Can you imagine your new car looking rugged, chipped, stained, and dented in place? Protecting your cars, bikes, and RVs is your top priority as a vehicle owner. While many people end up simply covering their cars with cloth covers, nothing beats a quality metal garage that offers enhanced protection and safety to your expensive vehicles.
The perfect garage would not just be convenient and functional for you but should have the right layout, robust strength, strong build, level foundation, as well as ease of access. Building a specially tailored metal structure for you that serves your every purpose to its maximum capacity is what you should be looking for!
What Makes a Garage Perfect?
Before you invest heavily in a steel garage structure, you should consider a range of factors and elements for long-term parking solutions.
- Choose a location that is appropriately leveled and allows for proper drainage.Â
- Determine the number of vehicles you plan to park for perfect dimensions.
- Pick a layout that offers ease of parking and retraction of a vehicle.Â
- Opt for a material that is durable, flexible, and has high load-bearing capacity for heavy vehicles.Â
- Use a fire-resistant material like steel that protects your vehicle thoroughly.Â
- In the case of multi-car garages, you should install a multiple-door set-up for easy maneuvering.
- Depending on the space available, pick between a side-entry or street-facing garage.Â
Shielding Your Vehicle from Harsh Weather Conditions
The most essential expectation when buying a garage is that it protects your vehicles from:
- Fading in the scorching sun
- Rusting in high rain and humidity
- Cracking in freezing temperatures
- Denting due to snow
- Scratching because of high-speed wind and debris
- Damaging in hailstorms
If you live in areas with harsh climates, such as Arizona’s heavy snowfall and Ohio’s high rainfall, it is a viable idea to invest in a garage structure that protects your vehicles instead of dampening and weakening like most wooden garages.
For instance, a certified metal garage built by experts with precision will help in safeguarding your car from adverse weather conditions around the year. You can even upgrade their strength by upgrading a few elements like:
- Thicker gauge: You can increase the strength of the garage for heavy loads and extreme weather by opting for a thicker gauge. For example, go for 12-gauge steel frames over 14-gauge and 26-gauge steel panels over 29-gauge.Â
- Reinforce bracing: Adding additional bracing in the form of reinforcements, cross-bracing, or corner braces can improve your steel garage’s resistance to seismic activity.Â
- Upgrade the roof: Choose vertical panels that run from the peak to the eaves, allowing for dirt and water to run off the roof. This reduces the risk of the roof collapsing under heavy snow or water load, as in the cases of horizontal panels in regular or A-frame roofs.Â
- Anchors: Using concrete or mobile home anchors can help you secure the garage to the ground and improve its stability.Â
- Certifications: Ensure that your metal garage dealer offers certifications meeting your local wind and snow load requirements.Â
- Side panels: Vertical corrugate panels feature a sleek look. Since they have vertical ridges to help dust and dirt to slide off.Â
Other factors like insulation, heavy-duty doors and windows, and applying a powder-coating finish to steel components can add an extra layer of protection.
Preventing Costly Repairs with High-End Garages
The right garage will not just offer good initial quality but also will provide long-term, cost-effective solutions, helping you save on maintenance costs. When picking a good quality garage, along with budgeting the installation prices of the structure, you should also consider the maintenance costs.
One of the most significant benefits of metal garages is that steel is a non-porous material and does not absorb moisture from the surroundings. This reduces frequent repairs.
Due to steel’s anti-fungal properties, these structures do not allow pest colonies to breed. They are highly resistant to corrosion, mold, pests, rust, and mildew. Moreover, unlike wooden garages, they do not require termite treatments. Hence, they incur at least 30 percent to 50 percent lower maintenance costs than traditional structures.
A metal garage also offers other long-term benefits like:
- A lifespan of over 50 years with proper maintenance
- Increases the property’s resale value
- Provides a return on investment of up to 85%
Enhancing Vehicle Security with a Well-Built Garage
Other than insect infestations, rust, and weather elements, a quality garage will ensure that no garage components are compromising the security of your cars. Imagine heavy snowfall leading to the roof collapsing on your car’s hood or high-speed winds tearing off flimsy doors.
A metal garage that is structurally sound, can withstand wind speeds of over 150kmph, and is equipped with galvanized steel fasteners and secure anchors would be a perfect choice.
Safeguarding Against Theft and Vandalism
One of the primary reasons why most Americans opt to install a top-grade garage is that it offers immense protection against possible theft and vandalism. With a garage, you can conceal your vehicles. Moreover, there are a few additional security measures that can be taken to provide more security to your precious vehicles, like:
- Reinforced doors: Install high-quality doors with deadbolts or smart locks.
- Security system kits: Invest in security systems offering holistic protection, including motion-sensor lights, surveillance cameras, and alarm systems.
- Monitor access points: Install secure and impact-resistant windows that allow air to flow along with maintaining security.Â
What Are The Essentials of Long-Term Vehicle Protection in Metal Garages?
When building a reliable parking metal garage, you should pay attention to the smallest of elements that can hamper the life, quality, and appearance of your vehicle.Â
Insulation: It is critical for you to insulate doors, windows, and roofs, along with the entire garage, to significantly save on electricity bills. It reduces condensation and moisture buildup. With a high R-value insulation technique, you can offer better thermal insulation and temperature control.
Ventilation: Proper ventilation will help in protecting the car’s interiors from humidity build-up and keep the car dry, preventing any rusting. Choose vents or ceiling fans for the best results.
Size: If you install the garage of your dreams only to find out that every time you park, the narrow spacing causes the garage frame or door edges to scratch your car, it is important to provide ample space for your car to maneuver, protecting it from scrapes.
The most common garage sizes are 12×25, 14×24, 18×20, 22×22, and 36×22.
Ensure that your garage is high enough (at least 10 feet) to accommodate the right door.
Door size: If you frequently access multiple cars, it is ideal to opt for individual doors for each. The average garage door is 9 feet wide. However, you can also go for a double-wide door. Consider adding an additional walk-in door to access the garage easily from your home.
Lights: Adequate lighting is highly important for better visibility and enhanced safety. You do not want to stumble in the dark and end up hurting yourself or denting the car. Maximize natural light penetration using windows, ridge vents, and skylights.
You should also integrate LED lights to attain brightness within the metal garage while saving on energy costs.
Firm structure, enhanced protection
Never compromise on the structural integrity of a garage when investing in one with the sole purpose of protecting your vehicles. Along with keeping them in pristine condition, these structures also offer surefire protection against a wide array of elements. For the peace of your mind, install a premium and durable metal garage!
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