Heating Garage/Shop?

[Rita B.]

Just curious how or if you heat your shop for those of us in the colder climates.   Do you heat it or just retire your hobby for the winter?  What type of heating system to do use?  Lighting can also be a problem in the cold.   I have a two and half car garage and using one and a half for the shop portion.  The walls are covered and insulated but the ceiling rafters are still exposed.  I am trying to think of the best way that I could enclose the rafters using a light weight material (since I would be installing solo)  and closing off the space so that only the "shop" portion could be heated.  I hate the thought of closing shop for those long winter months and if I hope to be able to tinker around a bit this winter, I will need to start planning for it now before the cold is here in Michigan.

[Ken Darga]

Rita,

My former shop, a 2-1/2 garage, was heated with a gas furnace.

Walls and ceilings were insulated.

Floor concrete (cold in winter).

Kept the temp at 45-50 degrees in the winter months.

[James Waller]

Well I'm fortunate to say that my former shop was heated by the Florida sunshine, but when I was living in GA I had a small heater that blew the hot air out in that shop. But before we built that shop in GA I used one of the bedrooms inside the house as a shop and had the comfort of central heat and ac.

[Russ Haynes]

Try the thin styrofoam sheets -- they're not great, but they'll help.  A couple pairs of flourescent tubes on the ceiling should give you plenty of light and can be plugged in with cords run up the walls if you don't want to bother running a new drop for outlets or boxes on the ceiling.  Or, if you have a garage opener, there's probably one outlet per opener already.  This is my setup, plus an insulated garage door and some extra weather stripping around it.  I do have drywall on the ceiling, but it's because we have living space above the garage.  I use an electric space heater near the garage door and facing back into the shop.  It will keep the shop at a comfortable 60 degrees on all but the coldest days.  Good luck!

[David Dean]

Mrs. Rita here's one for the celling anit there some place up there where can get big sheets of card board in the dumpser thats what I did a fow sheets of card board 2 lbs of black scerws and a gallon of white paint and you got a celling.

[Rita B.]

Thanks for the ideas.   I can see either cardboard or the Styrofoam as being a DIY type winter fix.  Just enough to keep some of the heat from escaping while I work.   I was browsing over the weekend and saw some heavy duty tarps.  Perhaps hanging them down to close off part of the space so a electric heater would be heating a smaller work area.   I do not have a option for gas heat so it will have to be electric.   I have plenty of fluorescent lights now.  They just do not operate very well in the cold.  Anyone familiar with the ones referred to as "cold starts" or something like that?   My garage is a two and half car with two single garage doors operating on their own opener.   With some creativity, I should be able separate the spaces so only the work portion is heated when needed.  

Russ,  what size space heater are you using?

[Ken Darga]

Rita,

Cardboard concerns---it is untreated and prone to insect infestation.

It's also hygroscopic---it will get soggy and mouldy with any high humidity days/nights.

[Rita B.]

Good point Ken.   Even tho  it would be just a temporary winter fix, it might not hold up well under the ups and downs of crazy MI winters.  The air can get fairly saturated when a warm front passes over a snow cover and I am within a couple of miles from the shore of Lake MI increasing moisture content. 

[michael evans]

Hi rita ,just a thought if your staying there permanetely .I used rockwool here in the U.K.Its basically a woolley blanket on a roll and fireproof.Comes in various thickness they recommend 12",simply cut too length with a old knife lay across the rafters or squash in between .Then i would put up a 1/2" plywood cieling over the top.Did this for my bros garage its now a warm gym.If your worried about moisture you can allways put vents in the cieling .I painted his cieling white too reflect the light when the lights got put up.Go steady mick.

[Ken Darga]

Rita,

Applicable venting is a must---

add the venting before installing the insulation.

Rita B. said:

Good point Ken.   Even tho  it would be just a temporary winter fix, it might not hold up well under the ups and downs of crazy MI winters.  The air can get fairly saturated when a warm front passes over a snow cover and I am within a couple of miles from the shore of Lake MI increasing moisture content. 

[Ken Darga]

Compressing insulation will decrease its insulating values.

[Russ Haynes]

It's not a big heater, just a single dish-style electric.  But turned up it puts out enough heat to keep my single-car size shop at a workable temperature.  The biggest issue I have is not that I get cold when working out there in the winter, it's that the temperature changes how wood and finishes behave a little bit.  It sometimes help to move indoor furniture into the house in pieces, let it sit in there for a day or so, then dry fit it to make sure all the parts are the same size.  With finish, if you have to open the doors for ventilation, make sure you're working with a finish that is still going to work because in MI, I guarantee you're outside the recommended temperature range for quite a few of the common finishes (lacquer, poly).  Funny how in the winter more of my products get shellac, water lox, tung oil, etc.

[Rita B.]

Finally have a plus!  Roof vents were installed when the garage was built as well as ventilation in the soffits.  My ex had always planned to eventually add heat in the garage.  When we parted, the insulation was on the walls.  It wasn't until last year that I finally got some covering on the walls so they are fully enclosed.  I installed a portion of slat wall which has been very handy keeping things in sight and within reach.   Enclosing the ceiling is problematic for me however using weighty material.

Russ,  if I can run heat enough to make it comfortable to create my sawdust,  I suspect I would bring the project inside for finishing.   I have a spare room that could be used for that purpose.  I do not use spray finishes so I think it would work ok.