I think it is fair to state that we all dream of radiant heat.  If you are reading this article, you probably have a solid understanding of radiant in-floor heating.  If not check out wikipedia’s definition.

Radiant heating basically involves running tubing (pex or copper) throughout your floor (you lay it out before you pour your concrete) on 6” to 18” centers.

Radiant heat pros:

• Comfort:  Radiant heat provides a uniform heat that will ensure you are comfortable from head to toe.  No more freezing feet due to hot air rising.
• Efficiency: Generally, a well maintained radiant system is cheapest source of heat you can find.
• Reduced Dust: No air being forced through vents, or out of a blower means less air burn dust.

Radiant heat cons:

• Installation cost: You are generally looking at $6.00 - $12.00 a square foot for installation including heat source.  It’s not cheap. Though, if you building new it is something you should probably consider.
• Spring a leak:  When your concrete cracks and shifts it can put a large amount of stress on your tubing causing a leak.  Locating and repairing these leaks can be difficult.

If you can afford radiant heat, you are sure to love it, make sure you consider it.

Heating a shop (or house) with a wood stove is great for some and terrible for others.  Let’s take a look at some of things that should be considered before purchasing a wood stove.

First thing first, we should discuss the cons of a wood burring stove.  There is one major con – it’s a lot of work.

Many love their wood stoves and will plead that it’s not that big of deal but if dead batteries in a remote or running out of BBQ propane in a major inconvenience for you – burning wood is probably out of the question.

You going to need to:
• Buy your wood
• Load your wood (if its not delivered)
• Chop your wood
• Stack your wood
• Have kindling handy
• Know how to start a fire
• Clean the wood stove of ashes before each “burn”
• Be patient as it will take longer than a furnace to warm your garage
• You’ll need room to store your wood
• Clean your chimney once a year (or more often)

If you have the time, energy, and patience to take care of the above – you’ll probably love your wood stove.  Those who don’t mind the work generally do.

If you can deal with the work you will want to:

Get and air tight wood stove

It will have a manually or thermostatically controlled air intake damper to control the rate of burn and air circulation.  

Have it professionally installed

Makes dealing with the insurance company much easier should disaster strike.

Get a Free Stove!

Today, people are lazier than ever – this means that there is an abudance of wood stoves out there collecting dust.  An ad on bulletin board or I newspaper will usually yield several responses from people looking to get rid of wood stoves for next nothing.

You’ll Love It!

If you can deal with the work, chances are you’ll love your wood stove.

Propane as a heat source is very similar to natural gas.  It’s a liquefied gas after all.

It’s application is generally the same – forced air furnaces or infrared furnaces.    Propane can also be used with portable heaters (forced air and infrared)

Many heaters, bbq’s appliance can be converted to take propane instead of natural gas.

Propane is generally more expensive as it requires processing.
 
Because propane can be liquefied – it can be shipped.  Shipping natural gas is generally not an option as the volume of the gas makes it cost prohibitive.  Therefore propane is generally used where piping natural gas is cost prohibitive or not an option.

Size of Tank

Propane heaters will require 100lb tanks (or greater) to run.  Reason being that propane is pressurized.  The pressure in a standard 20lb tank (bbq) is not great enough and the propane will end up freezing in the pipes of your heater.

Buying or Renting a Tank

Many prefer to rent a tank as your propane company will generally give you a great rate.  However, purchasing a tank will allow for the negotiating of propane prices with the different suppliers in your area.  Some load the tanks in their truck and take the tanks to have them filled while most prefer to have the truck come out to their property and fill them. 

Natural Gas or Propane

Personally, I find natural gas to be a more appealing option in that the need to have the tanks filled is inconvenient – in my experience most agree and will go with natural gas of propane given the option.

A note about portable propane heaters

Some will be marked safe for indoor use.  Often they will have a low oxygen or carbon monoxide detector which will shut the heater off.  I am very skeptical about running any non vented heater indoor (even with the garage door cracked).  Carbon monoxide is a silent killer.  I personally would not run one in my garage.  

Generally, when heating a garage Natural Gas is the most economical choice.

Most large shops are heated via natural gas (or propane where running gas is not feasible).

There are two types of natural gas heaters to consider – forced air and infrared.

A forced-air heater is very similar to a conventional furnace – it has a blower which circulates warm air. An infrared heater radiates heat.

A forced air heater will make some noise (the blower will humming noise) and can cause dust from word working and automotive body work to circulate in the air. An infrared heater does not have blower but will need to be spaced 4-6 feet from any objects (check specific heater specifications) as it can throw some intense heat.

A forced air heater will heat the air before objects making you feel warmer. The air near the ceiling will be warmer than air on the ground – this can cause the cold feet syndrome. An infrared heater works by heating objects first – your body, the work bench, the floor, etc. will become warm.

