Heating a insulated workshop

[Sean33]

Hi all, not sure if UK forum is the best place for this question or whether I need to find one in Canada but as many of you may know, i relocated from Leeds to Saskatchewan Canada in 2021.

While there are many differences, perhaps the biggest change has been the weather with temperatures last night hitting -37 with a real feel of -48. My workshop is a 4 car garage where i have the back half of the garage dedicated to workshop and the front half is left for the cars. The workshop is insulated and I run a 220v space heater for a few hours prior to working in there however it chews a lot of energy and doesnt do anything to keep my workshop warm consistently meaning i have to store all finishes and glues inside the house which is a bit of a frustration.

The workshop is pretty well insulated and generally will sit around 5-10 degrees warmer than outside but when its so cold that doesnt account for much.

My question is, what would be the best and most efficient way to keep my workshop warm?

I do have a potential option of erecting a wall halfway down the garage to separate out the workshop and car space meaning i would have less area to heat. Another benefit is it would give me a ton more wall space which would be useful however I am on the fence as to do this or not as it will cause some constraints, mainly with my table saw infeed and also mean I potentially will have to work between two areas on larger projects. The other longer term constraints is if I want to park my truck inside (Chevy Silverado) I will have to make my shop smaller than id like.

Appreciate the issue i have probably isnt very relatable to many but anyone with any ideas or experience with heating something like this it would be appreciated.

We spent some time in Newfoundland some years ago and I could not fathom why the house was built with underfloor heating in the garage until the 1st winter! only caveat is it was laid into the slab and on the ground floor run, worked a treat

 

[D_W]

We spent some time in Newfoundland some years ago and I could not fathom why the house was built with underfloor heating in the garage until the 1st winter! only caveat is it was laid into the slab and on the ground floor run, worked a treat

it's popular even down where I am in Pennsylvania, especially in garages and renovations that will have a hard floor.

When it's 20F outside and you're maybe in an older house where cold floors are the norm, the same temperature as you're hoping for on the air (or a little higher) on a radiant floor on your feet is heavenly.

But it's generally not that energy efficient.

Heat finder cat we had when I was a kid was able to locate where the flow came into the room as that was the hottest part on the floor. I don't know how that doesn't hurt cats. She'd lay on a blacktop driveway on a 95F day in summer, too, and she was also black.

heated driveway is also becoming a thing here, but I think those are generally electric.

 

[joshvegas]

How much sun do you get? Would a solar water heater feeding through concrete mss on the floor give you a useful boost? Even if you need something else aswell atleast you are reducing your bills.

You'd need some pretty epic antifreeze in it mind.

 

[SLM]

It strikes me that there are two slightly different heating needs; a comfortable temperature for work (perhaps a wood/sawdust burner) and maintaining a constant temperature, above which you won’t have problems with equipment or materials (for instance above the dew point).

 

[joshvegas]

Aswell as heating I'd also look at improving the insulation. If I was paying to warm that space up I'd be pretty keen to not lose it all in short order.

 

[pauljhaigh58]

I have used indirect heaters from arcotherm for large marquees/sheds thermostatic control .diesel/lpg

 

[danst96]

How much sun do you get? Would a solar water heater feeding through concrete mss on the floor give you a useful boost? Even if you need something else aswell atleast you are reducing your bills.

You'd need some pretty epic antifreeze in it mind.

Sun is plentiful here in the winter, this is a typical winters day here in Saskatchewan. I think it was about -21 at the time of that picture.

I like the idea of the infloor heat, im just not sure i want to pump that amount of investment into this shop. Its likely not going to be a forever shop. One thing i may do you though is put electric infloor heat and float a new floor on top, it is pretty efficient and we dont have the energy bill issues here that the UK currently has fortunately.

 

[danst96]

I like d_w's suggestion of a heated cabinet for the glue and finishes, thats dead easy and quick.

Im going to go with this suggestion for now. I sell electric towel warmers for work which kick out a decent amount of heat so one of those in a cupboard will do the trick.

I do think eventually i will partition out the space but right now i am still unsure of my final shop layout and im yet to do a big project to properly realise the flow i need so going to wait doing anything hasty till i know what i want.

 

[danst96]

when you acclimate even to 0F over a cold snap, it becomes very difficult to perceive that it's even cold at 32F/0C.

This is so accurate. As someone fresh to these climates, my first few weeks I didnt think i could get used to it but now -10 to -15c is the comfiest temps in winter, closer to 0 its a little damper so can feel colder. As we come out of winter and it gets to plus 5 to 10c it feels warm because your body has gotten so used to the very cold.

My current shop is a significant upgrade from last winter where i had an uninsulated garage and had a project I had to finish by a certain weekend in December, the temps while i was using the shop didnt get above -35c for the entire week (i am an evening warrior), that was blinking cold. I can confirm, woodworking while wearing snow pants, 2 hoodies, a -30 rated coat and snow gloves is quite cumbersome. I had a scotch out there while i was working and the top of it started to freeze over.

Then again, im clearly not a true canuck like this gentleman in Calgary that i saw this week wearing his shorts when it was -22 there haha.

