Garage for Power Trac and Shop

[BobRip]

Someone had better not be installing one of these systems just based on these posts - there are lots of obvious things missing! For example, an expansion tank is needed in a closed system, pressure relief valve, possibly air remover/vents, GFI, a way to fill the system, etc.

Ken

Thanks for all the info. I don't plan to use this garage full time. Also I have a heated garage at the house with R50 wall and R55 ceiling insulation. It is where I will do the automobile repair work. The heat floor sounds nice, but money is not unlimited. I think I will stick with the wood stove and maybe propane later when I get tired of wood (if I do). Thanks again, fellows.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Bob, before you completely give up on the dream, you may still want to at least lay in the PEX/ It won't be too expensive and this is the time to do it, even if you do not go for the heater unit.

You probably would get the money you put in out in case you ever sold, and next year when you win the lotto you can hook it up with ease

Carl

 

[BobRip]

Bob, before you completely give up on the dream, you may still want to at least lay in the PEX/ It won't be too expensive and this is the time to do it, even if you do not go for the heater unit.

You probably would get the money you put in out in case you ever sold, and next year when you win the lotto you can hook it up with ease

Carl

OK. I will discuss it with the builder on Monday and see if I can get a layout from the PEX manufacturer.

 

[pairodime]

Water based radiant ala PEX is not the only way to go. For an occassional use garage, electric based radiant is very viable. Check this site. They even have prices
Heat Under Floors with Heating Cables

 

[SpringHollow]

Wow - the electric stuff is very expensive! Much more than PEX. I have seen it before but never bothered to look at the price. The electric version is commonly used in bathrooms and sometimes entrance ways/mud rooms. I do know of someone who uses it in their small home.

In-floor heat has a fairly long lag time so if you are only working for an hour or two and you normally have the heat off, it is not a good choice (electric or hot water). As a baseline heat or working all day, it is very nice.

I love throwing my wet gloves, etc. on the floor when i come in from working outside. The next day they are dry and warm, ready to go at it again.

Ken

 

[MossRoad]

...
In-floor heat has a fairly long lag time so if you are only working for an hour or two and you normally have the heat off, it is not a good choice ...

That is an excellent point that must be understood by anyone considering this type of heating system.

A few cool things can be done with hot fluid besides heating the garage floor and house. For instance...

Add a loop to the front porch or sidewalk to melt ice. Especially nice if your sidewalks are on the north side of your house in the shade in winter.

Heat your driveway, too, while you're at it.

Add a heat exchanger to heat your pool water in the summer.

 

[toy]

That is an excellent point that must be understood by anyone considering this type of heating system.

A few cool things can be done with hot fluid besides heating the garage floor and house. For instance...

Add a loop to the front porch or sidewalk to melt ice. Especially nice if your sidewalks are on the north side of your house in the shade in winter.

Heat your driveway, too, while you're at it.

Add a heat exchanger to heat your pool water in the summer.

What!!! heat your driveway and not get to clean the snow off with the pt, hum I guess if you are in a hurry that would be ok, just joking. The salesman that sold me my wood/coal furnace told me that I could add heating coils in it for liquid rather inexpensively if I wanted to but I didn't feel I needed it. I can add it later if I want to though.

 

[RegL]

What!!! heat your driveway and not get to clean the snow off with the pt, hum I guess if you are in a hurry that would be ok, just joking. The salesman that sold me my wood/coal furnace told me that I could add heating coils in it for liquid rather inexpensively if I wanted to but I didn't feel I needed it. I can add it later if I want to though.

Best of both worlds. Fill the tubing under the driveway with oil and put quick disconnects on the ends. Hook up to PT pto and let the hot fluid flow to melt the snow.

 

[ponytug]

That's a $20,000 boiler ya got there buddy...
Might want to think about something a little cheaper...
Just my $0.02...

All the best,

Peter

Best of both worlds. Fill the tubing under the driveway with oil and put quick disconnects on the ends. Hook up to PT pto and let the hot fluid flow to melt the snow.

 

[BobRip]

Well we started construction this week. We dug and poured the footings in a day and put in the cinder block (was all that this week?) on another day. We are dodging bad weather and it seemed we just snuck in the footings. The blocks were supposed to be installed on Friday, but the mason's crew did not show up. They did come on Saturday and put in all of the blocks they had during a light snow. They ran out and need 32 more. I was happy since the rest of the work is not so dependent upon the weather. The walls look very straight and the builder used 12 inch wide block at the base. This is really not needed here. I guess he wants to do a really good job. It will be very cold on Monday, about 12, so we cannot do work. It's supposed to snow a little on Tuesday, but I hope they will still be able to work. Our snow storms this year have been really just fluries. We put some conduit in for the panel and some others in case I want to add a sink someday. My pictures are too big so I will have to shrink them first.

Edit: Added pictures
No, I did not dig the footings with the Power Trac. The pictured backhoe/loader dug the footings in about one hour and made them really straight. It was so slow because of the mud. It did get stuck, but pulled and pushed itself out with the backhoe. It almost turned over once when a wheel sunk in the mud. I think the Power Trac would just have gotten stuck.