DIY Projects

Garage Makeover

One in four Americans with two-car garages don’t have room to park their cars inside of them, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The main reason? Clutter.

Your garage should be much more than a place to park cars: it’s a warehouse, a workshop, and even a sanctuary. Don’t let your rakes, toolboxes, or sporting equipment cramp your style. With a few garage makeover ideas, you can save space and transform your garage into the organized, flexible, and functional area you need.

Fold-down Workbenches

Rather than taking up space in your garage with an oversized, permanent work table, up your workspace game with a foldaway workbench.

Wall-mounted folding workbenches offer a place to work, wall storage to store your bench and tools out of the way, and easy collapsible access when it’s time to tackle your next project. Foldaway workbenches are available for purchase at hardwood stores and can also be easily completed as a DIY project.

Magnetic Steel Panels

To work safely and efficiently, it’s important to keep your tools in an accessible, organized space. While toolboxes offer secure storage, being able to conveniently grab (and find) what you need is much easier said than done.

Magnetic storage panels let you openly display your tools on the wall, while also implementing the ultimate space-saving organization rack. The tools are neatly displayed, out of the way and easy to retrieve (not to mention, extremely affordable).

Commonly used for kitchen knife storage, these magnetic steel panels can be found at your nearest hardware store. If you’re looking for something stronger, Walmart offers a 12-inch magnetic tool panel that’s strong enough to securely hold a five-pound cast-iron mallet. Simply hang the panel with a mounting bracket and store your essentials.

Ceiling Hooks

Finding space for bikes can be a constant struggle, but don’t settle for leaning them up against your garage wall. We all have unused space towards the ceiling. Why not put it to use?  Bike racks can cost anywhere from $200-$600, while simple ceiling hooks are extremely affordable and easy to implement.

Here’s what you need:

Purchase heavy-duty, rubber-coated hooks from your local hardware store — they run for about $2 each.

Use a power drill to make holes from the garage ceiling for each hook to twist into.

Hang each bike by one of its wheels so it hangs vertically.

Garden Tool Holder

Does your garage double as a gardening shed? If you’re stocked up on shovels, rakes, brooms and more, chances are at some point, they’ve found a tangled home in the corner of your garage. Andy Bell, founder of Handyman Matters, suggests utilizing wall space to easily organize these essential tools with one simple product: a hose.

Have an extra hose laying around? Cut small pieces — around 7 inches or so — and slit each one down the front with scissors. Nail these vertically on the wall, with the opening facing forward. These make the perfect size holders for lawn and gardening tools and will save your garage floor from clutter.

Overhead Storage Shelves

Whether you have storage boxes, totes, or crates sprawled on the garage floor, free up space by taking advantage of the ceiling.

Overhead shelves are ideal for infrequently used belongings like large crates, decorations and clothing. Sturdy ceiling-mounted storage units can even hold up to 600 pounds. These range anywhere from $20 to $500, depending how much storage and strength you’re looking for.

Overhead storage tip: If you need to be able to access these tools frequently, consider an overhead hoist pulley system which gives you easy access to boxes, kayaks, equipment and tools with the pull of a rope.

Bungee cord wall storage

If you have kids involved with sports, you know what it’s like trying to keep your sporting equipment in order. Instead of storing sporting goods in large bins (or scattered throughout the floor), create a bungee storage system on the wall to save tons of floor space.

You’ll need: bungee cords, nails and spare wood. Install three pieces of wood (making a “U” shape) to the top and bottom areas of wall that are the distance of your desired storage height. Hook four or five bungee cords from the wooden ledges, creating a barrier that keeps the balls in place.

Since the cords are flexible, you’ll be able to easily access footballs, basketballs, soccer balls — the whole nine yards. You can also buy a metal version online for about $20.

Shiny, water-resistant epoxy floors

Now you see the floor: finish it off with a shiny epoxy floor coating. Epoxy resists chips, oil and grease stains, beads water and wipes clean like a kitchen counter.

Epoxy paints consist of a two-part application system follows by a sealing topcoat. Here’s the process:

Patch old potholes and cracks on your current garage floor.

Sweep and mop the surface with all-purpose cleaner, and rinse with clean water until dry .

Stir the epoxy paint until all ingredients are mixed. Pour the smaller can of hardener into the epoxy paint and stir together.

Fill a paint tray with epoxy paint. Brush the coating around the perimeter of the floor and spread evenly until the paint is smooth.

Let dry for 24 hours and apply a second coat.

Mix your topcoat with the hardener and stir until thoroughly blended. Wait 30 minutes and apply the top coat. Wait at least 72 hours to utilize your garage floor.

You can find epoxy paint at your nearest hardware store for around $30 per gallon, depending on the brand.

With a few simple but effective garage makeover ideas, you’ll turn your chaotic garage space into an open, organized and functional area. There are interlocking mats used for garage floor that are nonstick.

And do not forget the front door of the garage.

A can of paint and painter’s tape and few budget-friendly materials are all you need to give your tired garage door a modern makeover.  Try putting in some fancy outdoor lights on both sides of the door to add appeal and functionality. Maybe a trellis over the top and sides with clematis growing up.

Garden Pests

June Bugs

June bugs, also known as the June beetle or May beetle are flying around, can cause damage to many landscape plants and be a pest to the home gardener. June bugs are scarab beetles. These pests appear roughly around late May through June, have roughly the same body shape with the oval back and pincers at the front and feed on the leaves of landscape plants. The grubs of these insects can also cause damage to lawn and turf grass. The damage is normally large brown areas in the grass than can be easily lifted from the ground.

