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The humble garage can be quite a neglected are of your house. You wouldn’t think of leaving any other room in the house without floor covering, but the garage rarely gets a thought.

Flooring in the garage will protect it against grease and oil from the car, mower and any other motorized equipment you are using in the garage. There is also a possibility of paint spills, glue spills, and any number of liquid spills that result from the many and varied activities that occur in garages. These are more easily dealt with when there is some type of floor covering.

But what are the flooring options for a garage?

Garage floor paint – is the least expensive option and comes in a range of colours to jazz up your garage.
Garage floor epoxy – hard wearing and comes in a range of colours. It’s a bit more expensive than paint, but will last for years.
Garage floor tiles – these come in a locking system and if any part of the flooring is damaged just the section can be replaced.
Garage floor mats – they’re available in a range of styles and designs. Have as many as you need.

Whichever option you choose, floor covering will provide protection for your garage floor and at the same time giving you a safer surface to walk on.

Most garages tend to be a bit messy because all sorts of things get left in there. Keeping them tidy is an important step in garage safety but if you want to show even more love to your garage and yourself:

• Attend to any spilled grease as soon as you see it as it will be easier to remove when it is still wet – put some liquid detergent on it and scrub in a wide area where the spill has occurred and around. Blot up the spot with paper towel and discard. You may have to go through the process a couple of times to completely remove the spill. You could also try covering the spill with some absorbent kitty litter – leave it covering the spill for a couple of days to give it time to work.
  
• Safety equipment was invented for a reason. Wear those goggles when you are using welding equipment. It only takes one spark to cause permanent damage to your eye.
  
• If you are working with loud equipment in your garage, such as a power saw or circular saw, wear some sort of ear protection. Hearing problems occur slowly over time and by the time you realise you have a problem it will be too late.
  
• Do you have a fire extinguisher in your garage or anywhere in the house for that matter? If you keep flammable liquids in there having a fire extinguisher nearby could mean the difference between minor and major damage to your house.
  

Gone are the days when you simply parked your car in the garage. Nowadays, people utilise their garage space for all sorts of things.
If you have a double garage you can still park one car there and use the rest for:

1. Office space -a free standing partition can make part of it into an office.
   
2. Work shop – if you’re working with wood, you might need a cover over the car to protect it from flying chips of wood.
   
3. Storage area – as much or as little as you like, around the walls or free standing banks in one half.
   
4. Laundry area – a washing machine in one corner and fold away line for hanging your clothes if you either don’t have a clothes line or it’s raining and you need to get some clothes dry.
   
5. Games room – it is a very rare house indeed that has a room large enough to house your pool table without putting the cue through the wall. The garage is the perfect size.
   

In the case of either a single or double garage that you don’t use for a vehicle, you could turn it into your special place for watching big games like the grand finals. Set up a comfy lounge and bar area and on the big day simply move the big screen out there. You’ll find yourself very popular!

A good shed is simply a must in your garden – you can take all those tools and kids’ toys that are lying around and give them a storage place, where they won’t get lost and they’ll be safe from the weather.

Even if you don’t have a big garden, there’s a shed small enough to suit you. You’ll be surprised by the amount of space you’ll save you just by getting things like lawnmowers and chairs out of the way. And if you do have a big garden then you can really shed your inhibitions!

Once you’ve decided on size and you’ve chosen a garden shed, there are two ways to get it put up: either you can do it yourself, or you can pay someone to do it for you. Sheds often come with an option for delivery and assembly, so just ask.

Doing it yourself can be fun if you’ve got a spare weekend, and it’s really satisfying to see something you’ve built yourself standing in your garden. Sheds these days come with easy instructions and can be surprisingly quick to make, although it is advisable to rope in a friend or relative to help you.

However, if you’re not the do-it-yourself type, it’s worth considering getting the company to do it for you. It isn’t all that expensive, and they will have built that shed a thousand times before – so you know it’ll be done right. But perhaps it’s time to shed your inhibitions and have a go at building something yourself!

If you want to get into some serious home handyman jobs, you might find you need to do some welding at some stage.

Welding dates back thousands of years to the Bronze Age. Over the years, the art of welding has advanced and improvements made to make it easier, safer and more useful. Welding can be done inside the workshop shed or garage, or even outside, and on land or underwater – even in outer space!

To get started you will need the basics:

• A 230 volt AC power source – also known as a “buzz box”;
• A welder’s helmet with additional goggles underneath to protect your eyes;
• Gauntlet style gloves;
• A heavy leather or other natural fibre jacket and cap;
• Thick rubber soled boots;
• Heavy duty denim jeans;
• E6011 and/or E6013 all-purpose mild-steel electrodes – Get both 1/8” and 5/32” diameter rods to use with metals of 1/8” thickness or more;
• A pile of flat steel scraps in various thicknesses (though ideally you want 1/8” to 3/8”.) from your local metal supply yard;

The safety equipment is not an optional extra in welding if you want to avoid serious injury. Once you’ve gathered all this, you’re ready to start AC arc welding. There are a number of opportunities around to learn to arc weld, check at your local TAFE or check online – You Tube has a number of videos on the subject.

Don’t forget, when you’re welding in the garage or shed, you’ll need to shield any flammable items from sparks.

