How To Add a Mudroom to Your Garage

How To Add a Mudroom to Your Garage

Are you tired of your children and pets bringing in dirt and trash from outside into the house? Are scattered shoes, coats and backpacks in the entryway driving you crazy? Don’t you wish there was a way to make cleaning and organizing your home a little easier? Well, there is.  If you have a little extra space in the corner of your garage – you should convert it into a mudroom. Mudrooms are typically the buffer zone between the inside and outside of your house and give you a place to wipe your shoes,  hang up your coats and get rid of trash before you come inside.

Benefits of Adding a Mudroom

• You don’t have to mop the whole house down every time the kids and pets come indoors.
• If you suffer from allergies, a mud-room significantly decreases the amount of pollen being tracked into your home, so you’ll be able to breathe a lot easier.
• Mud-rooms act as extra-closet space and will de-clutter your home, leaving it easier to clean and more pleasing to the eye.
• Mudrooms actually increase heating and cooling efficiency by providing a transition zone.

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Mudroom Elements

• Storage. Shelving that is reachable by all family members is essential. Pegs and hooks are necessary for hanging up backpacks, purses, wet coats, leashes and sporting equipment. Consider having a separate cubby for each child, with storage bins to accommodate their shoes and personal hooks for their backpack or coats. Add a laundry hamper so kids can discard their dirty duds on their way in. Mudrooms are also a great place to house your recyclables in between trash days, so purchase the appropriate bins.
• Flooring. Arguably the most important part of your mudroom, you want a type of flooring that is non-slip, non-stick and easy to clean. Any garage floor should fit these requirements, although tile and concrete are typically preferred. If you are going the extra-mile and fitting your mud-room with flooring, chose a color that doesn’t show dirt easily as it is not unusual for this area to start looking a little grubby very quickly. Don’t forget to add a fiber mat or rug near the doorway so you can scrape off your dirty shoes before coming inside.
• Proper heating and ventilation. Proper heating and ventilation greatly reduces humidity and prevents mildew and ‘soggy smells’. It also speeds up the drying of wet coats and shoes. Consider purchasing a small adjustable vent or fan, along with a heat lamp to help ease any wintery chills. Make sure all your doors and entryways are properly sealed to promote energy efficiency, and install doggy doors for the household pets needing to get in and out. 
  

Other Considerations for a Mudroom

A bench or chair is convenient for removing wet shoes. Keep a pair of clean, dry shoes nearby to slip on. Hanging a mirror up in the area is also a great idea so you can take one last look at yourself before you leave the house and make sure you look great. The mudroom can also be turned into a makeshift mini gallery where you can hang up all the kid-art that you don’t have space for on the fridge.

Oregon City Garage Door offers garage door service, installation and repair in the Portland area. To reach out to one of our specialists, fill out our online form or give us a call at 503-632-3070.

4 Ways To Organize Your Garage Today

Four Simple Ways You Can Organize Your Garage Today

When it comes to rooms in your home, often the garage is the last thing on your list to take care of. Unfortunately, this kind of neglect leads to disorganization which is an unnecessary source of stress. While there are lots of handy DIY tutorials available, many of them can be difficult and time-consuming. Since not all of us have the time or the energy to give our garages a full makeover, here are three easy ways you can organize your garage today.

1. Use The Tennis Ball Parking Method

One of the best ways to keep your garage organized is to know where to park your car. Making sure you have enough room on all sides helps keep the clutter at bay and makes your life a lot easier. Since it’s not like you can mark An X on your garage floor,  the best way to find an optimal parking spot is to hang a tennis ball from the ceiling and use it as an indicator for an ideal stopping point.

2. Cover Up Clutter with Simple Curtains

If you use your garage as an office space or a playroom, all the clutter stored up against the walls can look unsightly and feel uninviting. Solve this problem and spruce up your storage space by mounting rods on the walls and hanging up some simple curtains.  This will give the area a more homey feel and also make it appear cleaner. When picking out your curtains remember that solid and darker colors are preferred, as patterns can feel overpowering and light shades attract dust.  Check out department store sale bins and thrift stores for inexpensive options.

