Extending duct into garage?

[maven74]

Hey all! Great forum, first time posting.

My wife and I recently moved into a new home built in the 50s. The previous owner was a residential builder and did a lot of DIYing to the home, it's in great shape and very solid. One added bonus for me is that I once again have a garage to use as a workshop (we lived in an urban core area for the last three years).

My question is about heating the garage which is 550 sq ft. On the opposite side of the front wall of the garage is an addition room that is heated by a 50,000 BTU Modine with natural gas. The room is about 20 x 12 with a full bathroom and there is flexible ducting running to the bathroom and the main room. The Modine is more than enough to knock the chill off of that room when it gets into the 30s, which it already has here. The coldest it normally gets here is right around 0 F at the coldest point of winter. Windchills make it dip into the negatives and I know that would impact how often the heater would run. I'd like to extend a duct out to the garage, maybe 30 feet from where the heater hangs to heat the garage to around 60-65 F. Obviously I would need to insulate the roof to keep the heat from escaping. Thoughts on this idea? Will this unit do the work? My father in law insists on a woodburning stove but insurance and what not...

Thanks for any advice!

 

[HoosierBuddy]

The issue you face is, this is not allowed by code.

You're not allowed to tie in vents from a furnace that heats the living space to the garage.

Phil

 

[bzinsky]

IMO
you own the property + you own the structures + you live in the structure + you're doing the work and you do a good job = screw building code

I would never follow code on my own house just because it's the code. There would have to be a practical reason, which most codes do have.

The issue with this one is, garage usually has cars running in it. You don't want any sort of return vent from the garage to the living space, not just for you, but if you sell your house one day it could potentially be very bad for someone who decides to use it to park cars in it. If you don't have a return vent, your heater will create a slight vacuum in the house and start pulling in air from the outside. Basically just a bad idea all around, especially if you use chemicals or burn/melt things like most of us do in our shops.

 

[Jackfre]

IMO
you own the property + you own the structures + you live in the structure + you're doing the work and you do a good job = screw building code

I would never follow code on my own house just because it's the code. There would have to be a practical reason, which most codes do have.

The issue with this one is, garage usually has cars running in it. You don't want any sort of return vent from the garage to the living space, not just for you, but if you sell your house one day it could potentially be very bad for someone who decides to use it to park cars in it. If you don't have a return vent, your heater will create a slight vacuum in the house and start pulling in air from the outside. Basically just a bad idea all around, especially if you use chemicals or burn/melt things like most of us do in our shops.

The "practical reason" is that it can kill you or your loved ones.

 

[MUD DAWG]

This has been discussed a few times already. Don't do it, it's a bad idea.

 

[jtsboss]

I use a small kerosene heater in my two car attached to the house. It is insulated well and heats up in minutes. It usually never drops below 50 degrees even on cold days. At my old place I ran some copper line over to my garage and hung a ventless on the wall. Turned it on low and it was always warm out there. Its very easy to do. I miss NG

 

[maven74]

Let me clarify, I didn't do a very good job of explaining.

The living space in this case is an extension of the garage itself with just an accordion style separator between it and the garage. Simply put, I can push this open and the garage and the room become the same space. What I understood from the previous owner - her husband used this area for the 'office' of his construction company. The main living areas of the house are heated by a separate gas furnace.

Exactly like this:

https://www.accordion-doors.com/2015/04/29/commercial-accordion-folding-doors-for-security-and-more/

 

[bzinsky]

The "practical reason" is that it can kill you or your loved ones.

thank you fox news for repeating what I said with an unnecessary scary twist for more shock value. Can't forget about the loved ones.

Let me clarify, I didn't do a very good job of explaining.

The living space in this case is an extension of the garage itself with just an accordion style separator between it and the garage. Simply put, I can push this open and the garage and the room become the same space. What I understood from the previous owner - her husband used this area for the 'office' of his construction company. The main living areas of the house are heated by a separate gas furnace.

Exactly like this:

https://www.accordion-doors.com/2015/04/29/commercial-accordion-folding-doors-for-security-and-more/

Ah, I wouldn't worry about doing it then, that's pretty far off from being a separate space.

 

[Lotek]

thank you fox news for repeating what I said with an unnecessary scary twist for more shock value. Can't forget about the loved ones..

Think of the children...

Ah, I wouldn't worry about doing it then, that's pretty far off from being a separate space.

Why not just open the accordion door?

 

[maven74]

Think of the children...



Why not just open the accordion door?

Tried that. The distance between the duct in the room and the accordion door is about 12 feet or so. Too much for one vent? I need to insulate and square up some doors, but it still feels like an awfully big area for just one output.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Sounds like your "separate living space" is actually part of the garage...so perhaps not an issue.

I agree that more than one vent would be better. Perhaps you could do 3? The duct run could shrink between successive vents.

As regards to code..we all can choose to ignore whatever portions of whatever codes we wish...I just PERSONALLY would not knowingly advise someone else to do so on this sort of forum. After reviewing the OP's situation though...I don't think it really is a separate space. It's just a partition.

Phil

 

[maven74]

I think after I improve the insulation in the garage I'm going to try extending the duct and adding some vents. If that doesn't work, I might try a woodstove after all. My FIL has one in his two car-detached pole building and it's the warmest place at the farm all winter.

Thanks y'all!

 

[D45]

When I moved into my current house about 4 years ago, there was a duct in the attached 2 car garage ceiling.....it was boxed in, finished and drywalled

House inspector (2 different businesses, long story) never said anything about it

 

[prostreetamx]

My new garage addition will have a completely separate A/C, heater setup with a gas heater rated for garage use. It sounds like your space is separate from the house and already has it's own system that only shares an office within the same building as the garage. If that is the case then there is no reason you can't extend the existing duct into the garage.

 

[Jackfre]

thank you fox news for repeating what I said with an unnecessary scary twist for more shock value. Can't forget about the loved ones.

Okay! I will never post again supporting your position. The Fox comment is low,

 

[NUTTSGT]

Before you go to the trouble of running duct work, try a regular old 20" box fan on low. Push the cool air into the warmer area.