All the beetles that can be called June bugs are treated in the same way. To treat the grubs that cause lawn damage, you can apply an insecticide, like Sevin granules, to the lawn and then water the lawn to get the insecticide into the soil, or you can apply Bacillus thuringiensis or milky spore to the soil to kill the June bug grubs. Grub nematodes can also be applied to the soil to kill June bug grubs.

Sevin or similar insecticides can also be applied to affected plants if the adult June bug is eating your plants. If you are looking for an organic method for how to kill June bugs, you can build a June bug trap. Use a jar or a bucket and place a white light at the top of the container with an inch or two of vegetable oil at the bottom of the jar or bucket. The container should be open so that the June bug can fly in towards the light. They will fall into the oil below and be unable to fly away again. Attracting small snakes, frogs and toads to your yard can also help get rid of June bugs as these are predators of this pest.

Shade Trees and Shrubs

Properly Places Trees Add Value to Property

Properly placed trees can add value to your property. They can provide shade to keep cooling costs down in the summer and provide a windbreak to keep heating costs down in the winter. Trees can provide privacy and year-round interest in the landscape.

Smoke bush

Young zone 4 tree selections may need a little extra protection to make it through the winter. It’s not uncommon for deer or rabbits to rub or chew on new saplings in fall and winter. Tree guards placed around the trunks of new trees can protect them from animal damage.

Experts argue about using tree guards for frost protection. On one hand, it is said that tree guards can protect a tree from frost damage and cracking by keeping the sun from thawing and warming the trunk. On the other hand, it’s believed that snow and ice can get beneath the tree guards causing cracks and damage. Unfortunately, with many cold hardy trees, especially maples, frost cracks are just part of growing trees in zone 4.

Sunburst Honey Locust

Adding a layer of mulch around the root zone of young trees is perhaps the best winter protection. Do not pile the mulch up around the trunk, though because of mice. The mulch should be placed around the tree’s root zone and drip line in a donut shape.

OAKLEAF MOUNTAIN ASH

Upright, oval branching habit becomes denser and rounded with age. White flower clusters appearing in spring followed by showy reddish-orange berry like clusters. Foliage is dark green on upper surface with a white pubescence on undersides. This tree will tolerate poor soil and difficult growing conditions.

MANCHURIAN CHERRY

Prunus maackii, commonly called Manchurian cherry, Amur cherry or Amur chokecherry, is a graceful ornamental flowering cherry tree that typically grows 20-30’ (less frequently to 45’) tall with a dense, broad-rounded crown. It is native to Manchuria, Siberia and Korea. It is perhaps most noted for its attractive, exfoliating golden brown to russet bark. Fragrant white flowers in 6- to 10-flowered clusters (racemes) appear in April-May. Flowers are followed by small, glossy black cherries (1/4” diameter) which ripen in late summer. Fruits are used to make jams, jellies and juices. Elliptic to oblong, medium green leaves (to 4” long) have acuminate tips and serrate margins. Foliage turns undistinguished yellow in fall, often dropping early.

AMERICAN HOPHORNBEAM

American hophornbeam likes full sun or partial shade. It prefers slightly acidic soil and well-drained sites. It loves hilly areas, and in the wild, often grows in dry, even rocky soil. It is hardy in Zones 3 to 9. The tree should be mulched and watered until it is established. Although it is not sensitive to drought, it can’t survive flooding. It is also very sensitive to deicing salt. This tree has no serious pest problems, although it can be susceptible to chestnut borer if it is under stress. In the woods, it is one of the first trees to be defoliated by gypsy moth

AMUR MAPLE

Small tree; to 20′ tall x 20′ wide but often smaller which has upright vase in youth, becoming rounded or spreading with age growing at a medium growth rate. The species is sold in either clump (multi-stemmed) or tree (single-leader) form.

SERVICEBERRY

Apple Serviceberry is a hybrid between Amelanchier canadensis and Amelanchier laevis that grows 15 to 25 feet tall (Fig. 1). Multiple stems are upright and highly branched forming a dense shrub, or if properly pruned in the nursery, a small tree. It is superior to the species in that it suckers less and is adapted to a wide range of soils but tolerates some drought. This cultivar supposedly resists leaf spot better than the original hybrid. The main ornamental feature is the spectacular white flowers that are larger than those of other amelanchiers. The flowers are borne in early spring and are at first tinged with pink but later fade to white. The young leaves are purplish, and the fall color is red, yellow or orange. Edible fruit attracts birds. Well-adapted for planting along residential streets where there is plenty of soil space beneath power lines.

CORKSCREW WILLOW

Your Corkscrew Willow is also sometimes known as Dragon’s Claw for its gnarled, contorted limbs.  Branches arise from the trunk at an acute angle and grow up almost parallel to the trunk before they curve back horizontally.

Corkscrew Willow’s appearance is at its best advantage in the winter when the foliage has fallen to reveal the one-of-a-kind branches.  However, it also shines in the warmer months beginning with its pale-yellow catkins in spring.

As the catkins fade and the foliage develops, you’ll love the 4-inch long, lance-shaped leaves.  The leaves contribute to your tree’s unconventional display with their curled nature. The green foliage, with white-tinted undersides, twirl in the slightest summer breeze.

In autumn the foliage turns to a lovely golden yellow hue for a last gasp of color before the tree’s winter appeal is revealed.

Corkscrew Willow grows 20-30 feet tall and develops a symmetrical, rounded crown.  It is more drought tolerant than most willows and fast-growing. Corkscrew Willow prefers full sun, but you can still have one in part shade if you prefer.  In fact, it’s relatively tolerant of most soils and conditions