Current temp here is 95.1 with a feels like of 105F. The high today was 97. I took my temp gun from work out and shot some stuff around the garage. I have not worked any worth mentioning in the garage today as im turning into a nancy boy and its hot. The door has been open and closed and left open a bit, but in general left closed. The sun is on the backside of the garage now, but throughout the better part of the day hits the front side. Here's the temps I got. Its 7pm in the evening.

Concrete in front of garage, was in sun most the day, now in shade




Outside wall, same side





outside garage door, solid wood




inside garage door, lights off




ceiling, attic on other side, probably not insulated but has wood flooring




garage floor of course has temp drop




garage side of door to house




door to garage on current sun side, there is a small porch with cover that helps keep sun off this area




sensor is up under front porch cover, out of sun but on the side of house that gets sun through most of day, currently 94 F, not sure if high was from today or another day


So basically thats a lot of pics to say its hot, figure in humidity and whatever and its really hot.

Generally i use a small box fan and open the garage door along with the back walk through door to the back yard. I didnt used to be such a big wimp but now find myself not wanting to go out and work in the heat, mess something up and just get frustrated.

Im thinking about a window unit, except the entire garage is brick on the outside and no window in it. So im thinking of a unit under the garage door with the rest of the door blocked off. This seems the cheapest route. Maybe a portable unit venting out one of the small garage door windows, maybe just more fans or something else, maybe a fan blowing in to the attic. Maybe some insulation.

In winter i just used a couple portable heaters and it got warm enough even to paint.

What are you guys using to cool and heat the garage?

 

I'm with you. Live close to Houston and it has been in the upper 90's for the last 2 weeks. I have an all metal building with no insulation. Even standing in front of a fan doesnt help. Like standing in front of a hair dryer. I'm just waiting for fall.

 

Living 35 miles north of Atlanta, we get the heat, and humidity. Luckily the shop is insulated, and a lot of trees to the west side of the shop. Opening the 12x12 doors at each end is a big relief when there's a breeze. If not turn on a fan





Winter time sometimes need a kerosene heater to knock off the chill, but by 9am the greenhouse warms up enough to pull heat in through the side door with a box fan. Growing vegetables all year long is an added perk.

 

Lose the old wood door and install an insulated garage door with perimeter seal.


Mount a window unit on a pedestal and run a drain line down the pedestal through a small hole in the brick large enough to fit the drain.


They even make portable room a/c units for around the same price as a window unit.


Do not use a thin insulated garage door like wayne Dalton. C.H.I. makes a nice heavy, thick, insulated door.


I just removed my uncles wooden door and installed a new insulated door. He loves it. He has not air conditioned it yet, but says it is a bit cooler than before. Best of all he has no critters coming in around the door.

 

I agree with the insulated garage door. In Nevada it gets really hot also. If u decide to get an ac. unit make sure it can keep up with your sq. footage.

 

Doesnt the entire back of a window unit need to be exposed to the outside?

Definitely figured on any insulation helping. I did some research from what i can gather:
- you dont want to vent an ac unit into the attic as the moisture just invites mold
- you dont want to run your house air into the garage as it 1. creates negative something pressure in the house and causes it to suck in hot air with allergens etc and 2. just creates a path for paint fumes and dust etc to get in to the house
- portable units, though some people like them, generally seem to get crappy reviews and cost too much for what little they do
- there is something called split something ac that has to be installed and costs to much so i dont know much about it
- seems the best a/c powered move is a window unit and better insulation, though how to do that without cutting through brick or cutting up the door to the backyard that we all use is beyond me. Maybe on the ground with the garage door down to it, and insulated plywood or something filling the rest. Ive heard this works but the top of the door would be in an open/folded back state leaving a huge gap that needs sealed. Plus its not real permanent. I considered mounting one to the top of the door frame to the back door, then welding in and installing a short height door; but that would leave condensation dripping outside as you go through the door, a short back door, and questions about the strength of the door frame to hold it up. With no regular garage window and brick outside this proposes a challenge. Ive done my share of concrete cutting but am not interested in damaging the brick outside my house. The portable ones i could just vent out the crappy little windows in the actual garage door.

