Have new house, want to tie AC/Heat into the new Garage. COST?

[Rain]

Just curious.
No insulation above the garage. Will inqurie as to the walls. Door is insulated.

When its 90+ all day long, its HOT in that garage. Want to be able to spend some time in there and trying to find the most cost efficient way to get heat and cooling in there.
Even if its just one vent and line split off from the House AC, it will be better than having nothing at all in there.

Anyone done this? Had it done? Know cost and process?

Thanks for any help you can pass along.
Rain

Engine Detail Day - no water involved!

 

[matchframe]

Is your garage detached from the house, or part of the house?

If it is part of the house, I would think you could split off one of the closer ducts, and run it to the garage. You might even look at your A/C unit, and you may have an opening available to attach a duct to. I had enclosed a porch for the kids to have a TV room, and found that I had one outlet available on my A/C unit to attach a duct to, and ran it over to the room, cut a hole in the ceiling for the vent. Worked very well! The biggest problem was dealing with the heat of the attic while working up there. Think I even lost a couple of pounds.

If your garage is detached, you will need to get another A/C unit, even if it is a wall unit. When I expanded my garage, I included a photography darkroom which needed to have A/C in order to keep the humidity down, so the chemicals would last. I had a 1 ton central air installed, and ran ducts to every room in the garage building. The vent over the garage bay, I leave closed unless it gets too hot to work in there. The central unit cost me about $3,000 installed. A wall unit will cost around $500-$600 at Sam's Club.

Hope this helps!

Bill :cool

 

[Rain]

Yes, , it does help. Thanks

The garage is attached. Will do some checking on the setup later today. Hope to be able to T off the current system.

Thanks again,
Rain

 

[paintdaddy]

I was going to do this recently but opted not to because the garage isnt insulated.Check that first,it maybe a waste of time.

 

[larryfs]

I just rip out my sheetrock and insulated my attached garage.
threw a space heater in there ..attached it to my boiler.
7 floursent fixtures. white paint.. kitchen cabenits all around.
nice.

it needs A/C still and I may throw a unit through the wall. or tap into my central a/c

 

[Mr.Cool]

This can be a very bad idea. If it is a fairly new house it will be tightly sealed and the ac system is going to be very closely matched to the design heat gain of the house. Even if you have extra capacity in the system your going to have to keep the door in the garage open to the rest of the house. If you don't your going to have a negative pressure in your house. Hot humid air from the outside will try to migrate through your walls to fill that vacuum. Then your going to have mold issues in your walls which can be a real nightmare. I think the best solution is to install a window shaker in your garage.

 

[larryfs]

for the most part, the vent will be closed. when it is open, yes you need makeup air, or leave the door open. I have a small amount of fresh air entering the system continuly anyway.

however consider the amount of times the front door is open when the kids goes in and out, it's not a problem.

though we all should consider the affect of a bathroom exhaust fan..and negative pressure.

nothing that can't be made up of air being sucked down the chimney ;-)

 

[JonM]

If you are going to insulate...use batts in the ceiling and walls if you have access. You can pump the walls and ceiling full of celulose insulation for next to nothing. All you will need is a one inch hole every four feet. Home Depot or Lowes will even loan you the machine. I can loan you the adaptor for the one inch hole.

 

[Rain]

Hi lift insulated garage door when in today.
Geni - 2 remotes. Bolted the manual lock in the the OPEN position to prevent accidental locking of it, then accidentally trying to open it.
Could spell a mess.

Will ask builder if ANY of the garage is insulated (walls). He already stated that there was none above it.

But today he did suggest the wall hotel style AC/heat unit. Anyone have a source for them ?

Thanks for everything guys
Rain(way way way too hot to be in the garage this summer)

 

[Interceptor430]

Rain - being on the Ms coast, I'd not really worry much about the winter heating issue. Heck, a propane gas grill will heat a large garage.
At a minimum, insulate over the ceiling, and install a
gable mounted exhaust fan in the attic...that will help reduce the heat radiating into the garage (and it'll make your roof tiles last years longer too).
Those hotel type a/c heat units are around $1K.
A window or wall mounted a/c unit can be had for $2-300.

 

[larryfs]

>>Heck, a propane gas grill will heat a large garage.<<

you might live a tad longer by using the car exhaust.

