Mile High Coatings Podcast

Smart Garage Makeovers: The Best Storage Solutions That Actually Work

• David Nanninga • Episode 20

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0:00 | 12:33

What Are The Best Storage Solutions Or Options For Garages?

Cluttered garage, meet a smarter plan. We sat down to map out exactly how to turn a chaotic, catch-all space into clean, durable storage using purpose-built cabinets, strategic shelving, and an epoxy-coated floor that stands up to Colorado’s grit and weather. This isn’t about buying another flimsy unit; it’s about designing a layout that fits your gear, your habits, and your budget.

We start with a practical walkthrough of assessing your space—what you store, how often you grab it, and which walls, corners, and ceiling areas can do more work. From there, we dig into why custom, wall-mounted cabinets win for most homes: adjustable shelves, deep and slim drawers for the right tools, soft-close hardware, and finishes that brighten the room. We explain mounting into studs for serious load capacity and why floating cabinets four to six inches off the floor makes cleaning easier and protects against moisture.

Then we connect the dots with flooring. An epoxy or polyaspartic coating locks out stains, makes sweeping painless, and instantly elevates the look. We lay out a smart project sequence—paint or finish drywall, coat the floor, then mount cabinets—to protect your investment and keep the install tidy. For budgets of all sizes, we share high-value picks like tall cabinets that deliver the most storage per dollar and open shelving where fast access matters. Don’t miss the most overlooked play: overhead racks that move seasonal bins and seldom-used items off the floor and onto the ceiling, freeing wall space for daily essentials.

By the end, you’ll have a clear blueprint for a full garage refresh—from design and materials to warranties and long-term maintenance. If you’re ready to transform the most underused room in your home, subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs a cleanup nudge, and leave a quick review to tell us what storage challenge you want solved next.

To learn more about Mile High Coatings visit:
https://www.MileHighCoatings.com
Mile High Coatings
970-314-1023

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Mile High Coatings Podcast, where we elevate your spaces to a new peak in quality. Hosted by David Naniga, president of Mile High Coatings, this podcast explores how expert residential painting, concrete coatings, and epoxy flooring can transform garages, basements, patios, and commercial spaces across Colorado's front range. So grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and dive into the world of high-quality coatings.

SPEAKER_01:

From cluttered chaos to organized efficiency, discover how to make your garage work smarter for you. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with David Nanaga, president of Mile High Coatings. David, it's always great to be with you. Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. Thanks, Julie.

SPEAKER_01:

So, David, what do you think are the best storage solutions or options for garages? And how does a client go about, you know, or how do you advise them on considering, you know, how to prepare for adding storage to the garage?

SPEAKER_02:

Usually we start by uh obviously, you know, look clearly by by looking at the space. We kind of just uh, you know, when if we're talking about some garage uh storage options, we you know, we kind of stand there and and stare at the walls and and stare at all the all the stuff, you know, if they if they've got a bunch of um just you know, whatever contents, bikes, um, you know, rakes, tools, um, just storage items. Sometimes the garage can be, you know, that area, um, or or I should say the destination of last resort. You know, it's like, you know, you have something in the house and you don't want to get rid of it, you don't want it sitting out. Um, maybe you don't have room in the closet for it. So where do you put it? You you put it in the garage. Um, and and and clearly outdoor types of stuff, um, you know, uh sporting, you know, sporting good uh type of items, you know, tennis rackets or golf clubs or gloves, mitts, um, and then even some outerwear. So all those things, you know, uh, you know, you you kind of stare at and you take into consideration. You usually, usually the the the client has has something in mind. And and it's usually they they don't they're tired of seeing all their stuff, you know, they want it hidden. And so, okay, so that kind of points us to the direction of of cabinet storage. Um, there are options for just kind of normal open shelves. Um, certainly, you know, that's gonna be a you know less expensive option, but um, for for purposes of of our discussion now, we can kind of talk about cabinets. Um, the the cabinets are really nice in that they are made to order. And uh and so it gives us the ability to to really customize the design and and the storage options for that particular customer. You know, it's not like we're just you know picking basic stuff off a website, like, you know, I want this uh tool chest or this you know tall cabinet or whatever. And so so it gives us that ability, you know, we we can we can um you know increase the number of shelves if we need to. There's a lot of jeweler options. So um, so there's you know big, big deep drawers, there's you know, skinnier drawers that you you kind of see on a um, you know, like it in a like like in a tool chest uh type of thing. And so um so so there's just a there's just really a lot of options, and we just kind of will obviously go through that and and figure out what makes sense. And then there's finish options, you know, different colors and and all that too. So um, so really it's it's it's a pretty personalized um sort of you know setup.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you often find that you advise for clients to get wall-mounted shelving, or are there times where freestanding units make sense?

