The heater/AC units found in motels are called PTAC units. We installed one in our newly finished attic and it was about $1,500 installed. Expanding the existing duct system would tax the existing HVAC system too much. We have been very happy with the PTAC.
I would go with the PTAC or some type of propane unit.
- Douglas
TrainsRMe1I'm not sure what kind heating I want for the room, can anybody give me a clue????
I have a brother who lives in the lower peninsula of Michigan. Now I have only been there one time in the Winter--Jan, '77--but while I was there they had several days with the temperature hovering around 0°F and we had one of those "lake snow" storms blow through which deposited about a foot of very wet snow--coming from the high Rockies I'm not used to wet snow. He has a detached garage with an upper room and he has a natural gas heater on the bottom level. He had a can of water with a thermometer in it sitting on a workbend and he told me that he did not fire this heater up until the water temperature in that can dropped to about 45°F which he said, if it had reached that temperature by the time he retired at about 11 o'clock, it was indicative that the overnight temperature was likely to drop below freezing inside the garage.
NW Oregon covers a lot of geography. If you are up in the Coast Range you are likely to get low temps and heavy snows; if, on the other hand you, are in Tillamook--my wife lived there for several years in the '80s--or Seaside your major problem in the Winter is going to be rain-laced wind which is not in itself particularly cold but which sure as aitch feels like it. I have never been in Portland in the summer when the temp was out of the '80s but my wife has a son lives in Hillsboro and he kept us informed of that hot spell you people had this summer.
Insulation is essential in your case but what you need to do is touch base with a consultant who can advise you for what you are going to need for heating in the Wintertime; I am not, of course, going to advise you to install, say, a 10,000BTU system or something like that but you do need to remember that even thought your Wintertime temps may possibly reach extremes installing a system based upon what might occur could easily result in a bit of overkill. Down here in the Desest Southwest we have had several days in the last twenty years when the temperature has reached 122°F but this past summer we only had about ten days where the temp reach 115°F or higher--and not too much higherat that. The normal Apr-Sep high temp is about 108°F were I installing a new A/C system I would install to cover that temperature.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Before covering the cement with a faux floor, you might want to seal the cement itself first, other wise you could have cement dust coming through the floor.
Just a thought.
Gordon
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
If you have propane or natural gas available, a Ranai heater is good. We put one in the cellar which gets cold in Maine winters. It does a good job and is designed to be installed (by a licenced installer) with little fuss. It is direct vent throught the wall.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I would suggest the vapor barrier go on top of the insulation, under the drywall; otherwise you will get moisture into the insulation, which is never a good thing...Gary
Hey All,
Thanks for the info, I feel I"m ready to get started on the insulation, thanks, The vopor barriers would work just perfect, if there's ANYTHING else I need to now Please let me know!!!!!
Smooth tracks Great LIFE---- Trainsrme1
Insulation will do a lot to making the place comfortable. After you insulate, a nice drywall installation and tape the joints will inprove the looks of the place and keep the dust down. You want to stop the drafts, those are air leaks to the outside and can make a place cold no matter how strong your heater is. Dunno how good your windows are, but putting up storm windows is also a big heat saver, and cheaper than new windows.
I have had bad experiences with the combined heat/cool heatpump installations as far north as you are. On cold days they don't furnish enough heat, and tend to freeze up while trying. I had one in Gulfport Mississippi and it froze solid on every cold day. And it doesn't get all that cold in Gulfport. No one installs them up here in New Hampshire. I'd also be dubious about extending your house heating system to a detached garage. I'd worry that it didn't throw enough heat for both buildings and you wind up with a cold house and much higher fuel bills. SWMBO could become very difficult about both issues.
I'd look for a combusion heater of some kind, kerosene, propane or heating oil. I'd also double check into the safety instructions/regulations about chimney's, mounting distance from flammable surfaces, fuel tank location and other fire safety issues. Up here most people put the fuel tank indoors 'cause it gets so cold as to gel the furnace oil to the point it won't flow and chill the propane so much it liquifies and won't burn.
