Summer of the garage

[speede5]

In-floor is the way to go hands down and as someone who has had it, I think it's worth every penny. my thoughts;

1. Do you need extra concrete? I did my slab 4" but i spaced my rebar at 12" vs 24 or something like that. I also layed down 2" styro between the rock and the concrete as an insulating layer, which you're already planning.

2. The tubing in the floor only added about $600 to the pour. I layed it myself after the contractors had set up the re-bar. I had three loops of ~150' in a 22x24 garage. my memory is foggy on the numbers.

3. I did mine many years ago and was using a water heater and circ pump. which was very inefficient but still wasn't crazy expensive to run. A proper boiler and pump system would be very efficient. If you're already considering a boiler what is the difference between a coil and running it through the floor.

4. No other heat source will warm up the concrete and it will just be a big heat sink. Depends what you're doing out there, mine is my second home, but laying on the floor in winter and cold soaked feet really suck. I had another big garage with a air heater and one side of the building was always really cold compared to the other, and the thing would cycle a lot. That was 25 years ago though maybe they've made some improvements on that issue.

5. Once the slab is heated it is amazing how fast it recovers when a door is opened. Also if you are in and out with a vehicle any snow/water that melts off is evaporated overnight. And every corner of the building is the same temp. Another bonus is the door never freezes to the slab.



All that said I am in another house now and am installing an overhead gas heater before next winter as I just have a little 220 electric hanger right now. (don't ask about that power bill!). I'm sure the overhead gas will be just fine and I'll be able to work in there all winter but if I was ever pouring I would at least throw the lines in for a future upgrade.

At the end of the day your budget is the driver. If you aren't in there all the time best bang for the buck is the gas heater.

[Leondros]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

My door is a Steelcraft Thermocraft. It's been great for me, and Canadian made.


For that size garage electric heat is going to be really expensive to run. I've got a 50,000BTU gas heater for 22x32'. You might want to go one size bigger, but it heats mine up quickly, and can maintain the heat no problem. The heater itself is fairly cheap, I think $750 with a ceiling vent? Ge the gas line put in at construction time and it won't be that big a cost, unless you have a tricky situation getting it from the house.

Thanks - gas will be re-run to meter from garage so we are good there. Also good advice on venting. We will have adequate venting out of the space to ensure no CO2 issues. Also running a dehumidifier in there anyway.

Wow - that is quite cheap versus inslab where it I getting quotes close to $20K when you consider the extra concrete needed and materials for the coils.

[Leondros]

Originally Posted by speede5

In-floor is the way to go hands down and as someone who has had it, I think it's worth every penny. my thoughts;

1. Do you need extra concrete? I did my slab 4" but i spaced my rebar at 12" vs 24 or something like that. I also layed down 2" styro between the rock and the concrete as an insulating layer, which you're already planning.

2. The tubing in the floor only added about $600 to the pour. I layed it myself after the contractors had set up the re-bar. I had three loops of ~150' in a 22x24 garage. my memory is foggy on the numbers.

3. I did mine many years ago and was using a water heater and circ pump. which was very inefficient but still wasn't crazy expensive to run. A proper boiler and pump system would be very efficient. If you're already considering a boiler what is the difference between a coil and running it through the floor.

4. No other heat source will warm up the concrete and it will just be a big heat sink. Depends what you're doing out there, mine is my second home, but laying on the floor in winter and cold soaked feet really suck. I had another big garage with a air heater and one side of the building was always really cold compared to the other, and the thing would cycle a lot. That was 25 years ago though maybe they've made some improvements on that issue.

5. Once the slab is heated it is amazing how fast it recovers when a door is opened. Also if you are in and out with a vehicle any snow/water that melts off is evaporated overnight. And every corner of the building is the same temp. Another bonus is the door never freezes to the slab.



All that said I am in another house now and am installing an overhead gas heater before next winter as I just have a little 220 electric hanger right now. (don't ask about that power bill!). I'm sure the overhead gas will be just fine and I'll be able to work in there all winter but if I was ever pouring I would at least throw the lines in for a future upgrade.

At the end of the day your budget is the driver. If you aren't in there all the time best bang for the buck is the gas heater.

Thanks - I will have to revisit why my quotes were so high from my builder. My hope is that if I am insulating the slab and it is far enough under ground that the heater should but able to atleast make it comfortable. My garage isn't necessarily going to be a second home but I forsee spending a decent amount of time in it.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Leondros

Thanks - I will have to revisit why my quotes were so high from my builder. My hope is that if I am insulating the slab and it is far enough under ground that the heater should but able to atleast make it comfortable. My garage isn't necessarily going to be a second home but I forsee spending a decent amount of time in it.

Yes it's quite possible there are some codes I am not aware of. I am not a licensed contractor and wouldn't be up on the latest rules.

[Titan2]

Just an anecdote on the infloor heater. My uncle sells the in slab heaters for parking garages so the slope doesn't freeze. He put one of the boilers in his house and uses it to keep all the sidewalks and driveway free of snow. He has a pool and said he can fill his pool with hot water if he wants to. His boiler room looks like it is a submarine!

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Leondros

Thanks - gas will be re-run to meter from garage so we are good there. Also good advice on venting. We will have adequate venting out of the space to ensure no CO2 issues. Also running a dehumidifier in there anyway.

Wow - that is quite cheap versus inslab where it I getting quotes close to $20K when you consider the extra concrete needed and materials for the coils.

Could it be a GTFO quote? Like, they have no interest in doing it at all and are trying to use price to dissuade you? (But will do it for the stupid 5-10 times quoted price if you somehow are crazy enough to accept?)

