Best heating method for 40x54 shop
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Metal siding love/hate is an opinion, mostly like everything else. My point was to give you more insulation if needed in the future if filling the blocks weren't enough. Also, it could be done rather than spray foaming the inside, which in my opinion looks bad unless it's covered.....not saying it won't work great.
If you have matching block and brick to accent it, then it all being coordinated makes it an even better deal than just buying it on the cheap. Congrats on a better deal that what I thought you got originally.
Keeping a constant temperature may not be as bad as you think, depending where you live and the length of your Winters. Adding a location to your profile will help other give a better idea of giving advice in the future. I heat my garage solely with wood during the Winter and early 2016, I bought a new wood stove, way, way more efficient than what I had.
The key is to get the concrete floor warm and for it to hold the temperature overnite or when you're not burning. Rarely, does my garage get below 50°F. When I fire up the stove in the morning, the temperature goes up 15-20 degrees in a short time. Start a fire, go back in grab a shower and eat some breakfast and it's nice out there. Since burning wood is a dry heat, it seems to burn off the moisture so condensation isn't an issue for me. While the new stove, duct work and associated cost might have set me back about a $1k, it'll be paid back in no time. I know what it cost to heat the house with fuel oil during the Winter.
Either way, I look forward to seeing some pictures of the build and you showing off your talents as a block layer. You guys are impressive to watch.
I wasn't going to spray foam the interior walls. There are companies that drill holes in the joints and fill the insides of the block with spray foam so with a 12" block your looking at about 9" of spray foam. As for wood heat. I'd have to go with a wood furnace ducted throughout the building which is doable or a wood boiler for the radiant floor. I'd love a wood boiler for the radiant floor but that's pretty pricey. Downside to the wood furnace is that there are some jobs where I work 6 10's or 7 12's sometimes an hour from home. When I'm on those jobs I don't go out to thr shop. And now with my daughter (5 weeks old) I don't get out to tinker as much either. I do agree with you that wood heat would be economical though if I could pull it off. The shop before the current t one had wood heat and I could keep it decent in there 24/7 when I was only working 8 hour shifts or was laid off. As far as being impressive i'm probably not so impressive anymore. I've spent the last 10 years doing fire brick and refractory material.work in the steel mills here in NW Indiana. So my block and brick skills are a bit rusty! But this work is year round, unaffected by weather for the most part and pays better. More OT, weekend work, multiple shifts etc. I'll try posting some pics of the block and brick I have so you can see what I'm working with. It's actually some real nice stuff. Was for sure a once in a lifetime deal.
Here's a stock photo of the brick.
And here's a couple shots of the block. Thr color is called "buff". It's a light tan
And here's about 2/3 of the block waiting for excavation and a footer. I honestly have enough block to build a 40x100 if I used normal.gray block under grade. Some block is split face some are normal block.
So it should be a very nice looking building. It just ***** the stupid county will only let me build a 40x54
And here's a couple shots of the block. Thr color is called "buff". It's a light tan
And here's about 2/3 of the block waiting for excavation and a footer. I honestly have enough block to build a 40x100 if I used normal.gray block under grade. Some block is split face some are normal block.
So it should be a very nice looking building. It just ***** the stupid county will only let me build a 40x54
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It's off topic but you mentioned my work. Here's a couple pictures of what I do. First is some pipe work i did a few years back. Pretty much everything used to make iron, steel, aluminum, and refine oil is lined with masonry or refractory of some sort. So this is a "common tunnel" section (basically a heat duct) on to of a non recovery coke battery.
And yes that's all brick. An insulating type brick but brick none the less.
And hers a few shots of where I'm currently working. It's a pair of conventional 6 meter coke batteries.
And here's how I dress even on 100+ degree days. Usually 2-3 layers of clothes, respirator, safety glasses, hard hat, sometimes comes sleeves, and more
All work done on conventional coke batteries is done with them 100% live. I've been inside them at 2000 degrees to patch walls. Silica welded in them and tonight I'm standing in front of the open door between machine movement and spraying a refractory sealer on the jambs so they don't leak. So it's 65° with a 2200° breeze.
I also do refinery work, blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, plate mill furnaces, steel coil furnaces of all shapes and sizes, annealing and hardening furnaces and ovens etc. Basically if you buy American steel i've probably worked on the furnace that made it being that this area is the stronghold of the american steel.industry. 4 major mills and a handful of mini mills along the southern coast of lake Michigan.
Ok now back to heating the shop I desperately need to build.