3. Recognize That Renting is Sometimes a Better Idea

While avid enthusiasm for your hobbies is admirable, be conscious of the space you are taking up with your tools. If your latest project is something that requires a specific set of equipment that you probably won’t use again, consider renting what you need from your local hardware store or online.  Not buying a new set of tools saves money as well as space, so your wallet and garage will thank you later.

4. Store Balls With Bungee Cords

If you’re an active person or have kids, chances are that your garage is filled with lots of loose sporting equipment, especially sports balls. If you’d like a safer and more organized way to store them,  you can create supermarket style bungee cord organizers at home. Just nail some regular plywood shelves into your wall and attach the bungee cords. The balls are now much easier to get to and aren’t taking up as much space. If you’d like to add some smaller items, just add a few more cords. It’s quick, easy and even looks appealing, especially if you use multi-color ones.

Hopefully, these 4 tips will make your garage a better place. If you are in need of garage door service, repair, or installation, give the experts at Oregon City Garage Door a call. You can reach us at 503-632-3070 or by filling out our online form.

How to Fix Your Loud Garage Door

How to Fix Your Loud Garage Door

Garage doors often start out very quiet, but over time as the moving parts get older and wear down, it can start to make a considerable amount of noise. There is no worse sound than having to listen to your garage door struggle to open as you are heading to work in the morning. Luckily, you don’t have to purchase a brand new door to get relief. At Oregon City Garage Door, we deliver the best garage door repair in Portland. We have written these tips to help you silence your noisy garage door quickly and painlessly.

To silence your garage door, you should start by carefully tightening the nuts and bolts on the roller brackets, door hinges and tracks. The next step is to examine the rollers. A worn-down roller can wobble and cause a lot of racket, especially if it’s a steel one. If the rollers need to be replaced, consider purchasing special nylon rollers. They are more expensive than steel rollers, but they also make a lot less noise and last longer. The garage door opener chain can also be a source of loud noise. If it is too loose, it can cause the door to open in sudden, jerky movements which puts extra pressure on the rollers and hinges. Tightening the chain is quick and easy and will solve this problem. After you have inspected everything thoroughly, spray the hinges, rollers and tension springs with a lubricant, such as WD-40. Try opening and closing the garage door a few times to apply the lubricant evenly over all of the moving parts.

If your garage door is still screeching and squealing when it opens, it is probably time to call the professionals. At Oregon City Garage Door, we don’t just specialize in garage doors and repair; we offer dependable Portland garage door opener installation and repair as well. Give us a call at 503-632-3070 or fill out our online form today.

What To Do When Your Garage Door Won’t Open

What To Do When Your Garage Door Won’t Open

You go through your morning routine, grab the keys and get ready to head out the door to your car. Everything is going according to plan, except now your garage door doesn’t budge when you press the button. You can’t get to work without opening the garage door, so it is important that you fix it quickly. At Oregon City Garage Door, we take pride in being Portland garage door opener repair specialists. Here is some helpful advice to get your garage door opener working again.

If your garage door doesn’t respond to the remote control, check to see if the door is locked or in “Vacation” mode. Vacation mode makes it so you can’t use your remote to open the door. Also, check to see if the batteries in your remote are running low. If you can open the door when you are very close but not from a distance, it means the batteries need to be replaced. Next, you should check the “photo eyes” at the base of your garage door. If something is blocking one of the photo eye sensors or if one of the sensors is askew, it could be preventing the door from opening or closing. Simply remove the object and try the door again. If that or anything else you tried doesn’t get your garage door opener working, you can still open your garage door; you will just have to do it manually. You just have to pull on the red cord (usually hangs from the track) to free the door from the track. With a little effort, you will be able to open and close the garage door by hand. It may not be a permanent solution, but it will allow you to get to work on time at least.

If you are having issues with your garage door, it’s always a good idea to let the professionals take care of it. Our team of specialists provides the most reliable garage door repair in Portland. Just fill out our form to schedule service, or call us at 503-632-3070.