Someone may chime in with advice to the contrary of what i just posted, thats just things i picked up from some internet research. I really dont know a thing about ac/heat or plumbing....thats all out of my realm, but slowly learning as needed.

The greenhouse by the garage pic was awesome, thats the way to go in the winter.

 

Faber,

Before I looked at some sort of A/C unit, I'd be inclined to suggest you look deeper into ventilating the attic space - getting the heat out of there will reduce the temperatures below - Once you've got it vented, then look into the possiblity of insulating the attic space as well. Looking at an A/C unit without insulating first is like setting an A/C unit in the driveway - unless you are sitting 1ft in front of it, it does little to cool the area and there is NOTHING to keep the cool around.

First, I would look at a thermostatically-controlled, screened & louvered attic fan. If you have gable ends on your garge space, place the fan in one gable end and a good sized, screen-covered (to keep critters out) louver set at the other gable end to let cooler outside makeup air in. If your garage does not have gable ends, then a roof-mounted powered roof vent mounted near the peak towards one side and a makeup air vent on the other side would also work.

Make sure you go with a fan designed and made for attic venting; it has to be able to handle hot air use. I mentioned being thermostatically controled, so that it comes on and goes off at pre-determined temperatures. Don't think that you need a manual on/off control, as you won't know what the temps are in the attic and won't be at the switch when you need to be. Something like this:
http://www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-Ventilator-7A041?s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/7F667_AS01?$smthumb$

Once you have the attic fan installed and operational, your roof - especially if you have a shingle roof - will thank you for it and will extend its life as well.

Just my humble opinion,

BarnieTrk

 

I have a pole barn building and put 6" insullation in the walls and i belive 12" in the ceiling . I have insualted garage doors on it too. Mine will stay about 20 degrees cooler than outside even in the hot 100+ degree Kanas summer. Most of the time i try to not keep any doors open and run a big fan to keep the air moving. If you don't have any insullation in the ceiling that would also be a good place to start along with the attic vents as talked about.

 

Appreciate the advice, not gonna go that route. Research shows that if the home is well insulated cooling the attic is not a big deal worth worrying about, especially if it has good natural ventilation; which mine does. Vents at both ends 2 stories high. Since the garage attic is connected to the rest of the houses attic, which is next to both upstairs bedrooms, i dont want to chance the stuff they listed as more potential problems:
- The fan can create negative pressure in the house and actually suck air conditioned air into the attic, running the ac even more (even with good ventilation to pull air through the attic from the outside).
- even worse they say its possible to cause a back draft from the water heater vent (or something to the effect) and that would put harmful vapors in the house.

Sounds like just natural attic ventilation and good house insulation are the best bets.

 

I don't think it's off-topic at all. It HOT out there right now. So I work on my stuff from 6 til about noon at the latest and then quit. Heat stroke isn't worth it. When the temps drop to 80 or below, then it gets better. The best temps are in the 60s but they won't be here til late September or October.

 

I agree. I start at 5am an go until 9 or 10am. As long as your neighbors don't mind grinding and hammering before sunup. It's 68 in here right now. My recording thermometer says it was 101 in here yesterday afternoon.

 

Insulation is your friend along with a quality insulated garage door.

 

HaHa....reminds me of a particular scene from the movie, "http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Fastest-Indian-Anthony-Hopkins/dp/B000FBDK

...if you haven't seen this movie - YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE!

Anthony Hopkins does a GREAT job - based on a true story. It is set in the 60s with sweet ol' cars/trucks as well.

BarnieTrk

 

I'm in the county so neighbors aren't a big problem. The one next to me isn't there half the time. The noisy thing such as the grinder, metal cutter, etc, waits til about 9:00 beofr I'll use it.

 

My nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. I do what I want, when I want, and I've got my wife's permission to say that.