DIY Quandary: move in before climate control and insulation?

[muduck18]

Hi all, I was hoping for some advice.
If this doesn’t belong in the hvac section sorry, felt like the place to put it and I’m new here please forgive me.

Two weeks ago I finally poured the concrete in my work shop. I’m on a somewhat limited budget: I get to spend money as it arrives, but that’s not always steady so there can be a few months or more between project stages. I’m of the mindset I’d rather do it right and wait than rush it and regret...which is only sometimes conflicting with my desire to do most things myself.

(Link to my build A workshop that works...The Shade Tree Jeep shop.
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...om/forum/showthread.php?t=395402&share_type=t )


Anyway: I solicit advice on moving in!

Even though the building has been built for over a year I only now have a floor. But the walls are not insulated or framed, and it may be another year before I can get to that.

My tools are all in my two car attached garage that is insulated but not heated or cooled. It does benefit from being attached and rarely has drastic temperature swings.

My concern is moving all my tools into an un-insulated building for months or a year even in SE PA Might cause them to condensate and rust or have corrosion in the welder/plasma cutter etc. electronics.

Am I being too cautious? I’m eager to use my new space, even if it means having my workshop in the middle of a construction zone...



I plan to insulate and have radiant heating and insulation in the floor that will be eventually connected and running.
And the roof is insulated in 3/4” reflective foam so r-4ish directly under the tin.

Thoughts?

 

[njhoudini]

Read your build thread. Nice new shed!

If you have the power in the new building and can get a relatively decent seal between the inside and outside, I imagine a dehumidifier should be able to keep moisture levels down. My tools sit in my detached garage and generally don't rust. It is not sealed from the environment. I do not have a welder, but I guess if you needed to, you could put it on a cart with big wheels that should make it easy to relocate. Many people have recommended wiping tools down with a protectant which should keep them clean and clear for a long time. I watched videos of the newish WD-40 rust inhibitor product and bought it. It seems to be doing great on my 60-year old bolts and nuts from my vintage Craftsman table saw. I may need to clean up my old lawn mower and give it a treatment as well. There are other things you can use like the 3-in-one to wipe down your tools. Ultimately, I don't think you're at much risk since it's a new building and you have power.

Are you going to heat the floor when the temps drop below 60?

 

[muduck18]

I do have power, I hadn’t thought about putting a dehumidifier in, i suppose that would probably do the trick if I have moisture issues.


I haven’t figured out just how I want to use the floor heat yet. Ideally yes, it will begin to heat up the pad when the temps get below 60, but since it’s not a full time gig for me I need to keep my idle costs down.

I’ve fantasized about making a controller for the system that will read the slab temperatures, water temperatures and ambient air temp and balance them with cost.

The floor heat is as much for me to be able to sit on the floor in the dead of winter and crawl under a truck or Jeep without freezing as it is about heating the space.

I also plan to put a mini split or stand alone AC unit that might have some heat pump.

 

[jtsboss]

Let me give you my 2 cents worth. I built a 40x40 3 years ago. After I did my infloor and concrete poor I felt the same way. I had stuff everywhere and said OK i'll finish insulation later and move in now. Pain in the A*S. I wish I could go back. I have to move everything off the walls and things are always in my way. It's hard to add insulation with stuff everywhere and you end up not wanting to mess with it. As for my tools rusting, I have no issues with condensation or any rust issues. I live east of columbus OH, so along the same line as you.

 

[muduck18]

Let me give you my 2 cents worth. I built a 40x40 3 years ago. After I did my infloor and concrete poor I felt the same way. I had stuff everywhere and said OK i'll finish insulation later and move in now. Pain in the A*S. I wish I could go back. I have to move everything off the walls and things are always in my way. It's hard to add insulation with stuff everywhere and you end up not wanting to mess with it. As for my tools rusting, I have no issues with condensation or any rust issues. I live east of columbus OH, so along the same line as you.

Thanks Boss,
That is helpful. I’m glad to hear you didn’t have any issues with condensation.

The more I think about this the more I think maybe move in after one wall or section is complete.
I had to do one small space where the breaker box is, I could finish that and extend it out two sections, then have an area to move into. I’m moving from a 17x24 garage into a 24x32 I could keep the tools condensed into the are where it’s complete or nearly complete until the rest is finished.

Maybe a month or two rather than a year or so before I get all of it done.

[emoji848]

 

[Fixin'Stuff]

Doing the insulation with nothing in your way is orders of magnitude easier than doing it with all your stuff in the way. You'll spend way too much time just moving stuff.

 

[vavet]

Will you be DIYing the insulation and drywall?
I'm in a situation right now where I've been in my new detached garage for about a year. I'd really like to install a mini=split, but it'd be pointless without insulation and drywall. The problem is that I have my stuff in there. Lights have been hung. Garage door brackets are screwed to the joists. I have a cleat along one wall for cabinets and I have things in the cabinets. All that has to be undone before I can have an insulation and/or drywall contractor team come in to do their work. I'm tempted to DIY so I can just move things from one side of the garage to the other, but that's a pain too.
The upside is that I've had a chance to live with the space and I can figure out - do I need more lights? Do I need more outlets? I can easily address these things now before the drywall goes up.