[kevman]

Originally Posted by nik-

How are you doing your trusses so with a 15' max peak you're getting 12' at the edges? I'm curious how people are pulling this off with the slope requirement.

We've got a 16' high peak planned. (Approved DP)

Both the 16' peak and 12' eaves are bylaw relaxations. We needed the ceiling height to get an 11' high door installed so we could park our camper van in the garage. Not having to drain the water between winter trips is a small luxury we're apparently willing to spend a fortune on. Haha

[Fuzz]

Just curious for the relaxations, was it much of a fight? Or did you just hand over the plan and they saw it as no big deal?

[kevman]

Fight with the city? No. They saw the relaxations as minor and approved the DP without any issue. (We're also in a neighbourhood zoned for multi-residential with a max building height of 12-16m so our garage is still pretty tiny in comparison.)

Fight with one of our neighbours? Oh yeah, that was a doozy and it ended up at the SDAB.


Fuzz, I noticed in some of your earlier photos you had insulated on the exterior of the slab. Was that a requirement from your engineer or did you add that for heating efficiency? Our slab is 650 sq. ft. so we also needed an engineered slab and they came back with insulation up the pony wall and out 2'. Due to some lot constraints going out 2' isn't possible so we're looking at second opinions.

It's funny because if our garage was 2' shorter we wouldn't need an engineer at all and could get away with a monolithic slab. Now we have a giant thickened edge and an insulation skirt around the whole thing. That's an expensive 2'.

[Fuzz]

I didn't think the insulation was a requirement. I just looked at my engineering drawings and it isn't noted there. I wanted it to hold the heat in, and it wasn't a huge cost so figured it was worth it, but I only did 1".

[kevman]

Can you share who you used for the engineered drawing?

[Fuzz]

I could, but he was not good at listening and made my planning miserable for a month...so I won't post publicly.

[CroFlames]

What sheen of paint do you guys use in your garages? I'm thinking semi-gloss or satin, but leaning toward semi-gloss so it's easier to wipe if necessary. Also should you do a different sheen on ceiling vs walls?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

How sick is this garage / hanger? All yours + a vacation home in BC for $850K.

This home has the nicest hangar/garage of all! Boasting almost 3000 sq feet this beauty is heated with a radiant propane heating system and has 24 by 12ft garage doors that you can taxi your aircraft in on your paved driveway from the airstrip along with another two other doors for your vehicles and/or large RV.

Look at the riding mower for comparison





https://www.remax.ca/bc/fairmont-hot...4-25122913-lst

Reach for the stars Fuzz....

[Fuzz]

My retirement garage...

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

How sick is this garage / hanger? All yours + a vacation home in BC for $850K.



Look at the riding mower for comparison





https://www.remax.ca/bc/fairmont-hot...4-25122913-lst

Reach for the stars Fuzz....

[CroFlames]

Bumping this thread for two reasons:

1. Never pass up a chance to take a shot at Fuzz's build.

2. Any cool garage organizational hacks?


I used to keep my #### so neat and tidy - but with growing kids, I am drowning in "stuff". What do you do with seasonal kids crap? Tools? Seriously considering a shed just for kids crap.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Bumping this thread for two reasons:

1. Never pass up a chance to take a shot at Fuzz's build.

2. Any cool garage organizational hacks?


I used to keep my #### so neat and tidy - but with growing kids, I am drowning in "stuff". What do you do with seasonal kids crap? Tools? Seriously considering a shed just for kids crap.

I installed a Proslat set up for tools and stuff. Seasonal stuff I put into dust proof bins, label them and cycle them back and forth between the shed vs permanent storage in the garage once every few months. For loose items, freezer bags, vacuum seal large bags, duffel bags, zippable bags etc. help a ton to reduce size/space and improve collecting the item you need (ie: no loose pieces of lawn games, hats in a bag, gloves in a different bag, tools/bits/parts separated and categories in snack bags to freezer bags/both etc.).

I am planning on installing more vertical storage this summer. I too contemplated a second shed for all of the #### that's accumulating, but I think I might be OK.

Do you WFH? The trunk or inside of the vehicle is also good place to temporarily store things, especially kids toys, bikes etc. and stuff. Yes fuel economy goes down a smidge, but not enough to worry about vs the cost of more storage. Plus sometimes you go to a park and you're like, "Oh! I have the folding chairs/bike/toys etc. we can use because I forgot to clear out of the vehicle before we came!"

Also, throw #### out/sell it and buy more compact options (ie: tools etc.). I'm a pack rat, but this has been pretty key to resolving limited storage space issues.

[Hanni]

How DIY capable are you? Ceiling mounted racks, shelves, hangars are all doable yourself for much cheaper than buying.

I built a version of these over my garage door which are fantastic for Christmas decorations, kids sports equipment in the off season, etc https://jayscustomcreations.com/2014...e-garage-door/

Also have one of these and it's great for heavier items, tires and such https://www.costco.ca/saferacks-4-ft...100718503.html

I used scrap 2x4's screwed horizontal to the wall studs which allows for more hanging space, throw a bunch of these on there and you can hold all your shovels, rakes, axe, etc https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are great for extension cords and small tools https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I built these shelves years ago and they are amazing, quite a bit of work but they work really well https://woodgears.ca/shelves/garage.html

[CroFlames]

Great stuff fellas, keep it coming.

The metal coscto storage unit is much more attractive than 2x4s and plywood, but pricey.

I was actually thinking about building a bit of a mezzanine type of deal above where the car gets parked. I would classify myself as above average DIYer.