Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Garage heating

I extended my double garage a few years ago to put in a two post lift.

Original double garage is 6m x 6m x 2.4 high to the bottom of the roof trusses and the trusses are 1 mtr high. It now has 100mm of fibreglass in all the walls and roof.

I have a 2.4mtr high roller door 5m wide and with 50mm of foam in it. Research since then has shown these doors are a waste of time insulation wise. A sectional door would be better insulated.

The garage extension is 6.3mtrs x 6 mtrs x 4mts high to the OBS boarded roof. The walls and roof have 150mm of fibreglass insulation.

Doing the numbers, polyurethane insulation is twice as good but I do not heat the garage for enough hours per year in most cases to cover the 3 times cost of that type of insulation.

In reality I should use a curtain between the workshop side of the garage and the parking side of the garage as I am heating the parking half of it for no good reason when I work there.

I have a 50 amp electric supply to the garage and we do not have mains gas. Therefore I use two 2kw electric heaters and they get the garage to say 11C on the coldest day which is great for working on cars.

If I did more hours in the garage, I would use an air to air electric heat pump which you can buy for say £750 but to date that has not worked out economic as I do not spend enough time in there.

If you want some calcs done re heating required and if the garage is some way from the house, cable size need just give me the details

Well Dave,

You Yorkshire guys either do not feel the cold or you are just to mean to put it on.

It's a combination of the two Eddie. An extra layer in winter. i.e. a vest.
And I wouldn't consider heating the garage because of £££.
The Yorkshire approach works well........

Some very interesting comments there, thanks.

I was really toying between the radiators and fixed fan heaters.

Dave, your situation is exactly like my current garage, even down to the carpet tiles and fan heater and it has worked well over the years. The only reason I am changing it is that in common with many newish properties there is not enough room to swing a mouse round in the garage let alone work on the car.

What was 8 feet by 18 will now be 12 x 35 giving me a bit more width to jack things up in the winter, remove wheels and work on it if necessary. So I thought while I was altering things I might as well install heating.

Steve's point about the rust is a good one, I will keep my eye on that.

Stuart

Rust is not an issue unless you are keeping the garage heated on a continual basis. If as I think you want some warmth a few days a month in the winter when you are working on the car then just heat it then.

To be honest Dave with the lack of insulation and probably lack of space to put it in. You would be on a hiding to nothing trying to heat that space.

The only way is with a propane heater as they can do lots of expensive kwhrs but and they would put out lots of dampness.

Thanks Eddie but I intend to keep it heated along with the house timer which tends to come on for a coupe of hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening in winter, unless of course it is very cold in which case it is on for longer.

Obviously I can regulate the individual radiators in the garage via the attached thermostats.

I have been using a dehumidifier for a few years in my old garage so if what Steve says is correct I will continue to use it.

The only problem with a dehumidifier is that if the garage is not pretty well sealed you end up dehumidifying the neighbourhood!

Yes, that is correct!

Have you thought about "Radiant-floor-heat"? I have it in my apartment and its great.
Cheers
Barry

Ik have underfloor heating in my garage,totally indipendant from my house.
Only in use during winter to keep the temp at 5-10 degrees C

Rudolf