As they are a place to store vehicles, garages make the ideal space for repairing and making adjustments to them as well. What’s more, carrying out repairs on your car or motorbike instead of taking it to the mechanics can save you a lot of money in the long run; but before you start taking your vehicle apart, it is important to get your garage in order and equipped with the essentials to carry out the task at hand.
Safety first
The garage is a place filled with dangerous and highly flammable items like paints, thinners and adhesive glues, and that’s before mentioning the vehicle you’re working on being filled with petrol. So a fire extinguisher left in an easy to get to position is a must. Working with heavy duty tools and cutting equipment brings with it many potential hazards. Fireproof gloves will protect your hands from cuts and other damage; thermal versions will also keep your hands warm during the winter months. Googles will protect your eyes from flying debris and a face mask will prevent you from inhaling toxic fumes. A first-aid kit that includes bandages and antiseptic wipes can help control bleeding and prevent infection.
Tools of the trade
For larger, more complicated repairs we recommend taking your vehicle to a mechanics garage. However, there may be smaller issues that you can fix yourself with the right tools. A lot of repair work is found under the car which makes car-jacks an essential tool to get to those hard to reach places underneath your vehicle. Certain bolts need to be tightened to specific settings, these will be listed in your vehicle’s manual. A torque wrench will help you to tighten nuts, bolts or fasteners to the correct value as torque settings are measured in Newton Metres (Nm) or Foot Pounds (ft-lb) and indicate how tight specific nuts, bolts or fasteners should be.
Making your life easier
A screwdriver set is another indispensable item to help you tighten and untighten the many screws found on your vehicle. It is worth investing in a good quality set, as cheaper versions tend to blunt very quickly. A laptop with a connection to the internet is handy to have in order to look up advice that cannot be found in the vehicle’s repair manual. You also won’t have to run back and forth through the house with greasy hands and dirty shoes just to search for video guides. Cheaper items like WD40 spray, duct tape and a bag of rags will also make repair jobs that much easier.
With a bit of preparation you’ll have your perfect workspace up and running in no time, you may even find the neighbours start asking you to take a look at their vehicles too!
If your garage needs repairs then please do not hesitate to contact us. Our highly skilled engineers can come out and assess your door without a call out charge!