And yes that's all brick. An insulating type brick but brick none the less.
And hers a few shots of where I'm currently working. It's a pair of conventional 6 meter coke batteries.
And here's how I dress even on 100+ degree days. Usually 2-3 layers of clothes, respirator, safety glasses, hard hat, sometimes comes sleeves, and more
All work done on conventional coke batteries is done with them 100% live. I've been inside them at 2000 degrees to patch walls. Silica welded in them and tonight I'm standing in front of the open door between machine movement and spraying a refractory sealer on the jambs so they don't leak. So it's 65° with a 2200° breeze.
I also do refinery work, blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, plate mill furnaces, steel coil furnaces of all shapes and sizes, annealing and hardening furnaces and ovens etc. Basically if you buy American steel i've probably worked on the furnace that made it being that this area is the stronghold of the american steel.industry. 4 major mills and a handful of mini mills along the southern coast of lake Michigan.
Ok now back to heating the shop I desperately need to build.
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Radix2
Well-known member
With all that refractory work, I think you need to build a nice brick pizza oven into your shop !
Best.
Best.
Wife wants one for the paver patio behind the house..
kuhner
Active member
I live in Ohio, East-Central area right along I-70. Climate is probably pretty close to yours. My shop is 32x40 and I built it with12" block. About 1/2 of it is under ground, I had to build into a hill. Right now I have 6" of roll in the roof, and put 2" pink foam under the slab. The outside walls above ground I finished with, Drive-It (stucco) over 4" of white foam. I ran 2" of pink foam down to the frost line about 30" and then back filled.
I heat with radiant floor heat, with a Seiscor Electric Boiler, and my monthly average two years ago, really cold winter, was $100.00 month. This is average, summer I pay minimum about $45.00 and the winter runs 125 all the way to 200. But my shop is 60 all day and night .
My only regret is I should have insulated my walls down to the footer, 60 is warmer than the earth and I am fighting that. I love radiant floor heat. I am planning on adding at least 12" of blown fiberglass in the ceiling this year, I think I loose some heat through the ceiling.
I looked into insulating the cells of the blocks but how much do you really gain, the concrete between the vacant cells has to conduct heat?
greg
I heat with radiant floor heat, with a Seiscor Electric Boiler, and my monthly average two years ago, really cold winter, was $100.00 month. This is average, summer I pay minimum about $45.00 and the winter runs 125 all the way to 200. But my shop is 60 all day and night .
My only regret is I should have insulated my walls down to the footer, 60 is warmer than the earth and I am fighting that. I love radiant floor heat. I am planning on adding at least 12" of blown fiberglass in the ceiling this year, I think I loose some heat through the ceiling.
I looked into insulating the cells of the blocks but how much do you really gain, the concrete between the vacant cells has to conduct heat?
greg
So your wall that's into the hill is in insulated? Or your saying if you did it again you'd insulate the entire footer? Drivit and 4" of foam I'd think is plenty of insulation. Nice to hear your electric bill isn't too bad. That's about what it cost to hear the current shop that winter with natural gas and 2 hanging heaters. But i kow that radiant you have is WAY nicer than these hanging hot dawg style heaters! So how do you like having a block shop? The webs of the block aren't really a huge loss as far as best transfer I wouldn't think. Some people actually say not to insuakte the block because the trapped air in the cell actually has an R value. The negative part though is how much!
kuhner
Active member
Everything above ground is 4" with the Dryvit, any thing below is 2" of the pink, but just 30" below grade. Yes I should have went all the way to the footer.
I like my block garage, I primed and painted the interior white with very good Sherwim Williams paint, some super tough stuff. I do get condensation in the spring when it is humid and warm outside, the walls get covered in moisture. I have to be careful to keep the doors closed early in the spring to keep moisture down. I also run a dehumidifier.
Radiant is the best in my opinion, I usually work in a light pair of boots and my feet are so toasty, Plus when you are working under a vehicle very nice. The recovery time on my garage after you open a door is not noticeable, so much mass just immediately heats back up.
I like my block garage, I primed and painted the interior white with very good Sherwim Williams paint, some super tough stuff. I do get condensation in the spring when it is humid and warm outside, the walls get covered in moisture. I have to be careful to keep the doors closed early in the spring to keep moisture down. I also run a dehumidifier.
Radiant is the best in my opinion, I usually work in a light pair of boots and my feet are so toasty, Plus when you are working under a vehicle very nice. The recovery time on my garage after you open a door is not noticeable, so much mass just immediately heats back up.