Single garage - heating?

[Mike_5]

Hi,

I use a single unmodified garage for my woodwork "shop". Only access is via the garage door.

Needless to say it is getting colder and I am less enthused to go and do some woodworking in the garage. I was wondering what type of heating is safe and recommended? Or is it even worth it given there is no insulation and every time I open the garage door there could be a large temperature exchange.

Garage is roughly 5m x 3m.

Thanks

 

[Ttrees]

Will you be able to handle the condensation? ...like
Can you have the heater on always?
Do you have anything that will rust like cast iron planes or machine tables?
Is there any air flow whatsoever?
Is the ground damp outside...any visible dampness coming from anywhere?

I'm sure I'm leaving out some stuff
I'm not planning to heat the shop, if I can get away with it

Tom

 

[novocaine]

heat you not the space.
IR heating when in there, turned off when not.

or something like that.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have one of these - https://www.primrose.co.uk/firefly-18kw ... =list_name
It's not practical to heat the whole garage often as I tend to be there sporadically, so I tried to find something that I could just warm my hands on (my circulation is shot) when needed. I've found it useful to have three settings so I can put one bar an hour or so earlier which takes the edge off without breaking the bank and I've got Economy 7 which means I can put it on a timer for a couple of hours before 7am.
Mine's mounted quite high so faces slightly downwards and doesn't seem to catch dust.

Tom is correct on heating the shop - I didn't have any rust problems in my old 'shop til I got a pot belly (stove .... before you start .... ).

 

[skipdiver]

I have a 5x3 workshop and after i spent last winter working in it, i raved it all out in the spring, boarded and insulated and now it heats up in about 20 mins with a small fan heater. It was just too difficult to heat and keep dry as it was. Cost me £600 and a few days work but it was well worth it.

 

[Mike_5]

Thanks for the quick comments!

I didn't even think about rust. There is no ventilation besides the garage door. I do have a Jet 1000 air filtration in there which circulates the air well. I'd only look at heating the garage on a weekend day when I'll be in and out for hours over the course of the day. The garage is attached to the house and so only has 1 external wall and the garage door.

I was pondering on a product to take the edge off, not to heat the garage too much. I saw a job site fan heater, but wanted experienced opinions before I made any purchase.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Fan heaters are dreadful things for blowing dust around - that's a big downside.

 

[OscarG]

I had a similar problem in my workshop, always freezing. I covered ceiling, exposed bit of walls and any obvious drafts with this stuff: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Thermal- ... lsrc=aw.ds

It made a huge difference.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I have a single garage workshop and was fortunate to be able to replace the up and over door with cavity wall + double glazed windows above. Instead of having a 40 sq ft radiator on sunny days and permanent chill during winter I now use a small £15 fan heater on a 20 min timer - thereafter it usually stays warm with machines being used.

If you are unable to change the door, best advice would be to insulate and deal with air gaps as best you can around the door.

 

[Mike_5]

Thanks, I keep my motorbike in there when I'm not woodworking, so the garage door functionality is a must. I might just bear it out this winter and tackle this in the new year if I need too. I was hoping there was an easy solution (simply plugging in a heater) but the easiest solution is to do nothing at the moment!

 

[wallace]

I could never afford to heat my shop because of size so just wear suitable clothing and have a little electric fan for my hands.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mike - that one I linked to is plug in.

 

[transatlantic]

I can cope with the cold .. for short periods of time. It's the glue not setting that annoys me in winter

 

[whiskywill]

These are good for localised heating and hand warming. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw= ... eName=GSTL

 

[Bob Graham]

I got rid of my garage door, also boarded in the roof it has an A frame supports. Before the door conversion I taped an old duvet against the garage door that stopped a lot of cold transfer.

 

[Bm101]

I understand the point about heating yourself not the space to prevent condensation. My shed is quite well made (here when we bought the house) it's a dunster house and I think it's probably insulated. Has basic double glazed windows which is more than the house does. I work outside all year with my hands in a bucket of water so I'm used to being cold but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. Worked with plenty of East Europeans who moan constantly about the British Winter being Too Cold. But Ukraine is far colder I used to say. ' Yes but home is -25. Cold is dry cold. No Problem. England only wet cold. Very cold. Always bloody cold. Always bloody wet. Bloody country.'
I'm a huge fan of thermals. Before they became so cheap and available there was many a burly scaffolder/builder wearing 2 pairs of tights under his trackie bottoms. Just don't tell them I told you so.
I also use a Liddl fan heater. They had them in last week so you might strike gold. £40 odd. I wack it on to get the base air temps up a bit. I'm cold most of my life, damned if I'm going to be cold doing my hobby on my one day off. Thermals sort the rest. Once you're going it's fine any way. When I'm finished I leave the shed doors open for a while then go back down a bit later and lock up after a few ciders. Never had any real issues with rust.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

We used to do winter hikes on Dartmoor 50 years ago - our mothers kept laddered tights for us months ahead. Another thing is to ensure your feet don't get colder than necessary - stand on a newspaper if needs be.

 

[jw00d]

Yes I've got some old bits of carpet and underlay down by my bench which make quite a difference to foot warmth and also fatigue from standing/working all day. Also a cheap portable halogen heater from B&Q.

 

[Rorschach]

I got rid of my garage door, also boarded in the roof it has an A frame supports. Before the door conversion I taped an old duvet against the garage door that stopped a lot of cold transfer.

I plan to do this if my next workshop is a garage.

What I really wish I could find is a practical heated jacket and socks, my workshop doesn't really get cold enough to cause a problem with glues etc and when It does I will warm it up a little, but what I would really rather do is warm myself, especially my feet as I suffer from chillblains otherwise.

 

[RogerS]

I share your pain, Mike_5

I used to have a rather cosy and well-insulated workshop. Never a problem with rust. Moved a long way up North (bloody stupid decision TBH....lovely people, great scenery, lousy lousy lousy weather) and now have to make do with a garage. I had hoped that all the Kingspan seconds I bought for the house would be enough to also do the workshop aka garage. It wasn't.

Currently any cast iron surface is covered with WD40. When I was applying it, I could see that the rust had started to set in. Not water ingress. Just the damn climate in this rain-sodden, ghastly permanently soggy bog.