The ShelterLogic Garage Screen installs across your open garage bay door to allow breezes and more light into your garage. While I probably wouldn’t host a party like the good people in the photo, more than once has a neighborhood dog wandered up to me while I’ve been under the car. It installs with a Velcro-like tabs, and tie-up storage allows the garage door to open and close with it installed. The kit shown includes the poly screen, pet door, tie-backs and roll-up pipe.

The Garage Screen is available in widths for both single and double garage doors, roughly $80 and $120 respectively.

Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Warmer weather usually means spending more time in the shop — and sometimes noticing how crappy the ol’ floor has gotten over the years. One solution some folks turn to is an epoxy coating for the garage floor, which protects against stains, is (relatively) easy to clean, and reflects more light for those under-engine jobs. Also, it needs to be applied and aired out when the air temperature is around 65-80 degrees F, so now’s a good time for a lot of people to do this project.

Rust-Oleum’s Epoxyshield products include a garage floor coating that comes in gray or tan semi-gloss finish. (It’s completely optional whether you want to throw in the decorative paint chips.) The manufacturer says the coating “protects against gasoline, antifreeze, motor oil, salt and hot tire pick-up.” They also say it cleans with soap and water, though my own experience with epoxy-coated floors says some heavy mop scrubbing may be necessary for oil stains. Street pricing for the kit runs around $70.

My question about this is whether a kit is the best way to go — or if it’s better to buy parts separately, or just hire someone to do it (concrete etching can be kinda rough, and the coating has to be applied quickly within a specified time period). And is the quality of the coating comparable to a professional job? Post your thoughts in comments.

Garage Floor Coating [Rust-Oleum]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Here’s another one of those “why didn’t I think of that” tools:  a garage door opener that works even when the power goes out. Normally in that situation you’d have to pull the emergency release and open the door manually, and I can’t see my wife working too well with that option — with her luck she’d have the door on her foot in seconds.

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My cold drinks always get hot in the shop.  Sometimes I carry a small lunchbox with a freezer pack out there, but I usually forget about it and end up leaving it out in the garage for a few days.  For Toolmongers who don’t keep a mini fridge, or the “old” fridge, out in the shop, Craftsman makes this Retro Design Cooler — it looks cool and it keeps your drinks cool, too!

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How often does this happen to you:  You’re lying in bed and the wife asks, “Honey, did you close the garage door when you came in?”  You can’t remember, so you get out of bed to check.  You can avoid this whole scenario if you install Xceltronix’s Autocloser.

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Eventually all Toolmongers will get weak in the knees and back — if it hasn’t happened to you yet, trust me, it will. Keeping yourself in a comfortable position in the shop becomes more and more important, especially when working on or near the ground.  The Racatac helps you move around the shop with ease.

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We don’t experience the blood-freezing temperatures here in the South that they do further north, but it does get cold enough that we start looking for heating options in the shop during the winter.  Talk of halogen heaters starts making the rounds as soon as the first frost hits — but are they effective in the shop?

You can bag a cheap electric halogen heater for less than a C-note, and they come in a dizzying array of sizes and shapes. The concept of no-flame heating seems appropriate for the shop, but how well do these things work?  How much area do they cover?   Will the person standing five feet from the unit be sweating while the guy on the other side of the garage is experiencing a modern Ice Age?

In short, are these good units to place in the shop, or is this technology only suited for the small heaters you find under old people’s desks?  Let us know in comments.

Airworks Garage Heater [Northern Tool and Equipment]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

This is some sexy garage flooring — ok, the hunk of Ferrari may be influencing us a bit, but the ribbed polypropylene tile floors do look cool.  We wonder how practical they are in real life, though.

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Memorial Day is past, but I say there’s no time like the present to work on converting all you pegboard haters — and anyway, Fourth of July is almost here!  Alligator Board offers metal pegboards and accessories in many varieties, but this specialty item really caught my eye.  Whether your patriotism is flashy or not, this pegboard will set the record straight and put you back on the red-blooded-American list.

Alligator Board sells the flag pegboard for $200, plus $34 shipping.

American Flag Pegboard [Alligator Board]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

While the Dash-Surfer might look like the unholy union of an ironing board and a piece of exercise equipment, you’ll immediately appreciate the utility of the thing if you’ve ever spent any length of time working under a dashboard. Without any support, the kneeling and twisting can turn into a real pain in the neck, back, shoulders, etc. The Dash-Surfer provides a level and stable surface to lie down on while working under the dash, eliminating the stress and strain of the more conventional method.

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What does your shop floor look like? In the Toolmonger shop, we work on a concrete floor sealed with a water- and oil-proof coating. It gets a bit slick when there’s a spill, and it’s hard to stand on all day long. So when I saw this photo of a non-slip mat posted by photo pool member Looking Glass, it really got me thinking. I know there are a ton of anti-slip and anti-fatigue mats, floor coverings, and whatnot — but are they worth it?

Growing up, I always held with the dogma that a workshop should have a concrete floor. My reasoning: “What does it matter if it gets stained?” Since then I’ve worked on dirt floors, wood floors, lots of tile, and even carpet — and I’ve discovered there are benefits to each.

What do you do in your own workspace? What’s most important about your shop floor? Let us know in comments.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Some deals come from unexpected place, like this 8′ x 24′ Gladiator Garageworks floor covering over at Abt Electronic for $471. The Gladiator Garageworks line of floor cover is available in 24′, 30′, and 36′ lengths, all feature diamond-plate-style grip and are made from a non-porous, chemical resistant and fire retardant material that’s UL Classified in accordance with ASTM E-648-03 (”The Standard method for Critical Radiant Flux of floor covering systems using a radiant heat source.”)

And installation of this flooring couldn’t be easier: just unroll it and it’s ready for use – no adhesive necessary.

GAFC0824PN [Gladiator Garageworks]
GAFC0824PN [Abt Electronics]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

At first glance, the cleaner called “Simple Green” just doesn’t inspire confidence; you’re trying to get rid of green crap, not add it. But the fact remains: it’s one of the most effective cleaner/degreasers out there that’s readily available, non-toxic, biodegradable, non-abrasive, non-flammable, and affordable.

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Eastwood’s Tilt-A-Car System offers a simpler, more portable — and cheaper — alternative to installing a lift in your garage.  Sure, it looks like a human-sized drop trap, but it’s also a great way to work on the underside of your car.

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I’ve heard lots of arguments on this topic.  I always thought that the screw types are the most reliable, but I’ve heard lots of people complain about the noise, recommending belt types instead.  I’ve always seen the chain types as “cheapies.”

Truthfully, I’m hoping some of you can share your personal experiences and wisdom to clue us in.  Which one is best?  Let us know in comments.

(Thanks, Ecnerwal, for the great cc-licensed photo.)

Lots of companies make these, and they’re a lifesaver if you have a two or three-car garage with more than one door.  While you might get away with keeping the opener for each door in the car that’s parked there normally, eventually you’ll get caught out wanting to open the other door.  You could carry around two separate openers, but why not just pick up a universal that’ll open ‘em both?

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Pegboard has long been the DIY’s friend; it organizes the shop and puts your favorite tools close at hand.  What could be better than that?  How about the X2 System Diamond plate pegboard? The moment I laid eyes on it a voice in my head screamed, “Holy shop bling, Batman – I want that!”

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