 

[Doug B]

Just a thought re a dividing wall I’ve recently been using some walling panels made from 4” pir insulation with a lightweight steel surface both sides not dissimilar to these Flat Both Sides White Insulated Panels:1100mm Wide,2200 Mm Long,80mm Thick, | eBay
They are tongue & grooved at the ends so clip together & with a track top & bottom you can form a well insulated nicely finished wall really quickly thats easily removed if need be.

 

[D_W]

This is so accurate. As someone fresh to these climates, my first few weeks I didnt think i could get used to it but now -10 to -15c is the comfiest temps in winter, closer to 0 its a little damper so can feel colder. As we come out of winter and it gets to plus 5 to 10c it feels warm because your body has gotten so used to the very cold.

My current shop is a significant upgrade from last winter where i had an uninsulated garage and had a project I had to finish by a certain weekend in December, the temps while i was using the shop didnt get above -35c for the entire week (i am an evening warrior), that was blinking cold. I can confirm, woodworking while wearing snow pants, 2 hoodies, a -30 rated coat and snow gloves is quite cumbersome. I had a scotch out there while i was working and the top of it started to freeze over.

Then again, im clearly not a true canuck like this gentleman in Calgary that i saw this week wearing his shorts when it was -22 there haha.

No matter where you are in north america, in every city and at every college, there is one person who wears shorts all year. In central PA where I went to college, there was one kid (won't name him) who wore shorts and Tshirt and rode a bike. he wasn't obese (the stereotype for shorts man is always portly type), but the opposite.

-20C and windy? A.D. is still riding a mile to class on his bike. he was majoring in meteorology, so maybe he created magic weather around his body.

 

[baldkev]

This is so accurate. As someone fresh to these climates, my first few weeks I didnt think i could get used to it but now -10 to -15c is the comfiest temps in winter, closer to 0 its a little damper so can feel colder. As we come out of winter and it gets to plus 5 to 10c it feels warm because your body has gotten so used to the very cold.

My current shop is a significant upgrade from last winter where i had an uninsulated garage and had a project I had to finish by a certain weekend in December, the temps while i was using the shop didnt get above -35c for the entire week (i am an evening warrior), that was blinking cold. I can confirm, woodworking while wearing snow pants, 2 hoodies, a -30 rated coat and snow gloves is quite cumbersome. I had a scotch out there while i was working and the top of it started to freeze over.

Then again, im clearly not a true canuck like this gentleman in Calgary that i saw this week wearing his shorts when it was -22 there haha.

You're not selling it to me it sounds like people arent meant to survive there

 

[D_W]

You're not selling it to me it sounds like people arent meant to survive there

I think that's about where roddy piper is from. I remember him saying in an interview that you get an appreciation for bigger women there because the skinny ones can't keep you warm.

 

[Inspector]

You're not selling it to me it sounds like people arent meant to survive there

The First Nations People did for thousands of years in Bison skinned teepees.

Pete

 

[baldkev]

The First Nations People did for thousands of years in Bison skinned teepees.

Pete

But how?!? It sounds like it'd be impossible
I cant imagine how cold you'd be, in a flesh tent with no central heating! Did they have fires in them? Was it just body warmth and more hides as blankets? nookie must've been difficult, not much privacy and if your leg was out from under the covers for more than a minute, you'd have frostbite! Imagine the late night pee after a few beers, youd have to crawl outside the flesh tent, whip it out, empty it and try to get it hidden away again before it freezes and falls off

 

[Keith 66]

My first boatshop was a 1500sq ft north facing cowshed on the side of a barn, It was ok in the summer until the sun came round & hit the asbestos roof at midday then the temperature rocketed. In the winter it was freezing cold & no amount of space heating got it warm.
I fitted a big homemade woodburner & partitioned an area under a mezzanine off to work in during the winter, A basic framework of 2x2 with heavy gauge polythene stapled on each side to give a twin wall effect. It was cheap but surprisingly efficient.
My current workshop has insulated walls roof & doors & is easy to keep warm, Just a pity i dont have 1500sq ft any more!

 

[Bristol_Rob]

I vote for dividing up the space.

You stand a chance to heat it without breaking the bank

 

[D_W]

Im going to go with this suggestion for now. I sell electric towel warmers for work which kick out a decent amount of heat so one of those in a cupboard will do the trick.

I do think eventually i will partition out the space but right now i am still unsure of my final shop layout and im yet to do a big project to properly realise the flow i need so going to wait doing anything hasty till i know what i want.

very practical. sometimes a great idea floats into your head out of nowhere. this gives you time for it to occur without committing to something else expensive in the meantime.

 

[baldkev]

This'll make you giggle.... on the news just now, theyve announced a level A cold alert ( sounds serious ) and apparently the uk is in for 7 days of cold with temps as low as -10°c

 

[artie]

Was -3.9 here night before last, It very seldom gets any colder than that.

Only once in my lifetime I recall -18 for a few days and I had to work in the same workshop with tin roof, single block wall and draughty door.

I put on a paraffin space heater which was barely noticeable,

I remember going out one morning and thinking to myself "That's a lovely morning" and when I checked the thermometer it was minus 6

Don't think it's possible to get used to -30 though.