Opening a garage door will cause a lot of cool air to rush in making which means it may take longer for a forced air heater to warm up your garage.

Infrared Heater Pros:

1. Lower operating cost
2. Generally very quiet
3. Allows dust to settle
4. Uniform heat

Infrared Heat Cons:

1. Expensive to purchase
2. Requires precise location of installation (to ensure object, floor, ceiling are not burned)

Forced Air Heater Pros:

1. More affordable to purchase

Forced Air Heater Cons:

1. Can be noisy
2. May blow dust around
3. Temperature variations between floor level and ceiling

Of course a natural gas forced air unit or infrared makes a great unit compared to electric, propane, or wood stoves. Here is why:

Pros of Natural Gas units over
Electrical and Propane, and Wood stoves:

1. Affordable to run
2. No need to refill tanks
3. No wood chopping, storing wood, or cleaning stoves
4. Will warm garage quickly

Cons of Natural Gas units

1. High potential cost of installation (especially for a detached garage)
2. Potential fire hazard if working with fumes

Be sure to ask your gas company if they will run your natural gas line for free!

With the increasing cost of electricity, the use of 220/240 construction heaters is decreasing.

They still have their place for some.  I’m actually heating my garage with a basic construction heater.

I typical construction heater is going to run about 5000 watts and throw about 18000-20000 BTUs.

In my case, I am not completely finished my garage so I don’t spend that much time in it yet.  It is insulated.  I simply run the heater when I am in the garage.

A single electric heater can keep a double or smaller well insulated garage warm.  If you garage is any bigger electric heat is not an option.  By the time you purchase a couple of heaters, run the wiring etc.  it become a poor financial decision as the cost of running the two heaters is going to be terribly high.  Just invest in gas, propane, or a wood stove.  To be discussed later.

There are few pros to electric heat.

1. You only looking at about $70.00 for an heater
2. They are small and portable
3. There are no fumes/venting to be concerned about
4. Running a 220/240v circuit is easier and cheaper then running a gas line
5. Less concerns if you are fishing or painting in your garage as there isn’t a fire source to ignite all your fumes

The number one con to electric heat

1.  It’s expensive to run

At 5000 watts it’s the equivalent of turning on fifty 100 watt light bulbs.  If you are in you garage all night every night or want to keep your garage at a certain temperature 24/7 electric heat probably isn’t an option.
 

Fall is in the air and old man winter is following closely.  Over the next couple of weeks the Garage Forums is going to take an in-depth look at heating options for the garage.

The series will start by looking at using natural gas as a heat source and will continue discussing other options such as propane, electricity, water (heat pumps), fire (wood stoves) and portable units. 

We will discuss concerns such as installation cost, air quality/humidity, maintenance, and efficiency.

Look for the first post – coming tomorrow.

Linden

So you’re building a garage or workshop outback and you’re not sure you want to run a concrete or asphalt driveway.

There are number of reasons owners decide against concrete or asphalt. To name a few: cracking, maintenance, expense, aesthetic issues, and drainage.

Believe it or not there are a ton of alternatives. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Twin Concrete Strips I’ve heard of some pouring 2 foot wide concrete strips. Just drive along the strips. More affordable then doing the entire drive Potential do it yourselfer job Allows for better drainage then a standard drive Susceptible to sinking
Crushed Limestone Firstly there is gravel, crushed rock, pebble, etc. Most would advice against and lose rock base as it very difficult to maintain for a few reasons: Spreads onto adjacent landscaping and grass Weeds eventually grow through Tracks dust, and dirt into the garage
Pavers Block Some love the look of pavers block. You can count on it being more expensive then concrete. It can last a lot longer (think about some the cobble stone streets that are hundreds of years old) but it’s only as good as its foundation. Extreme weather will cause more shifting (wet and dry spouts will cause the foundation to shift). Expensive Looks Great Can last a long time
Turfstone Pavers All the benefits of Pavers Block with a greener look. Expensive Looks Great Can last a long time Drains well
Geoblock Geoweb   High strength interlocking plastic blocks that allow the grass to grow between them. Expensive Looks Green Can Last a long time Drains well
Acid Stained Concrete Can look unreal! Price Range Varies. Looks Great.

As you can see, if you are building out back and want to maintain that green look you have a lot of options. If maintaining that grassy look isn’t your number one priority Pavers Block or Acid Stained concrete can look unreal!

We’ve discussed ensuring you pad is suitable for an Epoxy covering and we’ve talked about prepping your garage for epoxy.

Today we will briefly discuss choosing a suitable epoxy. 

There are two main types of epoxy.  Water based and solvent based.

