Windsor Chair Making in the Garage, Need Heat

First, if you haven't done it already, you need to insulate your garage, including the garage door, otherwise you'll be fighting a losing battle. Then one of these heaters may do the trick, if you don't mind what the electricity will cost. I'm working in a 1,000 sq ft prefab metal structure in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and am gradually adding more insulation as I go. Every little bit added makes a big difference. I'm eventually going to have ceiling mounted propane heaters installed, properly vented and everything, but for the moment I'm using portable propane construction heaters, which have no problem keeping the temp at 70 degrees. I know all about the CO dangers, but this building isn't airtight enough yet to worry about it. I just keep my cat out while the heater is on. It does lower the humidity somewhat, but not enough to cause concern. Any time you raise the temperature, the humidity will drop. A simple combination temp/humidity gauge on the wall will let you know what's happening, and probably set your mind at rest.

Mike S

I work out of a 1000 square foot space in central vermont. I do have a foam paneled garage door. The building is insulated and I have 3 9' long windows on the front of the building which make a HUGE difference on a sunny day with moderate temperatures (20's+) since I can cut the heat off in the afternoon, at least until it starts to gets dark. People don't realize this but properly placed windows, are a free solar collector.

Definitely get some sort of weatherstripping for your garage door. A google search turns up lots of options.

My shop is heated with an old inefficient forced air furnace with no ducting. and my propane usage is generally less than $1000.00 a year. It will be less this year because my gas prices are much better.

If your in Montana you probably want gas heat, no questions asked.

I would take a look at the Modine Hot Dawg heaters. If your in an area where you use LP its easy to get stuff hooked up. I looked into electric heat when my gas prices were higher but I found that an appropriately sized unit would draw way too much amperage to use with my dust collector, CNC, and another machine going. Every building here is littered with electric baseboard heaters, and wall mounted electric space heaters that nobody has used since the 70's because they are too expensive to run.

Buy a Hygrometer. You should have one already. In the summer I run dehumidifiers as needed to keep the humidity in my shop below 55%. Ideally around 45%. In the winter I keep an eye on the humidity to make sure it doesn't get below 25%.

I cut the temperature back to about 55-60 at night unless I have finishes curing. I wouldn't let the temps get into the 40's since that is cause for concern.

Michael

Thanks guys for all the tips/suggestions. I'm looking into some weather stripping and additional insulation today. Maybe that will be enough to make a difference. I'll keep you posted.