11 minutes ago, steamshovel said:

You can insulate without tearing off the drywall. Attic is no problem.They cut a round circle in the drywall to blow in the insulation. Might need 2 holes per spacing. Patch the holes. go to work. 

Or just cut away an 8" + strip (accounting for the header). That would be easier to patch than a circle. Just a thought.

Electric infrared.  Get the round reflector/rotating kind.  Place it as far from the sanding area as you can.  IR doesn't require air flow, so no filtration.  Dust will get to the glowing element, but won't accumulate too badly (cover it when not used).  It helps to have insulation, but IR tends to warm the floor (and you) more than the walls, so lack of insulation is not quite as critical.

Insulation can be blown in by drilling a hole towards the top of each stud cavity.  I don't recall the hole size, but it's not huge.  Am pretty sure the equipment can be rented from a Lowes or Home Depot.  They even sell plastic plugs/caps that can be popped in the holes to finish the job.  Unless you really want to finish off the walls, the plastic plug is just fine.  Sounds like a great weekend project.  

1 hour ago, Wil said:

Sounds like a great weekend project.  

 

I tend to agree but the last time I did blown insulation, my wife said never again. Henceforth it will be for someone else to do.

I have watched a few youtube videos about this foam stuff they pour into the walls and seals the cavities up tight.

That stuff has to be really good insulation, but you might want to check the price first, it can get expensive.

I only make it out to my shop a couple days a week on average and if the temp is above 50 I'm fine with it. For colder days I'll fire up the wood stove and then just let it simmer and it'll usually keep it above 50 for me. By the time winter hits I usually have a couple of lg bins full of kindling and it usually only takes a couple of logs to keep me warm for 3-4 hrs in the shop. I've learned there is no better fire starter than the shavings from my lathe. My shop isn't insulated or it would definitely keep me warmer, I always have to turn down the wood stove in my house when we use it.

                                                                                                                        Urbano

                                                                            

I had the heating and air guy here today. He said although insulation would help, it would not really offset how cold soaked the concrete floor gets. He suggested that anything they work with is likely overkill for the space.

He said he understood the infrared heaters but their company doesn't offer them. He suggested that if the car routinely lives in the garage the floor may never get warm even with an infrared heater.

 

Now I think I'm going to stick with the kerosene heater and pray about the best thing to do.

 

I do know this, the ballpark figure he gave me could be invested into a dust collection system and solve the dust problem.

go w/ radiant...

I want to disagree with your AC guy. My last 2 shops, and the current one still in progress, had uninsulated concrete slabs. I'm retired for the last 14 years and spend a lot of time in my shop. While it's true the floor was cold, I was always comfortable with the forced air heat I had...bear in mind these shops were insulated. As for the cost of the heating, with LP (the only source I've had) I would typically burn between 100-150 gallons a year in both of the previous shops. My current one isn't heated yet, but I had a gas meter on the previous ones so that number isn't estimated. You'll do what's appropriate of course, but I'd at least talk to another HVAC guy. BTW, I doubt the cost will change much, but you never know.

It never hutrs getting the opinion/estimste from multiple heating and ac contractors

Everyone. Thank you for your input. If money were not a concern I think I'd have a hot water system installed and run heat tubes in the garage floor right out to the driveway. 

 

A man can dream can't he?

^{In my younger days I worked for a trucking co. and the bays for working on the line rigs was floor heated by water and 1 bay was big enough to handle a line rig hooked to a 40 foot trailer. They had 6 bays and would have doors open quite often. The wind would blow through and once the doors closed it returned to warm NOW. It is a good heat and can be fueled by wood also.}

 

^PrestonI

15 hours ago, ACR_SCOUT said:

Everyone. Thank you for your input. If money were not a concern I think I'd have a hot water system installed and run heat tubes in the garage floor right out to the driveway. 

 

A man can dream can't he?

Well, if we're dreaming...I'd also wrap them aournd my satellite dish to keep it snow and ice free.

