After 45 minutes searching history in the forum, I realize that my question may actually be different...
Please help me improve on my bad compromise solution to heating a garage shop that I don't own...
Constraints, and what I'm working with:
If I own the shop then it makes sense to insulate against Montana's winter, but I don't own it and the lease ends this spring. Will I stay or will I go... don't know. Of course it's worth talking to the landlord, perhaps offering my expertise and labor if they buy materials, etc. But this post is about discussing options if that conversation doesn't go anywhere satisfactory...
In Dec/Jan, average low temperatures are 16 and average highs are 30. It's a detached 2 car garage with a one two-car-wide metal uninsulated door. The structure is stick framed, OSB sheathing covered with siding. There's two sheets of drywall on the ceiling with a few fiberglass bats laying across the bottom chord of the trusses... probably leftovers from the house. There's 3 sheets of drywall on one wall with others open and uninsulated. I hope they had leftover insulation behind those 3 sheets but I haven't checked. Point is... this is essentially a modern framed structure with no insulation and sheetrock.
So, how to make the space somewhat workable in the cold weather...
Best case: cooperative landlord, full insulation job - perhaps spray foam, insulate garage door, run gas to the garage and install a gas radiant tube heater, run a couple more circuits to the garage including 220V. Short of that...
It makes no sense for me to pay the cost of insulation when I'm very possibly out in the spring.
It makes no sense to run electric heaters when I don't have a separate circuit to isolate them from shop tools.
It makes no sense to burn anything that requires me to install a vent to outside.
(I'd love to be wrong if you can show me inexpensive ways to do any of the above.)
It makes no sense to heat air when I'm in an uninsulated structure... so I conclude that the least evil option is a job-site type radiant heater (to heat people rather than air). The easiest option is propane fueled (easily available heater and fuel), but I understand kerosene may be significantly cheaper per BTU... if I can find a reasonably priced unit and a source of fuel in my area.
My default choice is a dual head propane tank top radiant heater - the kind with two curved reflectors side by side - that produces about 30,000 BTU.
Finishing and gluing probably won't be an option since this will put out tons of water vapor.
Heater operation will likely require opening both the main garage door and the back (people) door a bit for ventilation.
This should heat *me* enough to make progress tolerable, though gluing will have to move inside to the small basement laundry room, and finishing will probably wait for warmer weather.
Any suggestions to improve on this default path are much appreciated!
Please help me improve on my bad compromise solution to heating a garage shop that I don't own...
Constraints, and what I'm working with:
If I own the shop then it makes sense to insulate against Montana's winter, but I don't own it and the lease ends this spring. Will I stay or will I go... don't know. Of course it's worth talking to the landlord, perhaps offering my expertise and labor if they buy materials, etc. But this post is about discussing options if that conversation doesn't go anywhere satisfactory...
In Dec/Jan, average low temperatures are 16 and average highs are 30. It's a detached 2 car garage with a one two-car-wide metal uninsulated door. The structure is stick framed, OSB sheathing covered with siding. There's two sheets of drywall on the ceiling with a few fiberglass bats laying across the bottom chord of the trusses... probably leftovers from the house. There's 3 sheets of drywall on one wall with others open and uninsulated. I hope they had leftover insulation behind those 3 sheets but I haven't checked. Point is... this is essentially a modern framed structure with no insulation and sheetrock.
So, how to make the space somewhat workable in the cold weather...
Best case: cooperative landlord, full insulation job - perhaps spray foam, insulate garage door, run gas to the garage and install a gas radiant tube heater, run a couple more circuits to the garage including 220V. Short of that...
It makes no sense for me to pay the cost of insulation when I'm very possibly out in the spring.
It makes no sense to run electric heaters when I don't have a separate circuit to isolate them from shop tools.
It makes no sense to burn anything that requires me to install a vent to outside.
(I'd love to be wrong if you can show me inexpensive ways to do any of the above.)
It makes no sense to heat air when I'm in an uninsulated structure... so I conclude that the least evil option is a job-site type radiant heater (to heat people rather than air). The easiest option is propane fueled (easily available heater and fuel), but I understand kerosene may be significantly cheaper per BTU... if I can find a reasonably priced unit and a source of fuel in my area.
My default choice is a dual head propane tank top radiant heater - the kind with two curved reflectors side by side - that produces about 30,000 BTU.
Finishing and gluing probably won't be an option since this will put out tons of water vapor.
Heater operation will likely require opening both the main garage door and the back (people) door a bit for ventilation.
This should heat *me* enough to make progress tolerable, though gluing will have to move inside to the small basement laundry room, and finishing will probably wait for warmer weather.
Any suggestions to improve on this default path are much appreciated!