[workingclass]

Cool thanks guys, I'm definitely headed in the right direction. I appreciate all your help. Kevin

[35WINDOW]

Has anyone considered a PTAC? It would warm you in the Winter and cool you in the Summer-

[Meteor]

Sorry Workingclass,

I called it KB board but I think the proper term is OSB board. It is basically a plywood board made out of large wood flakes and resins. Some people say OSB is better and stronger than plywood and some say it's not, but it is used by a lot of quality building contractors in place of plywood. I don't recall what it cost to have that cellulose blown in but you can price it at your local materials supplier and maybe Home Depot.

Neil is right, you can actually de-bag the the insulation and spread it manually. If you don't mind climbing through the trusses and be sure to wear a very very good quality dust mask. You don't want those to expose your lung tissues to the fibers. I would talk with some experienced people before I tried it manually to decide if the cost savings are worth it.

Meteor

[1931 steve]

If you are looking for just the blow in insulation, if you buy it from Home Depot they will loan you the machine to blow it in.

Steve

[Jmark]

My shop is block, 20 by 30 with a 12' peak inside. I've insulated the roof with 3" fiberglass (scavanged from a Dillards remodel) then covered it with white ceiling tiles (scavanged from a demo'd Auto Zone). I have a small pot belly stove with a big heat exchanger on the pipe that has an old hang-on A/C blower motor on it. I can literally roast myself out of my shop in about 30 minutes of feeding the stove. I also have a (scavanged of course!) small dual fan behind the stove to blow the heat off the cast iron.

For backup, I (scavanged) my neighbors gas furnace when they upgraded a few years ago. I have it mounted outside next to my door. It blows outside air inside so I can shoot lacquer (I'm a cabinet maker) and not blow up my shop. A little venting and i'm good to go.

Mark

[workingclass]

Wow JMARK, thats quite a set-up you have there and the price is definitely right. I should start paying more attention on trash night from now on. Thanks- How long have you been building cabinets?

[theHIGHLANDER]

Workingclass...if you care about such things, your homeowners part of the policy regarding the garage will be VOID if heated with a woodstove and used for automobiles of any kind should something bad occur. Since you live in a suburban area, I assume your house is nat'l gas. I ran 150' of gas line and fittings to hook up my overhead unit heater in the barn. All in the heater, fittings and Tstat cost me less that $300. I bought a 175,000 BTU unit heater for $100, the rest was trencher rental and supplies. I'm certain you wont have that much problem since I'd bet your garage is pretty close to the house. One gasoline leak can ruin you whole day! FUMES LAY ON THE FLOOR. BE CAUTIOUS OF WHAT YOU USE FOR A FURNACE. That's the reason I prefer to have a hanging furnace. Some UL safe units are available for such uses. If cost is the primary issue, don't forget the cost of your largest investment. At home decades ago we installed one in a 32x22 garage and it still works very well. Anyone in the heating and cooling biz can help you "certify" a decent furnace installation to keep your policies in effect. Good luck with your choices, just some things to think about.

[Jmark]

Workingclass.....I'm been on my own for about 15 years now. Doing ok along with my wife working. Its just the 2 of us now and the house and cars are finally paid off. Here is my web site

As far as the insurance goes, thats possible, but never checked. My agent told me since I work at home in the shop, the building is covered but NONE of my tools or contents sense i'm "not in code compliance". I've talked to the city and they have NO problem with me working BY MYSELF in my shop but the insurance guys still say no. Oh well. I"m very careful and have it alarmed and monitored too. I live in a fairly high crime area of Phoenix. Didn't use to be this way but......oh well.

I put on a 1 1/2 ton AC last year. Just too darn hot in the summer months. The evap just won't cut it when the temp is 110 and humidity is over 30 percent. Had to build a custom 3 filter return so I can run the really good filters and not plug them too fast. I just vacuum them out when they get bad enough. Does a super job of filtering the air too if I just run the fan.

Mark

[Ratdoggy]

I have a 2 car cinderblock garage that I used to use a wood stove to heat.I was getting skids for free so it was really cheap to use . Just a lot of work cutting wood . I took it out because it took a while to heat up the place plus the mess. I now use a kero torpedo heater. It doesn't use that much kero to keep it comfortable. There is a small odor but I use clean kero NOT diesel fuel. When I get home from work I turn it on and go eat dinner so it's warming up everything;tools, car and all the other junk. The other reason is that if I want to use any solvents I just unplug the thing. You can't just turn off a woodstove
The stove is going to cost something and your time is worth something also

[brainsboy]

Well I have a natural heater, I live in Florida, but the same thing applies to keeping cold air in, and heat out. What I have found is to use Foamular. The trick comes by using it on all sides, ceiling, floor. For Floors the best way is to put it down first then cement over it.

http://www.owenscorning.com/around/i...s/foamular.asp

[workingclass]

I could definitely see using the foamular on the garage door at least. Thanks for the web site.--Kevin