Increase your home appeal with a finished garage

The garage represents an afterthought for many homeowners. While it keeps cars clean and dry, the garage can often turn into a storage space for unused items and become messy in the process. This is especially true in homes that don't use the garage to store a vehicle. In this situation, homeowners should consider finishing their garages. A finished garage can make an excellent workspace or hobby room, and the process of upgrading the space may be less expensive and time-consuming than you expect. It can also boost the value of your home like a stellar home inspection result. Rather than letting your garage languish in disorganization, apply the following tips to either finish it into a usable space or upgrade the area where you keep your vehicle:

Organization leads to decisions

Many people don't realize their garage's potential because the room is too full of junk. If you don't believe your garage could become a useful space, take the time to organize it. You'll likely find that the garage is larger than you thought. In many cases, a clean garage can contain a car and additional space for a workshop or additional storage. You'll never know how much space you have to work with until everything is up off the ground and unused items are thrown out. 

Shelving represents the most important addition you can make when organizing a garage. It not only gets items off the floor, but also makes it easier to see what you have. As you place items on shelves, you'll probably realize that you can get rid of many possessions that have been cluttering your life. 

Invest in insulation

Outside of warm areas, insulation is necessary to make your garage a usable space. It can even be useful for individuals who do not plan on completely finishing the space - a layer of insulation inside the garage will prevent heat loss and cut down your heating bill during cold months. 

There are many options to insulate a space, including insulation paneling that you can easily install yourself. While you should prioritize the walls of the garage, a large garage door is generally the weak point in insulation efforts. If you live in a colder climate, ensure that any garage door you purchase is rated for the weather in your area. If you have already installed a garage door and feel it is doing a poor job of retaining heat, you can purchase kits that make it simple to add a bit more heft to your door's insulation. 

When you are insulating, don't neglect the ceiling. Heat rises, so an uninsulated ceiling will let a lot of hot air escape. 

Pipe in some heat

All the insulation in the world will be of little use if your home's heating system does not direct hot air into the garage. If it's too much work to adjust your home's ductwork so that some hot air is diverted into the garage, consider getting a space heater. While these devices can present a fire hazard if left unattended, they are capable of quickly heating the air in a space, and a solid insulation job should maintain that warmth for some time. 

Renovate the floor
Nothing makes a space feel less homey than a cold concrete floor. A simple floor change will make your garage much more hospitable, and this improvement is simple to install. 

If you never intend to park a car in the garage, you can consider traditional indoor options like carpeting and hardwood surfaces. If you want to leave the option of parking a car in your garage, look into plastic tiles or epoxy paints that can improve the look and feel of your garage floor without diminishing its utility.