Regular maintenance of your garden tools will increase their life, help prevent personal injury, and increase your gardening enjoyment.
Garden Hoses
Proper storage will stop your hose from kinking and cracking and stopping the water flow. Use a reel and if you have reticulation and rarely use your hose, store it in your garden shed.

Metal Garden Rakes

An upturned rake can inflict painful and sometimes serious puncture wounds when stepped on, to say nothing about the possibility of the handle flying up and hitting you in the face. When you aren’t using it, send it to the shed!

Wooden Handle Tools

When you first get them home, apply several coats of quality varnish or paint. Bring already damaged wooden handles up to scratch by sanding splinters until smooth, then paint to prevent further wear.

Metal Tools

If the metal edges of shovels, hoes, rakes or other garden tools are nicked, smooth them with a metal file. Any rough surfaces should be gone over with steel wool or other abrasive which is good for metal. Any moving metal parts should be oiled occasionally.

All tools should be stored in a dry spot like the garden shed – after all, that’s why you bought it isn’t it?

If you’re about to create a garden of your own for the first time, why not start by having all the right gear! Below are a few of your garden basics. Start with what you need most and in no time you’ll have all the equipment you need to create a masterpiece.

• Lawnmowers – they come in many shapes and sizes – from a push mower to easy pull action petrol mowers to the ride on mowers for your acreage.
  
• Garden Shredders – although not essential they’re handy for decreasing the bulk of your trimmings quickly so that you can dispose of them easily. Gardening shredders with an electric shredder are suitable for branches up to a maximum of 40 mm.
  
• Cultivators – these are used to help in cutting the hard compacted soil smoothly. They are perfect for cleaning the moss, aerating the soil and in thatching. A cultivator will aid in preparing vegetable plots, flowerbeds, etc.
  
• Hedge Trimmer/Pruning Sheers – self explanatory!
  
• Spading fork – this is a versatile tool used for aerating and transplanting. Use this to split grasses and perennials. It can also be used as a manure fork, mulch fork, and sorting hay.
  
• Mattock – used for breaking up the clay soils and working around established trees with roots. A unique two-in-one tool, if you have a mattock there is no need for a pick and a hoe.
  

To add to our series of posts on the strange things people have found in their sheds, the following comes to us from the UK.Waiting to be revealed to the world for between 4,000 and 5,000 years a neolithic flint axe sat in a garden shed drawer for another 40 years because the owner of the shed did not recognize its significance – according to a 2007 edition of the Evesham Journal.

The Neolithic age or new stone age was a period that is recognized as the last part of the Stone Age. The Neolithic era, following the end of the Holocene Epipalaeolithic period, marked the beginning of farming, which evolved into the Neolithic Revolution and finally the age of metal tools in the Copper Age, chalcolithic or Bronze Age.

Arthur Mason, aged 80, from Elmley Castle, originally found the axe while walking out in Cropthorne. Thinking nothing more of it, he left it sitting in his garden shed drawer until he decided to show it to his friend Tony Tarran. In the course of their “shed chat” about curious things they had discovered, Arthur showed the axe to Tony who convinced Arthur to make some enquiries about the axe.

In an attempt to find more information, the two men took the neolithic axe to the Almonry Museum in Eveshamand then to Worcester Portable Antiquities to pinpoint the exact era it originated from.

Most people dream about finding a rare item, but it took Arthur 40 years to realise the importance of his discovery. The axe looks small but it’s an important archaeological find and is now in the Worcestershire City Museum where it can be privately viewed.

If you’ve found something odd in your shed, feel free to share it with us!

There are many ways to use your backyard shed other than for housing gardening tools. You could use it as a workshop for building small pieces of furniture. Or, you could use it as a craft room for creating all of those wonderful things that are fun to make, but make too much mess in the house.

Some garden sheds come in very simple and basic designs. They have a door and window for light and little else. You get to fill up the walls and floor however you like.

The key to getting the right garden shed is to know what you will be using it for. Are you an artist who needs a place to draw, paint or sculpt? Are you a woodworker making small furniture and birdhouses? Are you a craftsperson who makes jewellery or small knickknacks?

Perhaps you already have a garden shed that you want to convert into a small workshop or craft room. With a little bit of creativity and hard work you can do that. Just clean it out and scrub it down. Put in any tables or shelves might you want and maybe a few chairs and you’re ready to start using your new room.

Is there a shed hobby you’ve been longing to pursue?

Mother Nature is doing if tough these days. Getting your children involved in the outdoors early in life can help them learn to appreciate our world and care for it.

Here are some of the benefits that gardening can provide children:

1. Science: In planting, children will learn about the plant’s life cycle and how, with proper care, their plants will thrive.
2. Life: There are many correlations between your garden and human life that can be demonstrated to your children through gardening. For example, as plants need water, sunlight, air and soil, so too people need water, shelter, air, food. A weeding activity can educate how bad influences should be avoided to allow life to progress more easily.
3. Relaxation: Studies show that gardening can reduce stress because of its calming effect. This is so for children and adults. Children need to learn ways of coping with this often stressful world. It also helps build their self-esteem.
4. Quality Time with the Family: Put aside your stressful work life for a while and enjoy the garden. You can talk while watering the plants or you can work quietly beside each other. Where possible, always do what you have to do, together with your kids. You might discover a lot of new things about your child while working with them in your garden.

Is it time you got your kids into gardening?