i need to heat my garage. need advice please

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  • bowtie

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    Oct 28, 2012
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    South Bend
    First time home buyer here. My garage is dry walled with insulation behind the walls and the ceiling is dry walled but there is no insulation above the drywall ceiling. Lacking the (blow in) which I think that is what you call it. What would be the simplest way to heat it? 2 car garage I believe its a 22x22. Not detached either its one unit in the house. I am not handyman inclined had a handyman come out to take a look and told me that i could either do a gas line from my basement or install a 240 outlet but the wiring still needs to go through the basement to my breaker box.

    Do I have any other options here? Mainly looking to heat it to a comfortable temp so I can actually go out there and do man stuff lol. Doesn't need to be constantly heated either just when I would like it to be.

    What options do I have?
     

    GodFearinGunTotin

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    First, get the attic insulated. It's something you can do yourself. Not having it insulated will cause you to need a much larger heating source and higher heating bills.

    If you have natural gas service, that is the direction I'd go. If you just need heat while you're out there, there are portable space heaters like torpedo heaters and those propane radiant heaters. But I'd get that attic insulated first. Then, if you need to save up some money before buying a heating source, you could just open the kitchen door and use the house's heat to temper your garage while you're out there working.
     

    calcot7

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    Either way you go you should first get that ceiling insulated. You can rent a machine to do it yourself and if you are going to spend the money for a heat source it would be a waste to not insulate. There are some pretty good 110 volt heaters out there that don't use too much electricity. The oil filled radiator styles come to mind. If you only need to heat it for the times you are going to be out there you could supplement the electric heater / heaters with a kerosene unit. Just remember if you park a vehicle in the garage you will lose all your heat every time the overhead door is opened.
     

    BigBoxaJunk

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    Yeah, I'd insulate the attic first also.

    I have natural gas heat in my garage, but I often heat it with one of my kerosene heaters. I keep the kerosene heaters and kerosene handy for emergency use, and using them in the garage periodically lets me know that they are in good working condition.
     

    printcraft

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    Either way you go you should first get that ceiling insulated. You can rent a machine to do it yourself and if you are going to spend the money for a heat source it would be a waste to not insulate................

    seconded and thirded

    If you buy enough of the blow in insulation from Lowes you can rent the machine for free, with a 22 x 22 you will have enough.
    $500 bucks worth should be a couple of feet deep.
    The chart on the bags will tell you how much to get for the sq. ft. and how much R value you are going for.
    Have someone downstairs feeding the machine and you can get it done in under an hour easy.
     

    bowtie

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    Oct 28, 2012
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    seconded and thirded

    If you buy enough of the blow in insulation from Lowes you can rent the machine for free, with a 22 x 22 you will have enough.
    $500 bucks worth should be a couple of feet deep.
    The chart on the bags will tell you how much to get for the sq. ft. and how much R value you are going for.
    Have someone downstairs feeding the machine and you can get it done in under an hour easy.

    great thanks!
     

    printcraft

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    great thanks!

    Also, if you go the blow in route, don't forget to get the foam or plastic eave vents (they are cheap)

    attics-08.jpg
     

    Cameramonkey

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    May 12, 2013
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    Dont bother insulating, just heat it.

    (Sorry, its INGO. We cant possibly all agree on something. Otherwise we will rip the space time continuum and the universe will implode. Just keeping us all safe.):laugh:
     

    IndyGunworks

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    Feb 22, 2009
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    Carthage IN
    I mounted a forced air 220v heater in mine and insulated the attic and garage door for about 600 a few winters ago.... I turn it on high an hour before I want to use the garage, the set it to about 50 percent while I am working... I can be in shorts an a T shirt, and while on city electric I never saw a bill higher than 50 bucks over average. and that was for a month where I ran it nearly 5 days a week warm enough to wear a t shirt when it was below freezing outside.
     

    eldirector

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    Apr 29, 2009
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    I have a Dayton 220V electric heater in my insulated 22x22 detached garage. Heats it fine. Walls and ceiling are insulated. I leave it just above freezing unless I am out there working. It will run it from mid-30's to mid-60's in less than an hour.
     

    looney2ns

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    If you insulate the attic to at least R 38, you might very well find that most of the time the garage is comfortable to work in with no extra heat required. Just use the overhead door sparingly. Also, if the garage door isn't insulated, buy a kit to do that as well.

    My garage stay's around 60 degrees without a heat source unless the temp outdoors is below freezing. Then it will still stay in the mid 50's.
     

    Brandon

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    Jun 28, 2010
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    My garage (over sized 2 car) is insulated all around including the doors, no heater out there and it tends to stay in the mid 50's on the coldest days.
     

    Brown

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    May 27, 2009
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    Brownsburg
    My 2 car oversized is insulated on all sides plus the ceiling and main door. I use 2 electric radiant heaters powered by typical wall out let. can buy them at harbor freight or that type store. with just those 2 heaters it will cook you right out of there in the coldest of outside temps if both are running on the high setting.
     

    gregkl

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    Apr 8, 2012
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    I had a 22 X 20' garage at my last house. I installed a 50W breaker and recep and purchased a King EKB series 5KW heater. I like that it is made in the U.S. and that the fan shuts off when the heat does. Some units have the fan running the entire time the unit is on and I don't really want to listen to it that much. I was able to easily keep my garage at t-shirt temps.

    I would have done a NG vented unit, but it was going to cost a lot of money so I went with an electric.

    I don't like un-vented gas heaters because they add a lot of humidity to the room and I don't want anything to do with wood/pellets/ or salamander style heaters. I want clean, adjustable comfort.

    I liked the heater enough that I took it with me when I sold the house.
     
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