Hot Garage in Albuquerque

[WolfgangFox]

Hey All,

I have sold the house in Southern Utah, and have bought another in Albuquerque NM. A little cooler here, but still a too hot garage.
Pics are attached.
There is no insulation in the attic above the garage. I am assuming the first picture is a pic of that.
There are 2 turbines on the roof, but I don't see any other venting (no soffit vents, gable vents, etc).
There is a window in the garage. I actually wanted to remove it, however if I can cover it up with blinds/curtains, etc, and it helps for the end cooling plan, I'll keep it.
I do not know if there is insulation behind the drywall in the garage. There is one wall that is not insulated, that is an outside wall. (also where the window is).
The garage measures ~20x24 (probably 10 ft ceiling).
I also don't know if the garage doors are insulated.
The house was also built in 1975, and it really looks like NO UPGRADES have been done at all with anything contractual-wise.

It gets up to a little over 100 outside here not too often in the summer, but with ridiculously low humidity. I wasn't told, and haven't seen, any moisture issues in the garage anywhere. My end goal is not to make it living area comfortable, but at least get it down to 80-85 when it's 90+ outside, and maybe even 75ish when it's less than 90 degrees. Is it possible, at all, just to do this with improving the ventilation?

I've also read some horror stories, but in high humidity areas, in which people have insulated their garages and now they are mold traps. If I just insulate the attic above the garage, do you guys think it would cause that problem?

Also, I'm trying to do this as cheap as possible once again, so soffit vents, fans, insulation, would it get me to my goal?

Would love to see all the ideas you guys have. If anyone would like me to take more pics, I can do so.

-Pat

 

[Copymutt]

1. You wont have mold issues.
2. roof turbines need to have replacement air from someplace to exhaust the hot air. I leave my pull down ladder open a foot and it makes a big difference.
3. Can you set up a swamp cooler in that window? That will take care if the temps, but may rust a few things.

 

[metlmunchr]

Regardless of how much you insulate or ventilate, you can't make the indoor temperature any lower than the outdoor temperature by simply moving outdoor air thru a space.

 

[Jagmandave]

Why not put a window A/C in that window? We do have humidity here in KC, but my window A/C makes my garage very comfortable in short order.....and mine has a heat strip so I can use it in winter too.

 

[theoldwizard1]

No experience with swamp coolers, but they cost much less than A/C to install and operate.

 

[bonneyman]

10-4 I used to live in the Alb area. Evap cooler will work great except during the monsoon season (say mid July thru mid Sept). Less than half the operating cost of A/C, though you do have the associated maintenance issues with a water-filled machine.
If you want to install an evap PM me and I'll send you some info and tips I've learned with them over 30 years of service.

 

[WolfgangFox]

Thank you for all the comments!

I found out some other things today. I found the original builder's info, and it did not have the garage drywalled, or insulated. So someone did add drywall to those 2 walls.
Also did some research, and the soffit vents have been stucco'd over. I don't think any of them are clear at all. They are about 6-8 inches wide, 2 feet long?, and spaced every 6-8 feet or so around the whole entire house.

So, I think opening up those vents would help remove the attic hot air.
Insulating the ceiling of the garage would help?
Would venting the garage ceiling into the attic be helpful at all?
Or just be done with it, and get the window a/c--evap cooler?

-Pat

Edit: Looks like it's recommending a 10,000 BTU unit? That seems huge?
Or do you guys think if I get a little 5-6k btu cheap unit it'll get me to my goal?

 

[PoorUB]

Insulate the walls and ceiling. If money permits a mini split air conditioner would be second on my list. You can turn the temp setting up as far as it will go, cool it to 80F and turn it down if you plan on being out there. Second choice would be a wall sleeve or window unit
You need soffit vents of some sort. and ventilate the attic well. 100F air is better than the 140F in the attic.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

Insulate the garage doors. And keep them closed. Figure out a way to box off the window with 2 to 4 inches of insulation.
Put some kind of vent, etc in garage ceiling. You want to let the hot air escape.

 

[Jagmandave]

I say it depends on what you'll be doing out there......if you're just going to be in it a few minutes at a time, just open the doors a little ahead of time or put a box fan in the open door to get the air moving.

If you want to actually work in there you need A/C....mine is a 22K BTU unit, requires 240V 30A power.....but it really does the job. I work in mine for hours at a time, pretty much every day so it was necessary for me.

In the worst summer heat and humidity it costs me about $20 a month to run it - well worth it for the comfort. I can't work in heat and humidity....

 

[FMB4]

No experience with swamp coolers, but they cost much less than A/C to install and operate.

Swamps are indeed a low cost alternative to A/C in low areas of low humidity (Southern AZ, New Mexico, etc).

 

[WolfgangFox]

I am actually building a 20x20 building, so I won't be using the garage much. However, until that happens I'll be out in the garage oh, 2-4 hours a day.

Thank you all for the comments. From what I understand: (listed in order of importance)

#1: Clean / fix soffit vents. (the turbines are barely moving, so I think ALL of the soffits are plugged up)
#2: Insulate Ceiling (at least, probably walls too)
#3: Insulate garage doors
#4: I can get an 8k window a/c for about $150-$200. (I guess venting garage into attic is a fire hazard, so deciding against that).

-Pat

 

[thammel]

Insulation is crucial....walls, ceiling and doors. A mini-split heat pump will work very well also. I believe Albuquerque can get cold due to its elevation so the heat pump would help then also.

 

[tarbellb]

Depends on what you consider comfortable and acceptable.

But you are in the SW! and swamp/evap coolers are a excellent cheap option for moderate cooling. Insulation will always help but
with a evap cooler you actually want to cycle the air out of the building brining in fresh cooled air.

Dont worry about mold or rust, basically a non issue.

Growing up in Abq, my love of swamp coolers runs deep. Firing up the cooler for the first time and smelling the fresh Aspen pads is
a good memory.

 

[930dreamer]

X2 on an evaporative cooler to knock to temp down plus adding soffit vents and insulation. I lived in Abq for eight years and that type of cooler works well.