You also want to talk to a real expert, some one who does this sort of thing as a day job. Local knowledge is important.
It's cheaper to just heat the place when you are using it and turn the heat way down, or off, when you are away, taking a break from model railroading, or what ever. If you have plumbing, you want to shut the water off and drain the pipes when in low heat/no heat mode.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Well there isn't much you can do with the floor other then put a sub floor on top of it and then carpet over top the sub floor. This is if the garage is no longer going to be used for vehicle storage. If that is the case then you can save some money on the doors by of course insulating the entire garage even the ceiling joist of the loft and drywall the entire garage and tape & spackle the drywall as air leaks cause drafts and believe it or not you will get air leaks from not taping seams. But back it up a step and before you insulate and drywall put a vapor barrier between the insulation and the outside wall and on the floor as well if you are going to install a sub-floor. It will keep out the moisture from the ground which intern will make the rest of the room cold. When you get to the garage doors If they are no longer going to be used I would simply put the vapor barrier over them and then insulate and drywall right over the top of them so form the outside you see garage doors but on the inside you see bare walls. You have many option to choose form when it comes to HVAC. the simplest would be a heat pump set up or you could have a stand alone HVAC unit. It all depends on how much you have to spend. It sounds like your staring off with a basic stick build structure so you have a lot of work ahead of you if you want to make it a comfortable train room. Think of it the same way as if you were going to make it a den or family room etc. noting different except your trains.
Here's a more detailed description, the garage is detached, at the present time it's not insulated, the floor right now is cement,we have a high ceiling with a loft, we live in NW Oregon, where in the winter we can have heavy rains and wind to (at least last winter) Heavy snow and BITTER cold, the summers here can be mild, highs to the mid 80's, but also, we can have heat waves with temps reaching 100, I hope this info helps
Allegheny 2-6-6-6 brings up a good point about insulated garage doors. My parents have two of them installed and they make a world of difference. My mother drives her car in in the evening and the next morning the garage is about 15 degrees warmer than the air outside the following morning. It is great when those cold Kansas winters come but not so good in those hot Kansas summers.
Either way, I think you get the idea.
Will
Depending on weather or not you have a attached or detached garage make a heck of a lot of difference as well as what type of HVAC system you have in your house. Do you have forced hot air heating, baseboard, steam, electric etc. If you have a forced hot air system then sending another duct to the garage in some cases is no big deal but again even at that you will need to consider an insulated garage door and check the size of your system. If it's too small you can over tax your system causing expensive problems. Your best bet is to consult a professional to get the right answer.
If you want simplicity, without a lot of the hassels also depending on where you are in the country you may want to look into a heat pump system which are a self contained vent-less unit. Again you asking a question that is hard to answer with the information you've given.
If you have the enough electrical capacity in your home, you can use one of those units that a combination heater/air conditioner that are found in many hotels. I am not sure of their price or what their energy savings are. You could do a Google search and learn.
You may be able to add some duct work from your existing heating/AC system. However your system may already be at the maximum square feet it is designed for.
I am no contractor so I only wrote what I know from other people's suggestions. You might want to get an opinion from a professional on this issue.
This is Trainsrme1, from the nscale newsdesk,
Today was a very productive day, we cleaned out the loft, boy was there a lot of dust upthere!, we found a old "Blitz Wheinhard" stubbies 6 pack carton! man! also a dump run was made, all of the summer furniture will fit in the loft, the main layout area is almost clear, I'm looking for some flooring to cover the cement, the walls and ceiling will be insulated, there's two windows in the back of the garage/trainroom now, I want to install more modern windows energy effencient of course!. Track lighting will be installed also, I'm not sure what kind heating I want for the room, can anybody give me a clue???? thanks for your help, stay tuned for more reports