Garage Insulation/Heating

[MoparBill]

I have a friend that owns a block building ~3000sqft. It has radiant in floor heat and is on at 70 degrees 24/7 all through the midwest winters. The bills for running that system are usually less than $50 a month. I'm putting a similar system in my new 30x40 going up in the spring. For that kind of money, I can leave it on all winter for my convenience. NOTHING compares to working on warm concrete in the winter.

I agree that in floor heat is awesome to work on. I work for a mechanical contractor and have since the summer of '86. We install just about any type of HVAC system you could think of. I am in the Buffalo NY area and infloor heat is not practical for the weekend warrior, and you certainly won't keep a 3000 ft/sq building at 70 for $50 a month around here! I guess each area of the country is different.

 

[scotts74birds]

Hey PROP. Look into doing what I did. I found a guy that scraps mobile homes. Got a furnace from one of them for $70. The key is they blow the heat out the bottom. Great for the garage.

 

[Propwash]

Hey PROP. Look into doing what I did. I found a guy that scraps mobile homes. Got a furnace from one of them for $70. The key is they blow the heat out the bottom. Great for the garage.

Great idea Scott! Thank you sir!

 

[DonC]

'I agree that in floor heat is awesome to work on. I work for a mechanical contractor and have since the summer of '86. We install just about any type of HVAC system you could think of. I am in the Buffalo NY area and infloor heat is not practical for the weekend warrior, and you certainly won't keep a 3000 ft/sq building at 70 for $50 a month around here! I guess each area of the country is different. '


Very true, I have in floor radiant heat I installed...very simple to do in my 2x6 well insulated shop 1000sq ft. I used a household water heater set at the lowest temp and it does take a few days for the floor to get warm. Set on a thermostat it still uses plenty of juice to the tune of $300.+ a month in winters here if left going 24/7. Neat thing tho is you can open the door on a very cold day and leave it open for a length of time if need be...the heat doesnt go out the door and all the tools etc are always luke wam.

 

[shag766]

Outstanding info Bill..........Thank you. All this great inforamtion you guys put forth, i'm thinking about drawing up a game plan this weekend and possibly buying material

Thanks again.

how is this coming along? i pretty much did the same thing myself switching from oil to n-g for the house and shop, but with my mechanic buddy who looks after my commercial heat and air stuff as a tutor. left valves and sizing requirements up to him. its doable but there are a lot of rules and regs. bit of a pissing match at the end between my guy and the propane guy, probably cause the prop guy didn't get the install. he wanted his own pressure test after saying everything else was to code. covering his *** as i see it. don't blame him in today's world.
saved a lot of $$ though. bought all the material through my brother who's a plumber/pipe fitter. wholesaler's here wont sell to you unless your are in the trades. the copper line made it easier.

just curious.