Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Contest
WJCL & FOX28 teamed up with The Closet Specialist to offer someone in the Coastal Empire or Low Country a garage makeover valued at up to $15,000. The winner was selected a few days before Father's Day...
EXTREME Garage Makeover
"My wife said something about the ugliest garage and I thought that was just a hint we needed to continue working on ours," said Chris Swanson of South Harbor. Swanson's wife, Leigh, had big dreams for her family's three-car garage. While surfing TheCoastalSource.com, Leigh Swanson was convinced she needed to submit an application to be eligible for a complete garage makeover. She did what was requested and snapped a few photographs of her family's unkept garage.
The Problem
Stuffed inside the space were kayaks, garden supplies, tools, animal crates, fishing gear, and much more. The Swanson's cars, however, did not all fit. "I couldn't walk through the garage," said Leigh Swanson. "It was bad."
The Plan
Organizing the space would be more than just a Father's Day gift for her husband. Swanson knew a little organization would go a long way, not only for Chris, but for their two young children and the value of their home. Executing the clean up would take luck and wiping some sweat from their brow.
The Payoff
Lady luck was on the Swansons' side. News that they won the makeover was followed by a visit from Jeff Klein, the owner of The Closet Specialist. Klein ran through his ideas for the space with the Swansons. Klein also listened to the young couple list which items they did not want removed or enclosed in cabinetry. Items they wished would stay included a refrigerator, a wooden toolbox, a utility sink, and a stand alone ice maker. Klein jotted down the notes and measurements necessary to customize the Swanson's storage closets. Before Klein left, he gave the couple an assignment: clean out the garage and leave nothing behind.
On a hot summer day, the Swansons and two of their friends cleared out the garage. Piece by piece, everything inside the space was walked to a movable storage unit positioned about 30 yards from the garage door. The couple said some items were tossed in the trash, but most of their garage belongings made it into storage for safe keeping until the makeover was finished.
Customizing and Organizing
In the Low Country at the The Closet Specialist's Bluffton store, the Swanson's cabinets were made. Taller cabinets were constructed for items like fishing rods. A low cabinet with a counter top was made to make space for the Swansons to work on projects. Small cabinets were built to hang above the family's refrigerator. The cabinetry would eventually fit together like a puzzle.
As the cabinets were under construction in Bluffton, Larry Speir, owner of Larry the Flooring Guy (no joking here) visited the Swanson's South Harbor home. Work crews from the Savannah flooring company put down a black and white floor that resembles colored river rock. Epoxy seals the floor. "It's indestructible," said Jeff Klein. He added that "children can spill ice cream on the floor, cars can leak oil, and still a quick clean up will make the floor look as good as new."
Days after the floor was completely dry, a crew from The Closet Specialist outfitted the Swanson's garage with the custom-made cabinets. As designed, the cabinets perfectly fit into the Swanson's three-car garage. Two of three walls feature cabinets. The Swanson's other garage wall features a "store wall" described by Jeff Klein as a wall organizer capable of gripping lawn tools, like shovels and rakes. Also, hooks on the store wall keep other items, like kayak oars, up on the wall and off the floor.
Over head and attached to the ceiling about 20 feet from the floor are four motorized pulleys. Each pulley has a handle that contains the power switch. The handles are attached to soft, coiled cords affixed to the ceiling. To lower the kayaks, the Swansons stand on a foot stool, grab the handles from above, and stretch the cords so that they can operate the power button while standing on the ground. The couple demonstrates how they can easily lower their kayaks. Chris and Leigh, while standing at opposite ends of the kayak, in unison push the "down" function on the handles. Like magic, the pulleys lower the kayak. Since the Swansons have two kayaks, Jeff Klein decided four motorized pulleys were needed: one for each end of the kayak.
"This has been an extraordinary transformation, not just a little change," said Chris Swanson. "When you come home, instead of walking through clutter, trying to pick your way through, you walk into something like this," explained Swanson while looking around at his newly organized garage. "I guess it makes you feel good." His wife, Leigh agreed. "Oh, I think we're very lucky to have this," smiled Leigh.
The Swansons and their two children could take an all-inclusive, 3-day cruise to Mexico from Miami for the same price as the makeover. The custom-made cabinets to fit the Swansons' 3-car garage cost $6900. The "store wall" was $500. Each motorized pulley is $275 and Jeff Klein decided four were needed equaling a cost of $1100. The epoxy-coated flooring donated by Larry the Flooring Guy (again, that's the company's real name) is valued $2500. If the Swansons had not won the Extreme Garage Makeover from The Closet Specialist and WJCL/FOX 28, they would have paid a total of $11,000 to reorganize their space. "I installed about as much as that garage could handle," said Klein. "The Closet Specialist" himself added that he could have utilized "a little bit more room in the ceiling beside the kayaks" but that the Swansons would have felt compelled to go buy more "stuff" to put in the space. "I didn't think they wanted that," said Klein.
Copyright 2008 by WJCL 22 / ABC and WTGS / FOX28, The Coastal Source
