How to properly heat Ohio garage?

[DSM21]

Hey guys I have a 20x20 non-insulated garage and that needs to change, been freezing my gahones off.

Any Way the garage
20x20 with standard 2x4 studs
Single story
120V
Insulated garage door

I plan on doing this project myself and maybe some help from a friend.
From my understanding to insulate the attic/trusses I would need R30 batts
For the walls I would need R-13 batts?
I would then seal everything up with plywood and a caulk gun.

I honestly no nothing about insulation or even construction in general, but I open to learning. Actually surprised I couldn't find a "Master" or "Stickied" insulation thread.

So questions
R-13 batts for walls, R-30 for attic/roof trusses?
Do I have to vent the garage in anyway after insulation?
Propane Torpedo Heater be adequate for Ohio winters?

All help is much appreciated.

 

[ptgb]

NE Ohio garage owner here. 24x32.

Yep - R13 in the walls. R30 or more in the ceiling.

I don't vent the garage space at all. The trusses above have a ridge vent and soffit vents to keep the truss area/attic cold.

Torpedo heater will introduce tons of moisture into the heated space. Your tools will rust and anything in there will have tons of water on them.

I'd go to Menards and pickup a hanging natural gas heater, if you have access to NG to the garage. A 30,000 BTU should heat it great (they are 120V).

Heater like this.

I have a 45,000 btu for my 24x32 that I keep at 50° when not occupied, heats up to 60° in 20-30 minutes even in Polar Vortex temps.

 

[jim1987]

Op, out of curiosity what part of Ohio?

 

[DSM21]

NE Ohio garage owner here. 24x32.

Yep - R13 in the walls. R30 or more in the ceiling.

I don't vent the garage space at all. The trusses above have a ridge vent and soffit vents to keep the truss area/attic cold.

Torpedo heater will introduce tons of moisture into the heated space. Your tools will rust and anything in there will have tons of water on them.

I'd go to Menards and pickup a hanging natural gas heater, if you have access to NG to the garage. A 30,000 BTU should heat it great (they are 120V).

Heater like this.

I have a 45,000 btu for my 24x32 that I keep at 50° when not occupied, heats up to 60° in 20-30 minutes even in Polar Vortex temps.

I can't afford to pipe NG and as far as insulating my attic is open. Can I only insulate the trusses or do I need to close it off????

Op, out of curiosity what part of Ohio?

My stalker sense is tingling
joking bud I live in columbus actually in the heart of Buckeye nation

 

[jim1987]

Cool. I'm about 1.5 hours away

 

[DSM21]

Also one side note how much should I be spending on insulation per roll/ entire project. How much should all this cost me??? Thanks again

 

[Fueler]

They are right. You will come to hate the torpedo heater.
If NG is available look into it more seriously. Propane is your other choice BUT based on what happened this winter to propane costs the initial NG piping expense might pay back sooner. This is assuming you only have to bring it in from the street. IF from "down the road" I understand your resistance. Looked into that locally myself. Here, they wanted 75 bucks per foot to bring it one more mile to my place and that was a guess.

With that size shop and IF you insulate the heck out of it a ventless propane or NG heater would do it. I bought one at Menards to heat my uninsulated 1500 sq ft basement. Surprised how well it worked but then the house above it is already heated.
No numbers yet but it may have helped cut overall propane usage in this application. I bought one similar to this > http://www.menards.com/main/p-2234094-c-6852.htm Mounts to wall.

Radiant Electric heat. Maybe but that could be pricey also.

Insulation: Lots of threads here on the different types so spend some digging time.
Costs: Get friendly with your local big box store web sites. Once you have your square footage figured out pricing it out is straight forward.
Installation: YouTube can be handy here for showing the steps as well as many web sites that sell the material.

Tools: Stapler, hammer, saw, tape measure.

Plywood: OSB is likely a better choice. You can even get it with one side smooth is desired.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Good info from Fueler.

I'm guessing you have soffit vents, you need to leave them clear for proper ventilation. Put your insulation up in the bottom of your trusses, not under the roof itself. Don't forget to make an access door to get up in the attic after you have it close off.

Insulation is a pretty straight forward and easy. Wear some safety glasses and a mask to keep the itching at bay. I'd suggest buying an electric stapler for the project, it'll make it way easier.

You don't have to buy all your insulation at once, you can buy a roll or two at a time and put them in as you get them. You'll realize the biggest gain from the ceiling. There should be a few decent videos on Youtube for installation instruction or search the gallery section and look at the pictures of the builds.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Also one side note how much should I be spending on insulation per roll/ entire project. How much should all this cost me??? Thanks again

We know your garage is 20 x 20 but are the studs 16" o.c. and how tall are the walls ? Are the rafters spaced 24" o.c. ? This is the information that we need to know to determine how much you need.


Just figure up how many spaces between the studs and how long they are. Find your total length and figure the same for the ceiling. Decide what insulation you are going to buy, check the package for amount of batts at what length. It's not much more than a 5th grade math story problem.

BTW, if you have an odd size wall, it might be easier to buy mini-rolls, as they come in a single length (32' I believe) that you have to cut to size.

 

[Bruce Amacker]

Insulate well, obviously.

Beware that if you use a non-vented furnace (radiant gas or K1 torpedo) the heat is very damp causing much condensation on engines or other large cold items in the garage. (Burning hydrocarbons creates H2O- water) I used both K1 and radiant gas heat for years and regretted both, switching to gas forced air. Get a small garage furnace and run a stack through the roof.

Good Luck!

 

[Fueler]

Insulate well, obviously.

