South Elgin family parks in the winner's seat
Theresa and Billy Miller of South Elgin are elated about the improved garage they now enjoy thanks to an annual contest, sponsored by Garage Store in East Dundee and The Daily Herald.
The Millers won the coveted home improvement from a field of 3,135 entries. In fact, improvements to the garage of the 1980s two-story home in which they have lived for 14 years were valued at $5,000, said Jim Melchert, owner of Garage Store.
“My husband, Billy, is a groundskeeper at Elgin Community College and he spends a lot of time outside. He takes great pride in taking care of our lawn and trees,” Theresa said. “But we have a small two-car garage in which most of the space is taken up by a small SUV and his pickup truck.”
Getting in and out of the vehicles could be very tricky, so when Theresa, a lunch supervisor for Elgin School District U-46, saw the garage contest mentioned in the Daily Herald, she immediately entered, not even mentioning it to Billy because she never expected to win.
“We had things like shovels and rakes hanging from old hooks that we bought at the hardware store, but they stuck out too far and sometimes fell out of the wall,” she explained.
There is a lot of open space in the back of the garage, but they didn't have much room on the sides of the garage when they got both cars in. Theresa complained that she was always bumping into the bikes and moving supplies, just to get out of the car.
“Your products would be so helpful,” Theresa wrote in her application letter. “A better floor would make it so much easier to clean. Some storage on the sides of the garage would reduce the amount of stuff we have to walk around when getting out of the car and maybe some elevated storage on the back wall above the cars could be used to store things.”
And that is what Garage Store gave them. They replaced the Millers' garage floor; painted the ceiling, walls and door into the house; installed an overhead storage bin above Theresa's car and added both shelving units and new, easier-to-maneuver-around hooks for tool storage.
“My husband is a do-it-yourself guy but even he admits he never could have done all of this himself, particularly the floor,” Theresa said. “We chose a speckled gray floor which looks wonderful and will probably last forever. Now Billy is spending hours out there, enjoying the ‘new garage' smell and planning where he is going to put everything.”
They may even hold a high school graduation party out there for their 16-year-old twin girls in two years, she added, something they would never have done when their older daughter graduated.
“Jim Melchert and Nic Verdonk from Garage Store were wonderful. They worked with us every step of the way and were super excited to help us make the most of our limited space,” Theresa added.
Garage Store has been helping homeowners like the Millers reclaim their garages and transform them into another “room” of their house since 2007. In this case, they were anxious to show how homeowners with small garages can make the most of the limited space they have.
“The Millers didn't have room for lots of cabinets for storage but we could still help them make the most of their bare-bones two-car garage and give them something they would probably never do on their own,” said Melchert.
Garage Store is the place to go when a homeowner wants either a full garage makeover or a minor tweak. Solutions range from $300 for an overhead storage rack to $10,000 for a total garage makeover with a polymer floor, wall system, cabinet system, etc.
“We can custom design your garage to meet your needs and budget. As our T-shirts state, ‘It's not just a garage. We create it. You enjoy it,' ” Melchert said.
Garage Store is Chicago's regional designer and installer of Gladiator GarageWorks powder-coated steel cabinets, made by Whirlpool, which come in silver, red or white. They also carry hooks, baskets and shelves for the Gladiator Gearwall, as well as ceiling-mounted bike pulley systems, custom overhead storage racks, and car lifts for stacking and storing vehicles.
Melchert's crews can also re-claim unused attic space above garages, adding pull-down ladders and flooring the space above a garage to add as much as 300 square feet of storage space to the home, Melchert said.
But the application of polymer floors like the one given to the Millers is one of the Garage Store's most popular services.
Melchert gives credit to his staff for their years of experience in applying commercial flooring systems to manufacturing facilities, automotive centers and restaurants. “They transfer those skill sets to our residential work,” he explained. “We also use the same commercial grade polymer floor products with our residential customers, adding superior strength and performance.”
For more information about Garage Store, call (847) 428-8862 or visit www.garage-store.com.