This will be the first of many questions I pose as I draft designs for a new workshop to be built in my backyard. The workshop will be an outbuilding, 18′ x 24′, with a 10′ ceiling and loft. I’m trying to decide how to heat the shop cheaply. I live in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay so winters are generally mild- low 20’s in February and March. The shop will be well insulated with 2×6 walls and batting. I would like to keep the shop at a constant temperature above freezing- about 40 F degrees and then be able to heat it rapidly to about 60 F when I go to work in there at night or in the morning. I’m thinking of getting a propane wall unit vented to the outside? Any other suggestions?
Also, the cheapest siding appears to be T-111 siding. Is there any reason, other than appearance, not to go with T-111 siding?
– Lyptus
Replies
Woodpeckers seem to have a certain fondness for the material...after a time. At least that's what my father-in-law found in Wisconsin. It was, in its way, humorous from a distance.
The most comfortable heat would be in slab heating, but that is rather unresponsive in making quick changes to the temperature.
Peter
I have similar size shop 15 X 25 X 10 . Walls are 6". But I live outside Edmonton Alberta.
The garage is in the same building only 25 X 25 X 10H. The heat from the 2 vehicles in the garage is sufficient to melt any snow and ice and keeps it from freezing on the floor. Well when it is -35 for a few days might be some ice, but not much.
Though a 6" wall is my shop. I have run a 4800 watt electric construction heater up to this year. I am trying a 1500 watt oil filled radiator style heater for this winter. I typically wear a t shirt, jeans and disposable coveralls and have no trouble keeping warm. I still need to insulate the floor for heat and comfort before making a commitment to permanent heat.
Money you spend now on wall and floor insulation is much cheaper than the long term payments to the utility company. Once that is done, an efficient direct vent convection only wall furnace would be ideal. But you will be surprised at how little supplemental heat you need.
Don
I would not use T-111 siding because woodpeckers love the bugs they find in the channels. I would use vinyl siding.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans.
When your ship comes in... make sure you are not at the airport.
One of the nicest shops I ever worked in was built in the 1800's. It had only a wood stove for heat. I loved that -- being able to burn scraps to keep the place warm. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. A propane heater to keep things above freezing while you're not working, or warm when you don't want to light the stove, would be perfect, IMHO.
Thing to note is that, if you have a furnace in the shop, you gotta be careful about keeping things cleaned up. While normal amounts of sawdust are not dangerous in this regard, it does tend to smoke & smell as it burns off the heat exchanger, and it can muck up the controls, especially if you forget to clean it off/out in the fall after sitting idle & collecting dust all summer.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
Don't know right off if HardiPanel is much more than T-111, but if you can fit it into your budget, that's what I'd go with. That or HardiPlank siding. T-111 isn't particularly long-lived.
Edited 10/30/2009 12:14 pm ET by MikeHennessy
I live in Maine and have T111 on my house and garage. I've had no problems with woodpeckers on the siding in the 30+ yrs I've lived here, nor have I heard of anyone being attacked by woodpeckers. I've also not experienced any 'bugs' living in the wood...I'm also building a 12'x24' shop extension on my garage and thinking about a heat source. As I will only be using it intermittently, I think a gas heater would be best, but the Rinnai and Monitors are expensive - at least $1200-$1600. I may go with a ventless heater. I have a Blue Flame wall mounted ventless unit in my basement, but it never gets below 50 degrees there. The unit heats it well but takes an hour or so to get it up to the 60s in the winder. It does smell a little at first, but that has gone away after some use.
Hi,
Your dimensions yield 4320 cubic feet. This measurement, the 6" thick walls, the R-value of wall and ceiling insulation, and your local climate (measured in degree-days) are all factors to consider when choosing your heater.
I heat my shop in southeastern Michigan (25' x 25', 12' high, 2x4 walls, 2/3 of which are insulated, a non-insulated 17' wide garage door, and 3" of insulation in the 6" rafters) with a 60,000 BTU ceiling-mounted, externally-vented, natural gas unit heater. It works great. The heater was $600 at Home Depot and the venting and thermostat might have cost me another $150. You might get away with one rated at 45,000 BTUs.
Going with a lower BTU-rated furnace would have been a mistake, because I can raise the temperature quickly. the 75,000 BTU unit probably would have been too big. And yes, keep it above 40, because you will get condensation on your tools and they will rust. Remember that a by-product of propane is water, so you MUST vent it externally to prevent the same rusting.
And yes, shut it off and then ventilate before you do something that creates dust or spray paint or use flammable solvents.
Lawrie
If you use T-111 for a woodworking shop, the gods will come to earth and dull all your edge tools.
Construct your shop with a rainscreen. This is a method that shields the outside elements from entering your building (keeps the wet outside) but allows a wide variety of outer cladding that doesn't necessarily have to be waterproof. This article explains the process: http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/pdf/RainScreen.pdf
Do a rainscreen then clad with whatever is cheap in your neighborhood. Be clever.
Hello Lyptus,
Congratulations on getting to that point where you can begin your new shop. I've recently completed my new shop and I can share a few thoughts with you. Use them as you see fit.
Regarding T-111 siding. It looks good when new. I used it on my hunting cabin in N. Penna. Results...porcupines gnaw at it due to the salts in the adhesives. Woodpeckers and carpenter bees also seem to like it and the bottom edges deteriorate from exposure to moisture. I agree with previous posts that recommend vinyl. It is inexpesvive and impervious to those things I described above. If you are more of a purist, the latest generation of cement sidings are quite nice and look as good as any old growth clapboards.
Insulation-Focus on achieving expert level insulation in your shop. In comparison, insulation is very cheap when compared to the fact that you will be extra spending money on fuel to make up for a lack of sufficient insulation. Insulation you pay for once. Fuel you must buy every winter. Over do it rather than under do it.
If your ceilings are high enough for a loft, I would consider including industial type ceiling fans (no lights or fancy dangly things) with four speed wall mounted controls.. A majority of your heat will naturally flow to the ceiling. The fans will push it back down to the floor where you are working. They will also circulate a refreshing cool breeze during the hot summer months.
Heating is a more involved issue that it may appear. In my shop I built a (beautiful) brick raised hearth with a masonry chimney on which I placed a nice antique coal burning pot belly stove. Like the previous post, I too love the feel of a stove burning in the shop, especially on a cold morning. When I had my property evaluated for proper insurance coverage (I had also built a new house) the insurance company had a coronary and gave me 7 days to remove the stove or they threatened to cancel my homeowners insurance. I'm still struggling with that. Since my shop has two overhead doors, my insurance company defines it as a garage. The NFPA Standard for Solid Fuel Appliances prohibits wood, coal and pellet stoves in a "garage". My advice would be to talk with your insurance man before you spend your money.
Google "wall furnace" and review the available units. They are self contained vented furnaces that will fit between the wall studs of your shop and take up very little space. They are especially easy to install while you are building the shop.
Good Luck
BillB
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