FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ruth Berliner, 203-502-7600 x 100; Contact Us
(Stratford, Conn., January 16, 2018) A National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) study found that features most homebuyers said are essential/desirable in a new home center on keeping the home organized. More than 90 percent want a laundry room and more than 80 percent want garage storage and a walk-in pantry. The study was based upon a national survey of more than 4,300 recent and prospective homebuyers.
“The big trend has one word, and that is ‘storage.’ People of all ages have an increasing amount of stuff,” Bill McDonough, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer for builder M/I Homes, told The Associated Press. (M/I Homes has built more than 100,000 homes in 15 markets according to its website.) As an example, McDonough added that more customers now request three-car and bigger garages with more storage space. NAHB reported that 23 percent of new homes in 2014 had three or more garages, compared to 13 percent in 1994.
Garage storage was rated as “essential” by 25 percent of respondents in the NAHB study and “desirable” by 56 percent. An industry of garage storage and organization products has grown up around this trend.
Homeowners not in the market for a new home are refurbishing their current garages. A search on Home Depot’s website turns up 784 results for garage cabinets and storage, ranging from full wall units to storage bins and totes. GarageTek, a supplier of garage organization systems, grew from a few franchises in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey in the year 2000 to a network covering 60 U.S. markets plus the U.K., Australia and the Russian Federation today, according to its website.
“I think a big driver is the popularity of garage door openers. With clickers and keypads, the garage has become the primary point of entry for a lot of homeowners,” said Dave Berliner, inventor of a garage attic lift. “Walking into a beautifully organized space versus winding through piles of clutter is a little luxury you can enjoy every day,” he added.
Half of homeowners rate their garage as the most disorganized place in the house, according to the National Association of Professional Organizers. A U.S. Department of Energy poll found 25 percent of homeowners with two-car garages have so much stuff stored there they can’t fit even one car inside.
“Yet above most garages is a spacious attic. There is only so much you can store on the garage walls. But getting your stuff into the attic can be a real challenge. Most attics have just a ladder or those pull-down retractable attic stairs. You risk hurting your back or falling trying to lug stuff up and down those stairs,” Berliner said. That was his inspiration.
Berliner’s invention is the SpaceLift™ attic lift. Working in tandem with your attic access stairs, it is a motorized platform capable of transporting up to 200 pounds and 24 cubic feet of cargo per trip from your living space to your attic with the push of a button. It is like having your own mini freight elevator to carry storage into your attic in just minutes; it’s a dumbwaiter for your stuff, Berliner explained.
Berliner’s company invested seven years of engineering development and more than $250,000 to create its solution. “We put a lot of work into coming up with a best-in-class attic lift with specs and safety features we consider critical,” he explained. One key benefit is no limitation on vertical stacking. The computer-controlled lift pulls evenly at each of the platform’s four corners leaving open all the space above. It also stops automatically for obstructions or if cargo weight exceeds 200 pounds. Low profile design makes it easy to slide your best storage containers, boxes, heavy items, furniture and more off of the platform and onto the attic floor. Protected by two U.S. Patents, the product launched in 2009 and is now installed in hundreds of homes and garages nationwide, Berliner said.
Designed to fit between attic floor joists, installation is easy requiring basic carpentry and electrical skills. Many are installed as do-it-yourself projects, Berliner said, or the company can help with local installers. It sells directly on its website, www.SpaceLiftProducts.com. A short video on the website shows how the lift works. Prices start at $1,895 with free shipping and a two-year factory warranty. SpaceLift™ Products are assembled in the USA, in Stratford, Conn., by Redco Home, a division of Redco Audio, a family-owned company.
More storage space is the new trend in homes; 80 percent of potential buyers want more garage storage. Garages can become cluttered fast, but above them is often lots of untapped attic storage space, said Dave Berliner President of SpaceLift™ Products which manufactures an attic lift, a personal freight elevator, to easily move items into and out of attic storage. “Easy access is the key to successful attic storage,” he said.
See a video of the lift in action at: www.SpaceLiftProducts.com.
SpaceLift™ attic lifts by Redco Home, a division of Redco Audio
Media Contact: Ruth Berliner, Marketing, 203-502-7600 x 100
Facebook: @SpaceLiftProducts
1701 Stratford Avenue, Stratford, CT 06615
Please call to schedule an interview.
A SpaceLift™ attic lift is installed at our company in Stratford. If you are in the area, please feel free to come in and take a look. There is also a unit installed in a nearby Trumbull, Conn., garage. With prior notice, the homeowner would agree to have you see and photograph that unit as well.
Sources:
National Association of Home Builders: http://eyeonhousing.org/2016/03/housing-preferences-across-generations-part-i/
Associated Press story, “How people are organizing their garages to make space for storage,” by Melissa Kossler Dutton, as seen in Global News, The Canadian Press: https://globalnews.ca/news/2522705/how-people-are-organizing-their-garages-to-make-space-for-storage/
National Association of Professional Organizers: http://www.napo.net/page/NAPOGOMonth