MattRMagnum
Well-known member
Hey Folks,
We've now relocated to a different part of the PNW, and I've a 36x60 workshop with an open loft in it. The building is wood-framed, and the exterior is metal.
We're wanting to turn the loft into my office next year, and the first step is trying to manage the temperature in there. I don't want to fully wall the office in, which leads me to trying to figure out how to heat/cool the whole building. I was thinking that adding gable vents would be a solid first step. Ideally some that can be adjusted, so I can open them in the summer, and close them in the winter. I'm hoping some passive heating/cooling like this will get me within the broad temperature range I want to be in, so then I can look into temperature controls for the office itself.
Who would I contact to install things like this? My fear of heights mean I won't be doing it, and the two garage builders I spoke to said they don't modify existing buildings. They only build new. Should I just keep calling around until I find someone?
I suppose the implied other question is: how much of a difference would gable vents like this make? We've a regular breeze, so I think they'll provide fairly constant airflow when open.
We've now relocated to a different part of the PNW, and I've a 36x60 workshop with an open loft in it. The building is wood-framed, and the exterior is metal.
We're wanting to turn the loft into my office next year, and the first step is trying to manage the temperature in there. I don't want to fully wall the office in, which leads me to trying to figure out how to heat/cool the whole building. I was thinking that adding gable vents would be a solid first step. Ideally some that can be adjusted, so I can open them in the summer, and close them in the winter. I'm hoping some passive heating/cooling like this will get me within the broad temperature range I want to be in, so then I can look into temperature controls for the office itself.
Who would I contact to install things like this? My fear of heights mean I won't be doing it, and the two garage builders I spoke to said they don't modify existing buildings. They only build new. Should I just keep calling around until I find someone?
I suppose the implied other question is: how much of a difference would gable vents like this make? We've a regular breeze, so I think they'll provide fairly constant airflow when open.
) Western Washington still leaves a fair amount of variation in climate but I am guessing you are in the Seattle to coast range area, east to west and not farther west like the Olympic area which is even wetter than where I grew up. (The local Lions Club held a rain derby where you could guess the rainfall that year and buy a ticket for $1 and the winner got a modest payout. They used it as a fund raiser for local high school college scholarships.) Humidity levels typically aren't too bad there. Contrary to what people might think the summers are pretty dry with most of the rainfall in the other seasons. I looked up Snoqualmie and see there is a heat warning. Dew point of 63 and high of 93 for today. We would think that's a pretty nice day where I live now! I know the area does get some higher humidity days but they are usually pretty limited. With the lower summer humidity the night time temps dip to low enough to generally get some night cooling. A whole house fan would work well if you could automate opening some inlets and turning it on when the conditions are right. Generally below 60 for dew point is considered comfortable for people based on studies so I generally only use night time ventilation when the dew point is 60 or lower but you may want to use a higher number. Roof insulation or probably even better would be a permanently ventilated area just under the roof so that the surface facing the inside is kept at near the outdoor air temp. That will help with keeping the daytime temps inside from rising due to roof heat.