 

[Rain]

wow. Options.. Guess I could just wear an extra layer in winter, and be a nudist vette shadetree mechanic in the summer!
on second thought, the neighbors might really dissagree

Alas, the only windows are on the front side of the house with the garage.(20x21).
Have to let the landscapeing grow up a bit more to hide a windows unit.

But I really appreciate the options you all are passing along.

Rain

 

[Thumper]

When my wife and I built our new house three years ago, I went in the night before they sheetrocked and insulated all the walls and ceiling of the garage. My garage is approx. 1,000sf and it averages 20 degrees cooler in the summer and 20 degrees warmer in the winter. I wish that I had added A/C and Heat to the garage when the house was built, but I had already spent my upgrade money on the oversized garage. I use a space heater in the winter to make it a bit more tolerable (it doesn't get THAT cold in Texas in the winter), but I'm constructing a portable A/C unit to cool things off in the summer. I got the idea when our office A/C went out and the building supplied us with portable A/C units until they could get the problem fixed. Those things really put out the cold air. Industrial ones run $2,000 and up, so I'm stuck building my own. By the way, nice house.

 

[Tuna]

Another consideration 1: If you use your house's AC/heater system to cool/heat the garage, you need to consider what happens to the garage air when the heater/AC isn't running. Carbon monoxide from the cars will flow back through the ducting into the house - not a good thing.

#2: Some building codes do not allow this installation for the above reason. Even if you put some sort of flipper valve in the duct that closes when the AC/heater is not running.

That said, I had a 6" duct installed in my garage in an older home (2 houses ago by the way) and it did a wonderful job of keeping the garage cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter - as much as 20 degrees. I didn't have any shutoff valves in the duct either. The garage walls, ceiling and door were insulated. My ex still has the house, so I don't know if there will be any problems with selling the house.

 

[John Mcgraw]

While you could probably get away with doing this, it is a very bad idea! Most building codes would absolutely prohibit this and for very good reasons. The garage would be separated from the house by a minimum of 5/8" sheet rock if built to current standards, and this is to give you a fighting chance of escaping from the house in case of a garage fire. By cutting supply and return ducts through to the garage, you would be making a direct path for fire to spread to the main house! In addition, you would allow flammable fumes and Carbon Monoxide to spread to the house.
Spend the extra money and put in a dedicated unit for your garage, you will never regret it!
Regards, John McGraw

 

[Rain]

Thanks everyone,

Currently getting appliances in, plumber has another visit, then city inspection and I hope we move in!
Garage will get painted this next week too. floor -
Looked at the 2 part epoxy kit at Home Depot. Nice kit - cleaner, abraison stuff, flecks etc.
everything but the roller for 50-90$ . depending on color.

But sound slike the builder has a painter who does grey floor paint in his other homes.
Said he could put sand in it for some grip if I wanted. Said they had no prob with hot tires pullin up the paint. SO ill go with his guy.

Gonna try fans for now. Start researching small heat/cooling stand alone units if it gets too bad in there(which it will) haha

Just that the garage is 20x21, with hi lift garage door.

But open to suggestions!
Rain

 

[Interceptor430]

>>Heck, a propane gas grill will heat a large garage.<<

you might live a tad longer by using the car exhaust.

The Carbon Monoxide Alarm has never gone off in my shop, nor my garage from heating with the gas grill, and some weekends heat is on continuously......however, if I crank a car in there, the alarm will sound within 10 seconds.
Propane is safe.

 

[John Mcgraw]

You are exactly right! I use a propane infrared heater to heat the smaller of my two shops, which does not have heat, only A/C, and have never had a problem. Keep a CO detector out there, but have never had high levels.
Regards, John McGraw

 

[larryfs]

a propane infrared heater is designed to burn clean. a propane BBQ grill is NOT designed to burn clean and is designed to burn in an outdoor enviorment.

in any event, you should crack open a door or window for makeup Oxygen

 

[2tone81]

Have to side with the guys that say get a separate unit.

Not only will mold be an issue if you just tap the plenum for a garage run, you will also endanger yourself and your family by providing a path for fumes to migrate back through the ductwork from your garage. Think about it. That zone damper won't seal against that.

When your Vette's gas tank decides to start dripping for the first time while you're asleep...........well,you do the math!


Attached garages should never be used as body shops or welding fabrication shops. And care should be taken when using them for car maintenance.

Of course, we're all the KINGS of OUR Castles. Just as long as your next garage sale doesn't become a fire sale. Jim