dplotkin

My response is intended to be helpful to others considering new garage construction:
Radiant heat for new construction is not significantly more expensive than forced hot air and is as main stream as any other form of heat having been used since the 1950's.Today under-slab radiant heat is done using black PEX plastic tubing with an unlimited lifespan. A domestic water heater and a circulator can be employed rather than a wall mounted boiler where codes allow; as the water need only be 110 degrees. It can be left set at 60 and the boiler will run only once in a while, the slab acting as a heat sink. It keeps car bottoms and floors dry, and backs warm. It doesn't blow dust around and It costs far less to operate. Certainly one can prefer a hot-dog unit heater, but the preference does not make it a better choice. I had a garage with a hot-dog for years, I now know the difference. Before you go with other heating methods, discuss radiant heat with your plumbing & heating contractor.

Dan

Drothgeb

I like the feel of a heated slab, and it works well when heated continuously. But, if you in a colder climate and you only heat it occasionally, then forced air works much better. As some of the others, I keep my storage garages in the 40s during the winter. Raising it to the 60s only takes a 1/2 hr with forced air.

I was was looking at you slab prep, and it doesn’t look like there’s any insulation under your slab?

biggd

How cold does it get where you are? I have a second home in the NH lakes region and want to heat my 2 car garage. I'm insulating it right now and I'm thinking of going with a mini split for the garage and the room above that is a finished bunk room. It can get pretty cold up there in the winter, -5 with wind chill to -20. I don't need it to be 70 but if I could get it in the 50's I'd be happy.

dplotkin

I have no idea what you are looking at or thinking. Under the mesh with tubing (the white stuff) is a blanket of moisture barrier, insulation and foil, all designed specifically for this application. It is easily self-installed.

It costs me about $125 a month to keep my 40' X 40' garage heated to a constant 65 degrees. While it takes 3-4 hours to bring it up to 65 from stone cold, there is no reason on earth to do that. Once it gets cold, I set it to 65. Once the thermostat is satisfied it shuts off the hot water but the temperature continues to climb, to about 67, and stays there for most of the day. The thermostat may not call again until that night. The slab holds the heat...even when the door going up and down that slab stays warm and continues to warm the objects in the room and the air.

The Hot Dog must cycle constantly, it only warms the air, much of it goes outside when the door opens. It makes noise, dust and uses far more fuel.

I concede that a Hot Dog will warm up a cold garage quickly, but what is the value in sudden temperature changes that generate moisture through condensation? In a house at the NH lakes, Tuftonboro, Wolfeboro, wherever you are up there in that spectacular part of the world in a garage you use infrequently I agree a Hot Dog is probably sufficient.

However, for those in cold climates who spend a lot of time working in a garage and/or who want to control temp and humidity cost effectively and have the most comfortable garage in the world, fit for a king, go radiant.

ps. I don't sell the stuff. I fought with my builder and myself over this. I nearly put a big 'ol Hot Dog in my once in a lifetime garage. After 3 years with my radiant heated epoxy floor garage I have never been happier about an agonizing decision as I am about this, and why I'm vociferous about making sure the claims made about it are accurate.

Dan

halfprice5

We get a few sub zero days in southern Ohio, I have a small 12k btu cool 13.5k heat it will produce full heat to zero. SEER is 24. They not produce units with 30 SEER

My 12k is hardly a blip on the electric bill and it runs 24/7 to keep the humidity down.

BLUE1972

I did baseboard = it works well and can heat the shop in 2 hours. I keep it at 40 degrees and can warm to 65.

I realized it was ok the second year when I started doing a lot of work in the shop.

The concrete floor stays cold and takes a ling time to get warm. I put in ceiling fans to help heat up the floor.
When you get older standing on a cold floor will give you foot cramps, even though the shop is 65 degrees.

When we did my friends shop we did radiant , in floor heat - PECKS.. It takes a little longer to heat up the shop but the warm floor makes a huge difference. You can work in a cooler temp without feeling the coolness.

We both keep the shops at 40degrees in the winter - it can get to 0 degrees here. I found that 40 degrees stops the paint and other items from getting damaged.

I would definitely recommend in floor heat , PECKS or radiant heat. If done right both (radiant and baseboard) are explosion proof - which is what you want with cars that have gas in them.

halfprice5

This is not the unit I used but is better than mine

https://www.greecomfort.com/our-products/crown-plus-2/ will heat to -22

red67vert

What about windows? Builder want to make them larger, says it will look better as that wall is exposed to subdivision traffic, I am worried about sun(although will appreciate the light), and security, but want the aesthetics too. Thoughts?......
Again, Thank you for all your expertise!

dplotkin

I used full-height windows in the garage to match the windows in the house. I used room darkening shades to block UV radiation provide privacy but allow ambient light even with the shades down. Invest in some of those and get the windows. You'll be glad you did.

biggd

That's even lower than the Mitsubishi claim of -15. I did the installer locator and there are no installers in the NH area where my home is for that product.

BLUE1972

When I did the build I went with E - glass windows. They reflect the heat but let light in. They are also 1" "air" space with Argon gas. Made a huge difference on the house and shop. You don't feel the hot sun during the summer and in the winter you don't feel the cold like the old double pain windows.

On the house I rebuilt in 1995 - I used a triple Paine E-glass window to cut noise and heat/. The window was a 3/4 opening huge window in a 1929's house. It cut the road noise and almost no heat or cold was transmitted.

Roger Walling

[QUOTE=red67vert;1599319331]What about windows? Builder want to make them larger,

No windows. The sunlight some times make it hard to work when it shines right in your eyes.
Besides that , wall space is too valuable to waste on windows. You will need shelves
and tool box areas. Not to mention all the things that you hang on the walls to get them off of the floor.

68hemi

Expensive but you may want to consider the windows with the built in shades between the two pieces of glass.

red67vert

Since we’re on a roll, what about garage door height? 8’, 9’, or 10’? Double wall insulated? Anything better?Thank you!

dplotkin

This is a no-brainer. Use the highest doors you can but more importantly use a sidewinder door opener so that you don't have a motor unit and trolley hanging from the middle of your ceiling. That is among the best things I ever did in my garage.

Dan