Healin' Hurtin' Homes, One Garage at a Time!
The 30-Second Story:
The year was 1998 and a self described "car nut" from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area decided the carnage had to stop. All those dented Minivans and scratched-up GTOs; all those pretty paint jobs oxidizing in the driveway while reams of junk usurped their homes...it was enough to make a car buff cry.
Most folks were livin' in denial, suffering Someday-Gonna Syndrome or buying big box bolt-together balderdash. Blake began a mission:
- No car left behind!
- A groove for every gadget!
- Worthy gear for every garage!
Today, folks can hold their heads high when they hit the garage door opener. They can even park their cars!
That's because Garage Werks helped them with one-stop shopping for design,
product and installation. They can help you too!
A Garage Warrior Is Born…
In the summer of 1997, Blake answered a cousin's call to install high-end playground equipment at elegant homes. That journey led him to the garage to plug in his power tools.
What he saw was disheartening. Bikes leaning against Mercedes, tangles of tools, a beast within the beauty of those homes.
"I was concerned about the safety and well-being of all those beautiful automobiles," Blake recalled.
Blake was also uneasy about the math of it: "The two biggest investments people make are their homes and their cars," he said. "In the garage, you have a marriage of the two."
Yet the garage was most often the infection site of "American Packrat Sickness" and the cheap off-the-shelf cures found at home-improvement centers left the homeowners wanting.
That's when the lightbulb flashed.
What the harsh environment of the garage called for was rugged, modular, made-to-take-it gear, and Blake was just the guy to deliver it.
We're Garage Pinch Hitters…
There was a catch. Behind every tangled garage is a battleground of procrastination and will.
"There's a lot of marital discord played out in the arena of the garage," says Blake.
"Lots of folks can't get their cars in the garage and the tendency is to lay blame."
Garage Werks quickly learned to diffuse these powder-keg family feuds with goodwill and reason.
"We have to walk a fine line sometimes," Blake admits.
Or so it might seem to the dominant male, whose wife has called for help. That is, until the dominant male witnesses the transforming experience of Garage Werks at work.
"Soon, they understand that we're on their side. Unless they're a master carpenter, it's just more cost effective and a better investment to call us in. You get rugged product that you can't buy in stores, the manpower to see the job through, and a catalytic force to 'use it or lose it' when it comes time to clean out the garage."
Happy Garages = Happy Families…
"Professional families are just too darn busy. We make great garages, but we also make more time -- and space -- for people to spend with their families," says Blake.
The one thing we hear over and over again from our clients is that their Garage Werks job was the best home improvement they've made, and that they wished they'd done it sooner.
That's because a well-organized garage is also a lifestyle change.
Soon, there'll be hobbies enjoyed in the comfortable, clean environment. Or Nascar parties on a rainy day. Some folks install data ports, central air, and high-definition TV screens for game day. Others use giant drop screens to create a drive-in, all-weather rec room.
But most of all, folks park their cars.
"That's what it's all about."