I'm in the Deep South, so I don't need a lot of heat.  For 20 years I suffered along in a drafty, un-insulated shop with no ceiling while I hauled propane tanks back and forth to be filled.  In the summer (which is about 8 months long here), it was too hot to work in the shop, even with a fan blowing on me.  Two summers ago, I'd had enough.  I stripped off the pegboard down to the studs and installed fiberglass insulation in the walls.  Then I installed a waferboard ceiling and blew the attic full of insulation.  If you buy 10 bales of insulation, Home Depot will loan you the blower for free.  Only took half a day to blow insulation in the attic.  Bought some sheets of 1" foam insulation boards and installed it in the panels of my roll-up door.  Should have done it all years ago.  I can heat my 480 square feet easily with one 220 Volt heater.  I have a second heater which I run while I'm eating breakfast to quickly bring the shop from 50 degree night-time temp up to 65 for working.  They're quiet, don't smell, and thermostat controlled.  I installed a 25,000 BTU Air Conditioner high in the wall so I can work all summer without breaking a sweat.  Life is good.  You'll never regret insullating.    

Before heating (and cooling) insulate. The ceiling for sure but make sure the space above is vented. With insulation you are dealing with thermal and moisture challenges. If you insulate but there is no place for moisture to go, the insulation will become wet, ineffective and eventually dangerous with the build up of mold. For ceilings, once the space is vented properly for moisture, then blown-in fiberglass is my preferred material. Lowes and HD can rent you the machines to blow it in. You will need a helper to load in the fiberglass bundles while you're up in the attic directing the flow. For the walls, I am on the fence about blown-in stuff. Yes you can cut holes in your stud bays and blown it in. However, if there is no moisture control, unless your building has had some kind of moisture barrier provided, such as Tyvek wrap,  my concern is that somewhere inside the wall space moisture in the air will condense where the temperature in the wall gets to the dew point. This will result in wet insulation and eventually mold. Your best best for insulating wall is to remove the drywall and install a moisture barrier and insulation. Spray foam will do both jobs well.

 

As for heating (and I assume cooling since you live in the DC area), consider a mini-split heat pump. These devices have a high efficiency rating (SEER of 22+), and give you pretty much year round control of your work space. And they also give you dehumidification in the cooling season. These devices work well in your climate area. Further north, they would be less effective as a heat source.

I have an attached 2-car garage that also serves as my shop. The walls and attic are insulated but not the aluminum garage door. I mounted a Hot Dawg 600 BTUH nat gas heater on the ceiling to blow into the shop area. Vented to the outside, it warms up the shop from 33 degs to 60 degs in about 10 minutes or so. Thermostatic control. Now 10 years in, no problems at all. I clean it twice a year. Good luck! 

hat

I had an LP fueled 700 BTU wall mounted, outside vented  furnace in my shop 20' X 22'. It was more than enough to keep the shop warm. My problem was the price of LP in this part of the country made it too expensive to heat for a hobby workshop. The uninsulated  cement floor never posed a problem.

Edited December 17, 20169 yr by It Was Al B

On 12/14/2016 at 6:08 PM, scarletjim said:

As for heating (and I assume cooling since you live in the DC area), consider a mini-split heat pump. These devices have a high efficiency rating (SEER of 22+), and give you pretty much year round control of your work space. And they also give you dehumidification in the cooling season. These devices work well in your climate area. Further north, they would be less effective as a heat source.

 

I checked on the mini-split but the company I checked into said they would be $4k-$6k for my application. That is a non-starter.  It was my intent to start the ceiling insulation process today but the freezing rain and accidents everywhere put a damper on that.

 

I found an insulation contractor that will be taking care of the attic and walls for me. He says they cut holes in the walls and somehow pull out the bat insulation (if it is there) and then they blow the walls full of Borate Cellulose.  In the attic he says they install baffles and blow in R49.

 

Someone here suggested an oil filled electric heater. I picked up a 1500 watt, 120volt version from HD. It does a real good job without insulation. I can only imagine what it will be like with insulation.

 

When it is really cold, I fire up the kerosene for a bit to knock out the chill and then let the electric heat to the reset. I am so far pretty happy.

 

 

Glad you got it covered. A nice warm shop is a blessing.