New home build - looking for garage advice

[Golennygo]

Hello All! I’m new to these forums and excited to access this great resource!

We are building a new house in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The build includes a 17x20 attached garage. The floor is a 4” cement slab and the ceiling height is approx 12’. 2 1/2 of the walls are exterior. I plan on insulating the ceiling and walls before the first winter. The builder offers that as an option, R40 ceiling and R12 walls so I will aim for the same. I will also drywall all of it and we are getting an insulated garage door. I assume a small part of the wall structure will be cement, I.e. the bottom 18 inches or something like that. Does it make sense to frame and insulate that space also? I don’t really want to lose the floor space but maybe it’d be worth it.

I have never had a heated garage before but I sure would like this one to have that option! I don’t plan to heat it all the time but rather for occasional project work. There’s a possibility that I will end up using it more than that but that’s not highly likely. I’m hoping to be able to get the garage to approximately 15 degrees Celsius in mid winter, when it’s -20 Celsius outside. Smh.

I have an option to add a natural gas line in the garage but it’s about $800 for the line. I’ve asked for a price to run a 220 volt line to the garage but don’t have that number yet.

If you were in my shoes would you go with gas or hydro? I started browsing the forums but I didn’t really find the answers I was looking for.

How many BTUs do I need? Is there a calculator somewhere to figure that out?

For the garage floor I have two options for the finish. Broom or smooth. I’m not sure which way to go there. We do plan on parking in the garage so it will get covered with winter salt and sludge etc. I have briefly looked at coatings for the floor, epoxy mostly, but given the use I’m not even sure if that makes sense!!

So, hello from Canada Eh and I’d be happy to hear your thoughts and opinions as well as links etc. to anything I should read! Also, if I’ve missed any important details let me know.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Darryl2]

If possible make that garage BIGGER!!!!! You’ll barely park in there and if you have a truck you’ll be lucky to even fit it in, much less have room for anything else.

 

[930dreamer]

I'd want to have at least a 24'x24' garage, and yes bigger is better.

 

[rsanter]

First, you will want a bigger garage.
Go,with a smooth finish and prep/paint the floor so it sheds the water.
I would also put a floor drain under where the car will park.

Go with the in flor hydro heating, or at least plan for it by putting the tubing in.
You can use the floor heating to keep it just warm enough and then you can add a heater to bring the temp up a bit for when you want to work

 

[jjrbus]

If it is not too late ditto on the bigger is better, 24X24 minimum and 3 or 4 car if possible with 8 foot doors. 17X20 is tiny and not a 2 car garage. Unless you have no intention of ever parking cars in there!

Slopped floor, either out the door or to a floor drain to get rid of the snow melt.

 

[pbon]

Make the garage bigger and run the gas line. Use a hanging shop heater vented to the outside controlled by a thermostat that goes down to a low temp.

 

[Ing3018]

At the dimensions you gave, that is more like a 1.5 car garage. If larger is not an option, a few things can be done to make the space more comfortable and energy efficient.
Insulation and vapor control under the slab and a thermal break between the slab edge and exterior walls will help. The short concrete wall should be insulated with rigid foam and then covered for damage protection. Insulating this concrete on the outside would be best but may complicate your exterior cladding. Discuss with your contractor during planning.
Radiant heat tubing in the concrete is ideal. If not, plan an exterior vented natural gas unit heater for the ceiling. An electric radiant heater would make sense for just occasional usage, unless your electricity costs are exceptionally low.

 

[Golennygo]

Thanks for the advice! According to the builder it is a garage, not a double garage. Another foot wider and they could label it as a double. We are a single car family and because larger is not an option we really have no choice. It’s bigger than anything we have had before so I’ll make do. We haven’t parked in our current garage for about 5 years so having room for our bikes and a car is a big plus for us!

I’m pretty sure I’ll just use it occasionally so I don’t want to go overboard.

Thanks for the info!

 

[75gmck25]

Since you don't plan to use it frequently, this is my recommendation:
- Pay for the additional insulation, since that can't be easily added later. Make sure you include insulation and sealing for the doors.
- Have them rough in either a 240 volt circuit or a gas line that can be used for higher BTU supplementary heat if you want to install it.
- For the time being, just use some 120 volt space heaters and see how it works out for you. They work surprisingly well if the space is well insulated. I've found that the portable ones that look like a radiator on wheels are frequently sold at yard/estate sales for $10-15, and they usually don't get hot enough to be a significant fire/burn hazard around kids and pets. Many folks also like the radiant heaters that look like a little satellite dish on a stand.
YMMV.
- Upgrade to an 240 volt electric or a gas heater if you find you are using the garage frequently enough to make it worthwhile.

