Keeping the heat in- Part 2

[MushCreek]

OK, I spent the summer insulating and finishing the shop. I installed an 18K minisplit, which should be enough to take the chill off. Now I'm looking at where the heat is escaping, and where the cold air is coming in. Sealing up a structure can be as important as insulation. I have a crude freight elevator in the shop, which goes up to the storage loft. It's not a particularly tight fit, and as suspected, I could feel warm air leaking past it into the uninsulated loft.

I decided to make an insulated hatch to close and insulate the opening. I made a hatch out of OSB I had laying around, and fastened 2" foam to it. The foam was left over from the insulation project. I hinged it to a nearby beam, and it's held in place with a 1/2" stud and nut and washer. I couldn't find a source for the stud, so I bought a 10" lag screw and threaded the end of it to 1/2-13. Screwed it up into a joist, and I just run a nut and washer on it to secure it in the closed position.

Next up is a piece of heavy vinyl I ordered to help seal the very leaky rolling doors. I'm going to secure the top with 1X2 furring strips, and put velcro strips down the side. When I want to open the doors, I'll just roll up the vinyl high enough to clear whatever is going in or out. Progress.

 

[Stuart in MN]

The door is a sliding door, like on a barn? They're notoriously difficult to seal up around the edges. There are latches that will pull them tight against the door jamb.

 

[MushCreek]

I have latches on the side that do a fairly good job, but there are a lot of leaks across the top in particular, and of course, at the floor. The vinyl curtain should help. I might also add brushes on the sides and the top. It's a shop, not a house, so any improvement is better than nothing.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I was thinking maybe a curtain made of something thicker like shipping blankets, harbor freight sells them for cheap, but anything to block drafts will help. If the door isn't used much in the winter you could stuff strips of foam around the edges.

 

[MushCreek]

I keep my car and boat in the shop, so the door gets used often- at least once a week.

 

[swsman]

How about velcro or snap buttons added to the blanket idea?

Basically sew velcro strip onto the edges.

Make it so it can be rolled up side to side and out of the way when door is in use.

 

[MushCreek]

I'm hoping that blocking the air flow and creating a bubble of air will help a lot. There's 6" between the doors and the mounting surface for the vinyl. If not, I'll look at more options. I'm spoiled this winter with the warm weather we've had. The shop hasn't gotten under 50 so far. Part of that is the insulation I added, too. It used to get below freezing in the shop at times.

 

[no704]

Get, borrow, or rent an ir camera.