Beware that if you use a non-vented furnace (radiant gas or K1 torpedo) the heat is very damp causing much condensation on engines or other large cold items in the garage. (Burning hydrocarbons creates H2O- water) I used both K1 and radiant gas heat for years and regretted both, switching to gas forced air. Get a small garage furnace and run a stack through the roof.

Good Luck!

That heater I referred to that I use in the basement does talk about humidity in the instructions but I haven't seen issues yet but I have no bare cast iron in the basement. 2 years running. It's a basement so we have a dehumidifier running 24/7 so that may be offsetting any potential moisture issues.

Just to clarify moisture. With my radiant tube heater in the shop there is zero moisture issues on any equipment or bare metal as the flame is not exposed to the shop air.

I have no love for forced air heaters but in a well insulted space of the OPs size it would likely be just fine. The question is why would that not also create moisture as it has a flame that heats a grid?

 

[DSM21]

Thanks guys for all the advice.
I just want to make sure
So, I can't insulate in between the truss, bc the garage needs to be properly vented?
My attic is open right now, you can see the rafters and trusses ect.. So I would have to close that up and only insulate that for the top of the garage and then insulate the sides??? Is this correct??

 

[383 240z]

I think we are running into a vocabulary problem here. You will be attaching the faced insulation to the bottom chord of the truss, with the facing towards the floor. The bottom chord is the horizontal part that runs parallel to the floor. You WILL NOT attach it to the angled chords that your plywood and shingles are attached to. Keith

 

[arroberts]

Columbus insulation prices are about $12 per roll for fiberglass. That will be 32 feet in length R-13. That is at Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards. As for the ceiling, you will need to install one, insulate that new ceiling. R-30 25' roll is $14 at HD. 22' roll is $8 at Menards.

 

[383 240z]

You keep using the terms rafters and trusses. They are 2 different things, and usually you do not have both in the same build. A truss is the prefabbed style where the joist and rafter style is built on site. Keith

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think we are running into a vocabulary problem here. You will be attaching the faced insulation to the bottom chord of the truss, with the facing towards the floor. The bottom chord is the horizontal part that runs parallel to the floor. You WILL NOT attach it to the angled chords that your plywood and shingles are attached to. Keith

I think that maybe I screwed him up with my post. This picture should help out.




When done, it should look something like this and ready for the ceiling to be put up.

 

[echjohn]

I heat my 24 x 32 garage/shop in Columbus with an Enerco infrared heater.
http://www.enerco.com/ProductFamily.aspx?catid=76

I ran a plastic gas line underground from the house to the garage.

 

[DSM21]

Well did some measuring and the walls are 6ft 10in,(2INCH foundation)
15inch gap between the gap.
hopefully I will be able to get it done by this spring when it warms up.

 

[Toofast28]

I just insulated and ran NG and put up a heater in my garage in November. Rented a mini excavator to run the NG ($110), $120 for the underground line and ends, $400 heater from Lowes, $50 in hard pipe in the walls, about $300 in insulation for walls and attic (24x30 garage), $120 in drywall. I have somewhere around a grand in the whole deal, best money I've spent. Blown in in the attic and rolls (cheaper than batts) in the walls. Did everything myself. Probably had to buy about $100 in tools too, but don't count those as I needed them anyways. That's the proper way. Also the drywall made a HUGE difference sealing it up even after the insulation was in. Heater runs about 25% as much once I got the drywall up.

 

[Bruce Amacker]

I heat my 24 x 32 garage/shop in Columbus with an Enerco infrared heater.
http://www.enerco.com/ProductFamily.aspx?catid=76

I ran a plastic gas line underground from the house to the garage.

I recommend against these because of the dampness of the heat. Considerable moisture comes out of the front as well as heat.......

 

[buildyourown]

Depending on your usage, you could get away with electric.
Yes, it's expensive, but...
Are you trying to heat full time or only for when you are using the shop?
My old shop was a bit smaller but had a big 30a electric furnace. Got the whole uninsulated shop cozy in 20min. Granted, I live in a mild climate, but if you are looking for occasional heat it can be a quick/cheap way to get a comfortable workspace.

 

[Sygheric]

I'm waiting for this weather to break to start on my 28x32x10 garage. I want to install a forced air furnace, about 45k btu. I'm about 120' away from house and trying to calculate what size line I need to operate furnace properly. My furnace is 75k btu 95% efficient, gas stove and that's it. The line in my basement is supplying both appliances.
I live in NE Ohio, between Akron and Canton... does anyone have a good formula to use? I will be insulating walls and ceiling.

 

[Kevin54]

I'm waiting for this weather to break to start on my 28x32x10 garage. I want to install a forced air furnace, about 45k btu. I'm about 120' away from house and trying to calculate what size line I need to operate furnace properly. My furnace is 75k btu 95% efficient, gas stove and that's it. The line in my basement is supplying both appliances.
I live in NE Ohio, between Akron and Canton... does anyone have a good formula to use? I will be insulating walls and ceiling.

Propane. And if you are insulated well, you can get by with a 120 gallon tank set right against the building. Any larger and it has to be at l;east 10' away.

For the OP, insulation is not a bad job. Put the R13 in the walls and the R30 or R32 in the attic. You can staple it up in the attic trusses, then drywall or OSB over it, Or you can go with unfaced, put your ceiling up first, then lay the batts down in between the trusses.

 

[Highbeam]

Propane. And if you are insulated well, you can get by with a 120 gallon tank set right against the building. Any larger and it has to be at l;east 10' away.

I have seen and been told that if you need more than 120 then you can just put two 120s side by side without having to put them 10' away.