SPEAKER_02:

So typically uh the cabinets that we that that we install are are installed to the framing in the wall. So they're wall-mounted, uh, just like your you know, kitchen cabinets. So so there's, you know, you got your sort of normal tall cabinet, you know, that's gonna look, you know, that's gonna be like like tall, like a like a refrigerator or or taller. Um then you have your base cabinets, which is gonna be similar to like your your um you know, your countertop cabinets in a kitchen. And then you have your upper cabinets, you know, which again are like upper cabinets. Um, you know, if think about, you know, again, you know, kitchen type of cabinets. So there's so those are the three main styles of cabinets. Um so with that said, there are there are feet that that uh that that we can put if it in in in specific scenarios, maybe where there's maybe a weight or load concern, you know, with say like a tall cabinet. It's pretty rare. So typically um the the cabinets can can hold a fairly significant amount of weight. Um and you know, there's a lot of anchor points again. We're we're gonna install them to the framing or to the studs and the wall. So they're they're pretty darn secure. I've never had anyone um call and say, you know, that their cabinet fell off the wall or whatever. Um and so with that said, they're they're also they're gonna be mounted off the floor, typically four to six inches off the floor. So so that's nice because you know that that space under there, it's easy to clean. Then you're not concerned about you know, water um or you know, it the the cabinets getting wet. And so um, you know, it's gonna obviously protect the cabinet itself, but also the the contents um inside the cabinet.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it seems like the the built-in cabinets are an investment that's definitely worth it for the long term.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so the manufacturer has a lifetime warranty on their cabinets and they're super nice. The the drawers um are are super smooth. They're um they they glide very nice. They're you know, they're not certainly not rickety by any stretch of the imagination. Uh the doors, uh the hinges on the doors themselves are soft clothes, um, which again are pretty nice. I often joke that they're nicer than my than my kitchen cabinets. So the quality of the materials is very nice. They're um they're super dense uh particle board, um, and then there's a thermofused uh veneer on top, and and they're very durable, you know. Sometimes people think, oh, the wood, wood cabinets. They're not cheap from a you know, from that person that sort of build, you know. This is not a you know cheap um, you know, something you get from you know, the big box store um cabinet that particle board's gonna fall apart and everything. They're they're uh they're they're very nice. Um and they're built to last. Again, manufacturer has a lifetime warranty. We do a lifetime warranty on the installation, and uh they yeah, I mean, we do them and I mean you know the the the the whole range, I mean, high-end custom homes um to to just you know, whatever, normal um uh you know, everyday homes.

SPEAKER_01:

So and um just a couple more questions for you. What role do epoxy-coated floors play in keeping storage areas um clean and functional for the homeowner?

SPEAKER_02:

So I I would say they're they they they may not I mean you can you can have one without the other, certainly. Um but we almost always when when we have a project, say a garage cabinet or storage um project, we almost always are you know doing the floor coating also. And and I think that's because you know, if if people are maybe going it so far to to to do cabinets, you know, they're probably you know, they they've likely got painted walls um or potentially finished walls. And again, we we do painting too. So we've had lots of projects where we we've come in and we've painted the walls or even finished the drywall. Um and then we've done the floor coating and then we install the cabinets and everything. So it's kind of a you know, kind of like a whole garage makeover sort of situation. And so so again, you can have one without the other, certainly, but but but usually, you know, if people are going so far to to install cabinets, they they either have had us do the floor coating in the past, um, or we're we're doing it likely before. So so so in that order, we would do the floor first and then and then install the cabinets. And um, you know, it's just just kind of goes just the the whole aesthetic of you know protecting the floor, obviously with the floor coating, the ability to keep the garage clean or the floor clean, and then just that that uh sort of nice finished feel. I mean, you have nice cabinets um with you know the ability to to hide all your junk, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

So and then last question for you, David. Are there any like budget-friendly solutions that you recommend for families that are just starting to organize their garage and they're definitely looking at their budget, but they want something nice and they want to get that clutter out of that house?

SPEAKER_02:

Sure. Yeah. So um, I mean, there's there's different, you know, there's different sort of levels of of finishes that that can be that you know that that we can order or install. Um I I mentioned earlier that, you know, there are and just recently um the the um the manufacturer we use is has uh has implemented a they've got like just open shelving kind of kind of systems. And so um and we can do about anything. Occasionally people do just want open shelves, and that's totally fine. And and and we can install that, uh, you know, no problem. But uh yeah, so I mean you can you can get, you know, the the the most cost effective sort of bang for the buck cabin is is a tall cabinet, you know, kind of the it's it's it'd be four feet wide, you know, seven and a half, almost eight feet tall. And it's just it it's big, it's efficient, it it provides a lot of storage capacity. Um and so that that's gonna be the most cost effective from a you know um dollar per, you know, uh cubic foot of storage if if you want to look at it that way. So yeah, but certainly worth the conversation to see, you know, what all we can do. And and with that said, the uh I didn't even mention overhead storage um racks that offer a lot of capacity. You know, you can have four by six, four by eight storage racks, you know, that hang from the ceiling. And those will, you know, you can fit a lot of totes or or whatever, you know, those are usually aimed at more long-term storage type of things, you know, uh maybe, you know, Christmas decorations and and things like that, or whatever, you know, type of things that you meet you maybe access once or twice a year. And so um, so yeah, there's there there are definitely uh different options for that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you mentioned that ceiling rack space. That sounds like that could be an underutilized option for a lot of people that maybe they haven't thought about that. So I appreciate you bringing that up. And um, David, thanks again for discussing all these garage storage options with your listeners. We always appreciate your time.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks for tuning in to the Mile High Coatings Podcast. Ready to give your space a fresh, durable finish? Visit MileHighCodings.com for a free price quote or call 970-314-1023. At Mile High Coatings, we're not just painting walls, we're setting a new peak in quality. Until next time, keep your standards high and your coatings higher.