Water Based Epoxies
Though I’ve never worked with a water based epoxy the reality is that water based epoxies are of lower quality then solvent based epoxies.  Yes they are cheaper and yes they are easier to install but they also flake, scratch, and peel quickly.   If you are going to bother spending the time and money on an epoxy installation stick to solid solvent based solutions.

Solvent Based Epoxies
When selecting a solvent based epoxy you want to look for an epoxy with a very “high solids content”.  You will want to find a product that is and least 20 mils thick and flexible.  Many have had success with Griots Garage Products and EpoArmour Products.  Commercial products are often of superior quality though you will not find them in Home Depot or Lowes.  You will need to search the phone book for industrial suppliers.

Have experience with epoxies?  Comment Now!

Great news everyone – The Garage Forums decals are ready.  They are perfect for your car window, toolbox, work bench or fridge.

They are available in Red, Blue, Black, Silver, and White.  Best of all they are free for all forum members with 50 posts.  Please see this thread for more details:
http://www.garageforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1350&page=3

Don’t have 50 posts?  Want a decal?  Start posting or get in touch with me via PM  and we can work something out.

Thanks everyone.

Linden

PS:  don’t mind the crooked application – I was rushing to get this post out

It is time to leave the car outside and focus on a product for the garage. More specifically, we are going to take your drab and boring concrete floor and not only improve the looks, but make keeping it clean much easier. I don’t need to remind you that a tile floor will make you the envy of all the neighbors too…

Recently, I put finishing touches on covering my garage floor with vinyl composition tile, or VCT. This commercial-grade flooring is very common and very durable. Most likely, your favorite grocery store, drug store or even indoor mall uses it. VCT is available in nearly every color and is sold as 12-inch-by-12-inch squares.

I used Armstrong Imperial Texture VCT for my garage floor. Since I wanted a black-and-white checked look, I used two alternating colors. I chose Armstrong #51910 (black) and #51911 (white) because they are not solid colors, but speckled with chips of the complimenting color. The 1/8–inch-thick tiles are resistant to most chemicals and oils. The colors are solid throughout, so you can sand down any stains, and then wax the tile back to perfection. Home Depot sells VCT for 59 cents a square foot.

Floor preparation is relatively simple. Sweep and vacuum up the dirt, gravel and cobwebs, then ensure the floor is smooth. I used a chisel to knock off debris (paint and concrete drips), and filled holes with a concrete mix (ready-made). The floor must be clean and even. You will be amazed that even the smallest bit of gravel will show through the tile after it has settled.

The tiles are glued directly to the concrete with an adhesive specifically designed for the job. Keeping it all in the family, I used Armstrong Glue S-750 ($13 per gallon). Each gallon covers about 10 feet by 20 feet, so I used three gallons on my three-car garage. For a more permanent application, tiles can be applied with epoxy to the concrete. This will prevent tile “creep” from wheel camber pressure when dropping cars off floor jacks.

The most difficult part (and most critical) is putting down the first tile. All tiles build off that one, so make sure it is completely straight. Houses in California are not built perfectly square, so don’t expect your garage to be either. I decided to snap a perpendicular line off the middle of the garage door. I used that as my “straight line” for reference and to place my first tile. Visually, it worked out perfectly.

The tile goes down very easily. Spread the glue in sections with a very shallow trowel (1/32 of an inch), and then let it dry to the touch. The color change of the dried glue is quite obvious, so it is easy to tell when it is ready for tile.

Place your first tile and then build off that one. The tiles are sized exactly the same, with perfectly square and straight sides. Push them together firmly (no gaps), then go to the next one. You can cut the tile with a utility knife, or a special tool (like a paper cutter), as you near corners or obstacles. Upon completion, roll the floor with a 100-pound-tile-roller (Home Depot/$15 day) to press out any air.

For the best protection against stains, I suggest waxing and polishing the tile to a shine (like grocery store floors). The floor will resist most chemicals and oils, but I still suggest wiping up spills. Unlike concrete, sweeping the tile floor with a “dust broom” takes mere minutes to complete.

My home has a three-car garage, with about 610 square feet of floor. I did the entire garage for about $450 (that figure includes tile, glue, equipment rental and tools). If you are interested in contracting the job out, I was quoted $1 a tile (labor) to have someone else install it. However, they would not allow me to supply the tile at that price (I would have to buy it from them for $1.24 each). Doing the math, it would have cost me about $1,400 to pay a contractor to have the floor finished in VCT tile.

Instead, I used my minimal contractor skills, an open weekend, and an investment in materials of less than $500. The result is a beautiful tile floor that garners continuous comments from nearly everyone who walks by.

 Ask questions and view more pictures of the VCT Tile Install here.