Published in Garden Compass November/December 2003
In her quest to beautify every last detail of the Edison Project, Garden Compass editor Siri Jostad enlisted Tim Shea, president of ICT, and his expert garage band to provide a chic storage solution for the garage. Shea conducted an onsite consultation with Jostad, during which he masterfully selected features that met the Garden Compass team’s needs while remaining within the $3,500 budget. The plans for the made-over garage included a deluxe, full-broadcast epoxy/polyurethane floor, hard rock maple-finished cabinets and specialty storage components for the typical gardening family’s many tools and sporting goods.
Jostad and Shea agreed that the garage needed flooring with beauty and brawn. To meet those requirements, Shea recommended a tan-and-bone-colored faux granite epoxy/polyurethane flooring that can be cleaned with water and is impervious to automobile fluids, household chemicals and food. The first step in the four-day installation process was to put down a color coat of epoxy. Next, the ITC crew broadcasted half-inch acrylic chips into the wet epoxy for the granite effect. ITC later removed the access chips and applied two clear coats of polyurethane. The finished product is a floor that glitters as bright as Imperial Beach sand.
To complement the epoxy/polyurethane flooring, Shea recommended cabinets equal in style and strength for storing canned goods, heavy tools and bulky gardening and sports equipment. In just one day, ICT installed the cabinets with half-inch doors and sides, leaving space between the bottoms and flooring for easy cleaning. Jostad and Shea selected a hard rock maple melamine finish and powder-coated steel handles that match the decor of the Edison Project.
For the tools and equipment not stored in the new cabinets, ICT installed a fun, wall-mounted wire grid constructed of heavy gauge, epoxy-coated steel. Jostad selected one of each of the 30 modular accessories that lock into place on the grid, including a garden rack and basket, a bike rack and a golf rack. The grid and its components are timesavers and product life extenders, safely holding items that would otherwise be hard to access or fall onto the floor.
From Shea’s clever and customized plans, ICT created a room with longevity that is easy to maintain, maximizes productivity and so lovely that any gardener would display it as proudly as the rest of his or her home. For more information on ICT, visit www.thegaragepeople.com.