just finished insulating. 11x19 garage.

[endacoz]

I just finished insulating the ceiling my garage / workshop is an 11 by 19. 1 stall garage that is one half of what it looks like a two stall garage but it's split in half by a wall and on the other side is a three season porch with all glass. I didn't want to have a cieling to lose storage space so I insulated the rafters going up the ceiling and built a wall continuing up and insulated that. all the walls are also insulated. the garage has a hip roof. my garage door is not insulated but I'm thinking of either buying insulation meant for a garage door or just covering it with insulation. The floor is bare cement.

the ceiling at the top of the hip roof is about 13 feet I was thinking of putting in a ceiling fan and getting an electric heater to heat my shop. I live in Minnesota last year we had - 30 degrees before the wind chill. I was out my in my shop that cold day and it was negative 18 inside the shop. I'm ruling out getting a wood or coal stove because it would take up too much room. & I don't want kerosene or propane because I've heard they would put too much moisture in my shop with all my tools. I don't have enough power going to my shop to get a huge heater but was wondering what people think, their thoughts, and opinions. My goal isn't to keep it 70 in the shop but keep it more like 40 or 50.

on that note at what point Is it too cold for CA glue finishes?

 

[randyrls]

My Uncle had an oil furnace he removed from a house being torn down. He vented it outside. He would put about 1-2 quarts of heating oil in a small tank and light the furnace. Heated the place in about 15 minutes. Be cautious, though, large temperature swings can cause water condensation on metal parts.

I would not apply CA below 50 degrees or so.

 

[shastastan]

We have mild winters here compared to yours even though we have snow and temps below freezing--never below zero though. I bought a little elect. heater mounted to the ceiling (10 ft.?-never measured height). The heater runs off of 220 and has a thermostat and fan. I have a 3 car garage with no inner walls. got the heater at Northern Tool. I also use one of those dish reflection heaters that you can get at Costco.

The low temps caused me some rework problems at our other house when I tried to put on a lacquer finish (Deft) when the temps were too low. I switched to WTF and wipe on poly now even though Deft is a very durable and tough finish. If it's too cold in the shop, I just bring in the work to dry in the bathroom. The finishes I use now give off very little fumes. With the bathroom door closed, the fumes don't permeate the house. YMMV. I have a portable ac unit for summer. It's mediocre.

 

[OOPS]

we don't have your temperature extremes here either, but we do get lows in the teens to 20 degrees at night. We use a combination of kerosene and electric to heat our shop. The kerosene we turn on early to increase the general temperature of the room. Then we move the electric heater around the shop, so that its near us and blowing warm air on us directly. I have not noticed an increase in humidity in the shop, even though we use the kerosene for about 5 hours per night. One thing I have learned is that insulation makes a huge difference. We had a metal garage door and insulating that door reduced heat loss tremendously and also placing towels underneath reduced the airflow under the door, particularly on windy evenings. Also, standing for hours on cold cement can leave your feet cold. Consider getting a HF or similar floor mat to insulate your feet. Finally, in the winter, I put finish on my pens inside the house, in the basement. Its far easier to regulate heat in the house, and a small finishing station takes up little room. I hope this gives you some ideas to kick around.

 

[endacoz]

heater

I bought a ceiling electric heater that has 750 and 1500 Watt settings. (49.99 at menards) I am able to run my lathe with the heater on medium but not on high or else the breaker in the basement main electrical box in the house trips which means I have to walk 75 feet then downstairs to flip the breaker and come back out. But it's working out well I get to the shop heated before I need to go out there and then turn it off while I use my big tools.

I also just found out I can not have the heater on high and all of my lights on or the breaker trips. I know this is an issue that needs to be fixed, but for right now I need to make it through the winner on the current electrical system no matter how bad it sucks.

I put two pictures of the heater. the heater does not have a fan so I have one behind it blowing air.I also put a picture of the recently insulated garage door with R8 installation. in the last picture you can see the insulation on the ceiling as well as two wooden insert doors that are insulated to give me access to storage above the three season porch on the other side of the wall.

so far I can get the shop heated to 60 degrees and even when it goes down to 30 or below in the morning outside when I come out to the shop 7 hours later it is still 50 or higher. So I'm very happy so far with my heat retention. I am thinking of putting in a ceiling fan, I have an extra one laying around, to help the heat get pushed down to the rest of my shop.

 

[endacoz]

Happy with my insulation project!

Outside at 11am. -19 (wind chill) inside my shop with heater on... 53!

 

[ofd8001]

I miss a lot of things about living in Minnesota, the ultra cold winters ain't one of them.

Down hear in Louisville, I'm using a combination heater/air conditioning heat pump for just my garage workshop. It is warm during the winter and cool during the summer.

You probably need to be very mindful of dust control with that exposed heating element from a fire safety standpoint.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

You should have an electrician check out your wiring.

I love Menards. I have a 5000 watt heater from there, and it puts some wonderful heat out - but it runs on significantly bigger wires, and draws a whole heck of a lot of juice.

 

[Sataro]

Luckily here in Texas I don't see some of those cold chills that we are talking about. My shop is an old storage shed 14 x 24. No insulation & seeing daylight where wall boards lap together. My heating system is pretty simple. Just add layers of clothes. 25 degrees this morning but 50 degrees when I got off work today. Afternoon shop thermostat was one tshirt with long sleeve shirt on top. Worked out good till sun dropped. Not the best heating arrangement but it works & cost is kept to a minimum. Would not recommend for you fellows up north!

 

[hanau]

I use propane in my shop, it doesn't get that cold here.
I leave it on all winter and use a 100lbs tank about every 3 weeks.
Shop is used mainly on weekends and not much during the week.
Only time I had problem with rust was when i used kerosene and turned it off during the week. Thats when i converted to propane.

Right now i am paying $54 for a 100 lbs tank filled. Last winter it was around $80.

So far no issues with moisture using propane.

my shop is 28x30 insulated walls and ceiling.
Floors are not insulated and is open underneath.

 

[snyiper]

You could use a kerosene or propane space heater put it outside and just have the nozzle poking in the garage fire it up for 20 -30 min heat up garage and do that every hour or so!!! The one I am talking about looks like a torpedo.

 

[stonepecker]

I also live in MN.
I keep my shop at 55 at all times. When I walk in I turn up the heat.
MUCH easier then trying to warm/heat a shop from 10 degrees.
Natural gas and a hanging heating unit is the way I went.
That was the best for me as I use natural gas also to heat my home.

I didn't start out with an insulated garage door.
Once I put one in, the cost to heat went down almost 40%.
That is going to be the best investment you will ever make here in Mn.