The garage - your new favourite room?

You could say the garage is the most boring part of the home - a space to park in, nothing more. But actually a garage is much more than that, and you'll realise that as soon as you have one. Maybe you'd be just as satisfied with a carport, as it's the roof that is most important.

The first thing you'll discover is how much better your car runs when it's protected from the weather and wind. Ice, snow, wet leaves and moisture in general are a thing of the past. This means that both the metal and the varnish last much longer and maintain their high standard. Rust stains on particularly exposed areas, such as rocker panels and wheel arches, won’t appear as quickly as on a car parked outside in rainstorms.

The lack of moisture is also noticeable in other ways: the locks won’t freeze and the hinges won’t stiffen. And even when driving you'll notice the difference. If you turn on the heat in a car that has been outdoors during the cold and/or wet seasons, it will certainly be dry, but the moisture on the floor and carpets means that it takes time for the condensation to completely clear from the windows. If you usually keep your car outside, but at some point have the opportunity to keep it inside to dry, then you can wind down the windows, take out the rubber mats and so on, and you’ll definitely notice the difference for several weeks. In fact, it's almost as if it were a brand new car. Imagine - if you were a garage owner, you’d always have that feeling!

If you have a garage, you also avoid having to carry stuff around, as you can have everything you need for your car in one place - roof box, cargo net, dog crate, car seat, snow chains or winter tyres and whatever else you need. Imagine never having to ask yourself the question, "What have I done with it now?". Many people let a mechanic's tyre hotel store their spare or winter/summer tyres, but then you become dependent on using that mechanic. They might not have time to fit you in when you need to change your tyres. Instead, you can change tyres yourself if you have a flat concrete floor with a roof over it, such as a carport or a garage.

Maybe you need more than just a tyre change - there's a lot of maintenance you can do yourself even on a new car if you have some tools, good lighting and a good place to work in. Why not service and look after your car yourself? Clean it out, vacuum it, check the oil regularly (or change it) and check the washer fluid and coolant levels. All that is much more enjoyable with a nice, dry garage.