more personal." Consider that next time a classic car show event is going on in your area!

All across the country we here about the economic downturn and what affects it will have on businesses around the country. The reality for us, who live and breathe in the construction industry, has been quite the contrary. Instead of people moving we now have clients that can't afford to move but still want to improve their house in some way. That's where improving your garage can play a huge role in staying put when trying to better your living situation.

For a fraction of the cost of adding on a room or storage space you can have Garage Envy or any other garage remodeling company come in add real cubic storage space at a much lower cost than full blown remodels. We have tried to convey this to our potential clients and it has worked. Homeowners across the south land have a ton of equity in their homes but they can't sell right now unless they want to take a huge pay cut for their newly bought home. What they can do is pull out equity and differentiate their home by having features such as a new garage or new landscaping that will ultimately help sell their house ahead of an identical house two feet down the road. Its not rocket science. If you want to sell your house and all the houses around yours look the same then you are either forced to reduce the price of your house to add some attraction or differentiate your house from the next one and sell for a premium.

So whether your staying put or trying to sell then one of the best options is to add a garage floor or garage cabinets to help make your garage the envy of the neighborhood and set you apart from the thousands of homes currently on the market.

With all the promotions and sales tactics by unscrupulous garage cabinet providers how do you select the best product for the best price?

The most obvious thing you should evaluate is the credibility and the track history of any potential company that you allow into your house. Some of the fastest and easiest ways to check the status of a company are through the organizations that certify them and register them. These inclue state licensing boards, better businss bureau and a number of other licensing bodies that companies will sign up with to validate their credentials. If your garage remodeling company doesn't have any of these that they will claim then you should probably take them off the list of potential candidates to do your project.

Ask, and check testimonials. Its one thing to see a testimonial written down but it's another thing to call past clients and hear it from the horses mouth. Did they do a good garage floor? Were the garage cabinets of the same quality that they sold? How was the customer service? In a matter of 5 or 10 minutes you can help weed out the bad contractors and narrow in on the people that really provide service.

Your garage should be an extension of your home so don't just let anyone in there who claims they can do a good job. Do some checking on them before you get swindled out of your hard earned money and receive inferior product in return.

If your looking for garage renovation in southern California please take a moment to get a free in home design consultation by one of our reps at Garage Envy. There are no hidden charges for a free estimate and there are no obligations. If you don't like what you see or can find a better product with better service we would be happy to know about it. We strive to provide the best customer service with superior garage products so we would love to hear your opinion. 888.249.1766

If you've ever driven a super car or had the opportunity to ride in one then you must know the Ford GT 40 leaves the rest in the dust. The form and function of the GT 40 are second to none and anyone that says other wise might need a check up at the neurologist. What's your favorite and why?

For years we've been doing garage flooring applications and for years there have been hundreds of options for flooring materials that range from the simple (home depot) type epoxies to the industrial strength polyurethanes and polyureas. There is no one answer to this question but there is a good guideline to start with. First determine what you ultimately want to use the garage flooring space for. Are you going to be working on your '57 chevy? Maybe your turning your garage into a makeshift day care? Regardless of what the answer is - there is a product out there that will suit your needs. The next important question is -are you trying to hide blemishes in the floor or are you simply trying to make a surface that is easy to clean? Some (if not most) garage floors have some degree of cracking. These cracks can range from a hairline to an outright grand canyon. If you think your floor could potentially be moving, due to settling or errosion then that will be a different conversation regarding a jack hammer and a good chunk of coin.

When considering what type of flooring product you want to use it is crucial that you don't fall for the (home depot) single coat epoxy process. Although they say they warranty their products they don't really cover the true issues that most people find with their floors. The key complaint when dealing with this type of garage flooring product is that it delaminates from the concrete floor within months of application. There are two main reasons for this - the first is that the concrete was not properly prepped before the epoxy went down. In most cases simply pressure washing the concrete down does little good for actually creating a good mechanical bond between the epoxy and your concrete. In almost all floors that we do, regardless of the condition of the floor, we diamond grind the concrete surface in an effort to ensure the best possible adhesion of the garage flooring product. The second most common problem with a single coat epoxy floor is that the top epoxy coat does not provide a chemical barrier between a hot car tire and the epoxy. When car tires get hot they have a chemical called (Plasticine) that will chemically bond with epoxy and then when you pull your car out the following day it simply rips the epoxy off the floor. It is essential to use a top coat that is either a polyurethane or a polyurea base. Both these categories of chemicals create a true barrier to the plasticine and provide an adequate sealant for the entire floor. If you want a floor that will last it is essential to know what is involved because we at Garage Envy grind up home depot type epoxy floors on a daily basis and start from scratch with our lifetime warranty hybrid polymer flooring.

We hope this helps scratch the surface and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to either call us or visit our website.

The Los Angeles Auto Show for 2007 is history, but the 2008 L.A. Auto Show is already gearing up at their website: http://www.laautoshow.com/

Vendors and enthusiasts can begin signing up and making plans to showcase their wares as an exhibitor or simply enroll to be a guest for the event that will be held November 19-30, 2008. (Press days are Nov. 19-20, Public days are Nov. 21-30).

If 2007 is any indication the 2008 event is going to be big and an awesome experience... See you there!

Mr. Handyman

Garage Envy is please to announce our new free listing service to all those car nuts out there just like us. Feel free to list your car show or any other automotive event that you can think of as long as there is no adult content.

We have many car enthusiasts as our current clientele and they've been asking for something like this for some time now. Well, here it is - www.garageenvy.com/events.html

If you would like to place this link within your own site for your visitors to be able to have quick & easy access to the service then by all means - link-a-way.

Over the past serveral weeks we have been doing some updates to both GarageEnvy.com and GarageEnvyShop.com. We are trying to make it simple and easy for you to get the products and information you need. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to post them here.

Thanks