I know you have to reach a point where you stop spending money on a hobby building, but my advice is to get the insulation and drywall done now.

 

[muduck18]

Will you be DIYing the insulation and drywall?

Yes, however I won’t be doing drywall.
I have frequent access to recycled construction materials. So I plan to line the tops of the walls with discarded/repurposed decking material (similar to shiplap that the gains’ are all about on hgtv [emoji13]) then around the floor or the base I’ll put metal roofing like a wainscoting. I do a fair amount of metal work and I’d like to make sure to limit my fire hazard as much as possible.
The ceiling will also be metal roofing material for ease of finishing and availability.


Hmm [emoji848] I tend to agree with you about finishing but you’re right about hobby building.

 

[OneOfEm]

I have a 3-car garage FULL (!), and I'm not moving anything into my new workshop until the insulation, interior sheathing and electrical is done.

I hate moving stuff over and over.

 

[Voi]

We built a cabin two summers ago. Just a dried in structure with windows and doors. Used it as a large tent.

Next summer we ran some electric and put in a shower, toilet water heater, etc. Ran a portable AC (fortunately it was free, which I think was paying too much). Again, used it like a large tent.

Last fall I had a mini split put in but didn't get power to it due to misunderstanding between HVAC guy and electrician. Got it wired up this spring and finished up my interior framing, drywall blocking, etc. with the benefit of heat and AC. Once my boys were out of school we were spending more nights there than at home.

Last month I hired most of the insulation work out. They blew in BIBs (blown in blankets) behind the shower and other areas that were "done".

I've oversimplified the process and more work has been done since then but really I kept the cabin somewhat liveable until the day before the insulators came. That was when things got crazy and I had to move stuff out.

The only thing I regret was not getting the mini split installed and wired sooner. I was surprised at how well it did heating and cooling the place with hardly any insulation.

My mini split has a dry mode that seems to work well. Not sure if it would keep up with your moisture concerns in SE PA.

Based on these experiences I wouldn't hesitate to use and finish a garage in stages. But in your case it would depends on how many tools you really "need" to move there.

Hope this helps.

 

[stm317]

The only things that go in my shop before it's finished have wheels and engines, so they can be moved quickly and easily if needed. I'd do as much of the finishing as you can before you fill it up.

 

[BillK]

Duck,
My detached 24 x 24 is uninsulated and certainly not heated. It is completely unfinished inside. I really have never had a problem with things rusting, condensation etc. I have tools that have been in that garage for 30 years and have not had an issue. I am a little south of you but the climate is similar. The roof does have a ridge vent so the air circulation probably helps.

 

[njhoudini]

The only things that go in my shop before it's finished have wheels and engines, so they can be moved quickly and easily if needed. I'd do as much of the finishing as you can before you fill it up.

This sounds like the most reasonable plan. If the Jeep doesn't move that often, it might be a good candidate to free up some space in your garage. Not sure if you want to put the truck in the new shop yet or not. I'd definitely want to start using it though. If you don't have all of the materials for the walls, you could be waiting a while.

 

[Milton Shaw]

If you don't finish it before you move in, you may not finish it at all. I moved into mine 20+ years ago and had half the drywall finished and painted, half no seam tape and bare. After 20 years its still bare. I did get it insulated and drywall done before I moved but never have gotten around to finishing it. Do one wall, move in and stack against that wall until you can finish the rest, one wall at a time.

 

[muduck18]

If you don't finish it before you move in, you may not finish it at all. I moved into mine 20+ years ago and had half the drywall finished and painted, half no seam tape and bare. After 20 years its still bare. I did get it insulated and drywall done before I moved but never have gotten around to finishing it. Do one wall, move in and stack against that wall until you can finish the rest, one wall at a time.

Thanks I think not finishing it ever frightens me too much to risk waiting to finish it.

But the more advice I get from here, and from other friends I need to set a completion date and move in percentage. So move in at 50% interior completion and then month or something deadline for completion. So I can work to that. One of my good friends recommended writing it on the to:do: list on the fridge so my wife has to look at it too.
[emoji23][emoji23]

It’s not has much of a ‘free form approach’ as I would typically take for a DIY project... but it does set some nice boundaries for me to at least attempt to obtain.
Each segment has had a deadline associated with a portion of the project. So finishing it will need to coincide with something. I’m thinking air conditioning....

I am not a warm weather person, if the temps get above 80deg out I start melting and all I want to do is nap in the air con.

So if I say no shop air con until the project is finished... well that should motivate me pretty well.

So that’s my current game plan.
-move in when 50% of the interior is done
- finish within 6 months of move in
- no air con until interior completion.

hope this works.

Wish me luck.