Welcome to Garages Guide
Garages Builders In Omaha Ne Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
Creating Playrooms in Garages
from:Garages are often used for playrooms or recreational rooms today. They’re an extension of the house and are a great refuge during inclement weather. If you’ve already transformed your garage into a safe, indoor play zone, then you’ve probably taken care of a lot of the potential safety hazards lurking around your children. But if you use it for play only occasionally, you have probably overlooked a lot of important safety features.
One of your home improvement projects should definitely include a task list to make your garage a designated safe play area. Children love to play in garages or big open spaces and when they are free of unsafe conditions, you can rest easier. Creating a garage space that is inviting to children will give them hours of fun.
The following tips will help you create a garage that is child friendly and safe:
1. Make the child’s play area appealing and it will keep them where you want them. Paint the designated space in bright, cheerful colors. Add an outdoor rug to coordinate with the colors and brighten the space.
2. Hang a chalkboard, dry-erase board, and/or pegboard on the wall around the play area. Children will have tons of fun using the walls for play.
3. Include modular kid-sized modular furniture for kids. You can make your own tables and bookcases or you can buy them pre-assembled.
4. Hang baskets on the wall where little hands can reach them and store crayons, markers, games, and books in them. Plastic bins work well for this purpose too. Keep in mind the more you can use the wall space, the less clutter will end up on the floor though.
5. Hang a clothes line or curtain rod low enough for children to reach and put small hooks or clothes pens on the hanger to display art projects and other work they create.
6. Using a larger space in the garage can be even more fun. But keep safety in mind. You can purchase used gymnastics mats for minimal cost and use them on the floor. They can also be attached to cement or cinderblock walls for added safety. Wrap steel columns in foam or other material to protect children from injuries while playing.
7. Make sure all electrical outlets and switches are covered and safe. Just like the inside of your house, the garage needs to include all safety features related to electrical outlets.
8. Make sure your garage door has motion sensors to automatically move upward in case something crosses the beam of the doorway. This was required by building codes effective in 1993 so if your garage door and opener are older than this, update them with this safety feature.
9. Don’t park cars in the garage while children are playing. Allow them time and space to play in the garage and teach them not to play around or in cars. Make it a rule to only play in the garage with adult supervision or when cars are safely parked outside.
10. Keep any hazardous materials stored safely out of reach of children. Old paint cans, gasoline cans, tools, garden implements, and other things can cause serious harm. Put them out of reach and out of mind for children.
It takes a little thought and planning to make a suitable play area in your garage for children, but it is time and effort well-spent. Your children will have hours of fun in their own play space and you can enjoy a more organized home when much of their activity and toys are contained in the garage. Before you let them loose, make sure you’ve covered every potential safety aspect of the play area and then, let them enjoy being kids!
Garages Builders In Omaha Ne Specific links
Garages Builders In Omaha Ne News