Bruce

 

[ripperd]

Agree 100% with 75gmck25. If you end up heating full time, a hanging natural gas heater is the way to go.

All this talk of in-floor heat is great, but expensive and overkill for the average person.

I insulated our garage and keep it at 50F (10C) all the time. If I'm working in there a while I'll bump it up to 55ish (13C) but honestly if I'm actually doing work in the garage, I get to warm and sweaty if it is much warmer than that. I don't really need to strip to a t shirt and shorts to do a winter oil change in my own garage!

 

[Golennygo]

Since you don't plan to use it frequently, this is my recommendation:

- Pay for the additional insulation, since that can't be easily added later. Make sure you include insulation and sealing for the doors.

- Have them rough in either a 240 volt circuit or a gas line that can be used for higher BTU supplementary heat if you want to install it.

- For the time being, just use some 120 volt space heaters and see how it works out for you. They work surprisingly well if the space is well insulated. I've found that the portable ones that look like a radiator on wheels are frequently sold at yard/estate sales for $10-15, and they usually don't get hot enough to be a significant fire/burn hazard around kids and pets. Many folks also like the radiant heaters that look like a little satellite dish on a stand.

YMMV.

- Upgrade to an 240 volt electric or a gas heater if you find you are using the garage frequently enough to make it worthwhile.



Bruce

Thanks Bruce, great advice! I figure if I’m going to drop some dough on 240 out there I may as well get the heater as well then it’s done. I’m leaning towards that as opposed to gas so I don’t have to deal with venting. I guess only time will tell how often I use it. I’m sorta handy but I’m not a mechanic and tend to leave most of my vehicle servicing to the pros. Bikes on the other hand are my passion.

Thanks again!!

 

[Golennygo]

Agree 100% with 75gmck25. If you end up heating full time, a hanging natural gas heater is the way to go.

All this talk of in-floor heat is great, but expensive and overkill for the average person.

I insulated our garage and keep it at 50F (10C) all the time. If I'm working in there a while I'll bump it up to 55ish (13C) but honestly if I'm actually doing work in the garage, I get to warm and sweaty if it is much warmer than that. I don't really need to strip to a t shirt and shorts to do a winter oil change in my own garage!

Thank you!!

 

[klassenl]

If this is a long term house then spend the money on getting a gas line installed. If it is a short term house then insulate it and don't spend any money you don't have to. With 2 warm walls it may only freeze in the longest of cold snaps.

For the floor finish: I have a very smooth floor and it can be treacherous if you have a little bit of snow in the bottom of your shoes. However, a textured broom finish may be too rough to the point where you may not be able to sweep it out. Maybe aim for something smooth enough to sweep but not so smooth that you slip and slide all over when it's wet.

 

[Golennygo]

If this is a long term house then spend the money on getting a gas line installed. If it is a short term house then insulate it and don't spend any money you don't have to. With 2 warm walls it may only freeze in the longest of cold snaps.

For the floor finish: I have a very smooth floor and it can be treacherous if you have a little bit of snow in the bottom of your shoes. However, a textured broom finish may be too rough to the point where you may not be able to sweep it out. Maybe aim for something smooth enough to sweep but not so smooth that you slip and slide all over when it's wet.

Thanks Klassen from AB! I’m from Moose Jaw Sask originally. Please don’t separate!

Recently retired and hoping to live there for 20 or more years. Can’t predict the future but that’s the dream. That said gas is probably the way to go. I wonder what the venting requirements are for that. Hmmm.

Maybe a smooth floor then paint with a bit of grit in it. I’ve read sand is a bad idea but there’s probably a paint product that is designed specifically for this purpose. Will look in to it.

Thanks for your input!

 

[MFolks]

There are floor paints with grit in them,but sweeping will be harder than you think,the same for mopping.

 

[Golennygo]

There are floor paints with grit in them,but sweeping will be harder than you think,the same for mopping.

Damn.

 

[BoostAddiction]

R12 in the walls seems mighty chary for your climate zone. I imagine that's because those walls are just 2x4s. If so, it might be worth it to use foam instead of what I imagine is just FG batts.

Be sure you seal all the cavities before they stuff in batts. Sealing air infiltration is more important than an arbitrary R value.

 

[Golennygo]

R12 in the walls seems mighty chary for your climate zone. I imagine that's because those walls are just 2x4s. If so, it might be worth it to use foam instead of what I imagine is just FG batts.

Be sure you seal all the cavities before they stuff in batts. Sealing air infiltration is more important than an arbitrary R value.

Excellent idea. I’ve been interested in trying to do the spray foam, looks easy enough. I believe they must be 2x4. I suppose I could also build them up to 2x6 but the garage is already smallish so foam makes more sense.

Thank you!


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