I cant take it any more! I need to work on my car.These minnesota winters are too long and it just started. I need some help in brainstorming on how I can work on my model a in a single car garage that has little if any inslation(to keep the heat in) and no power! I HATE apartments! I think I am **** out of luck. Still I am open to any suggestions
I'm hearing you loud and clear buddy...Wisconsin winters **** it up with the best of 'em....Here's a cheap idea... If you can find someone that does house demolition...you could talk yourself into some free used insulation, otherwise...Go to your local home improvement store...buy some rolls of insulation - enough to do the walls...put it in the walls and fasten it good enough so that it stays put, but not so good that you couldn't remove it...I guessing you're gonna move outta that apartment at some point, so you might as well keep the **** that you paid for, right? Also buy some sheets of that shiny backed insulation sheeting...you know, the stuff that is in the shape of a piece of plywood...can't think of it's real name, but hopefully you get my drift...Use this stuff to do the ceiling with...you can use some nailts with big sheetmetal washers to secure the stuff to the rafters...the washers distribute the load better...you can also use this sheeting stuff on the inside of your garage door if it's not insulated...Now you're insulated...next up is power. You have two options...run an extension cord from your apt., or run a generator outside of the garage and run a cord in from that. You should be able to heat the garage EASILY with one of those torpedo style kerosene heaters after you've got it insulated, and you won't need to run the heater constantly either...
That's the big dilemma of the car hobby. If you live in the northern states where winters are cold and bad- you need a heated garage at least 2-bays to continue the hobby in the winter. Add the taxes, heat, overhead on the building- it becomes very expensive indeed. My solution has been- find friends with large garages and ask them if you can borrow the garage. Or rent a space somewhere. Your only other option is, add on to your garage, and invest in insulation and a good heating system.
Talk with the person that owns the property,they may be willing to split the cost of insulating the place. free labor, improvement to property,raise rent to next occupant.if that is not in the cards, just do it. I had a place in upper mich ,same deal, they jumped on it. I used one of the torpedo, dry wall heaters. it worked.
Torpedo heaters are cheap new, and cheaper used. Go to a pawn shop and grab one, or ask for one for Christmas. The expensive part is the gas, but if you can plan out your day, and keep the projects rolling, then you won't be standing around wasting gas... Just my $.02
The insulation you need is called celotex, It comes in 2 thicknesses, 2in and 4 in, and in sheets 4feet by 8, 2in should do you, cover the walls and ceiling and keep a piece to sit/lie on, It's so good it's actually warm to touch. It's also diffcult to burn (ok once alight it burns well so be carefull!!). it's also quite expesive compaired to loose fibre or polystyreen insulation but the advantage is you can (and will ) take it with you when you move.. A small generator is the best idea as again you can take it away and they are just soo useful. I have a single garage and an A, to work on it I have to get it right over one side and then work on the other see pic. Heating, a small bottled gas heater rather than a blow heater is best, if your garage is as small as mine the a blow heater just wouldn't work (trust me I have tried it).
I used to live in MN. I loved it there. I got spoiled when I lived at home. My parents had a nice two car garage, uheated, but lots of tools, and room for the torch and a 220v plug for the Lincoln arc. I always ***umed wherever I settled that I would have at least that, and the time to enjoy it. WRONG! I'm now in Northern California (close enough to feel the 'quake yesterday). I'm so envious of my friends back in MN. They have HUGE places. And thre car garages. There are tradeoffs wherever you are. In order to even buy a tiny house out here, I had to get one without a garage, and no room to build one. In MN, if you're willing to drive a little, buy an acre out in farm country. Put up a pole building. Work there. Set up a partnership with some buddies in the same situation and share the shop. Heck, even call it a business and check with your IRS guy about getting a tax writeoff. Half an acre out here is at least half a million, depending on the area. It is just insane out here with no signs of letting up.
Hahaha...."only" he says....it's "only" 16 degrees here right now...and it's supposed to be colder soon....
North Iowa winters **** just as bad. Winter in general just ****s. I'm in a town that has had the same population for the past four decades. Nobody stays around here when they retire and the baby boomers are really starting to retire en m***e. The first thing I'm going to do when I'm done working here is pick up my snow shovel and start walking south. The first person I meet that says "hey watcha got there?" I'll stop because I have found my new home!
That's why there's usually almost as many Minnesota license plates on cars in Phoenix right now as there are Arizona plates... (Although the ratio has dwindled in favor of home plates in the past decade. Is that because the "snowbirds" are dying off and there isn't a younger generation of "snowbirds"? Did they just decide to not go back up North?)
I wish it was up to 43 here....at 4500 ft we get a bit chilly. Still, I'm damn thankful my folks moved from Minnesota to Arizona when I was 2
its getting cold here too and gonna get colder i have no heat in mine but last winter i put heavy plastic all around the windows and my double doors ( have small side one for entrance ) and it made a big difference (plus lots of seagrams83 (whiskey)
I know what you cold guys are talkin about. I just looked outside, and it's a frigid 62, my florescent lights won't even come on in the garage. I'm staying inside today and help my wife with xmas decorations.
For heat, try a barrel stove...made out of a heavy duty 55 ga; drum. There are kits to make these but if you are handy you can make one. Firewood is where you find it, trim trees for neighbors, salvage s**** from construction sites etc. Stock up on it thru the summer. Old skids are great too...lots of places will give these away. Insulsate as recommended earlier and you'll be toasty w/ a barrel stove. That's all I had in my shop for years. Good luck.
Much the same in Iowa...I was in Phoenix over Thanksgiving...sun and temps in the 80's...what the hell are we doing here.
You are "here" because you don't want to deal with the 115 for 4 months in the summer. Funny thing about a one stall garage, don't take much to warm it up to a workable temprature. Now, no electric, that would be a problem. Years ago, when I rented an apartment I also rented a small garage that had electric. That garage was so small I had to push the car out of it to work on the car! I rented that garage for 3-4 years before I stepped up to a bigger rented garage. With the small garage, if it snowed, I had to shovel a path, push the car out of the garage, streach out the extension cord, and do what ever I had to do. Then I had to roll up the extension cord, and push the car back in the garage before I could go home. I think a lot of you guys are turning into a big bunch of ***** waists. Man it up and get out there and get to work. What did I do today, you ask? Um, nothing. I went out into my 24 x 30 heated shop, but the thermostat was turned down to 62, and it would have taken a 1/2 hour or more to warm up to 70. I was cold in my sweat shirt, and jacket, so I went back in the house and took a nap. As I get older, fatter, and lazier, I find my priorities have changed. BTW, the garage where my 37 is has no heat, but has electric. It is mostly underground, so its like 50 in there all the time. Right now I don't have the money to get started on the 37, maybe next year will be better. Gene
Ive made having a warm shop to work in a priority, when i was 18 i rented a 2 car heated garage with my buddy, it had 220 and a very nice heater, only cost me $75 and my buddy $75 good deal! i built my 31 ford tudor in that garage, the lady we rented from was way cool about us working in there, sometimes if i was loud id go ask her if we were being loud, shed sahy "what, i didnt know you guys were even out there!" then when i bought my new house the garage was finished 28x32 and it even had central air! i was spoiled. At my new house we had 2 garages to heat and insulate, my girlfreind does upholsty full time out of the 2 car garage, and i puts on my s**** metal out of my 28x36 garage, now thats it insulated and heated! good luck to you. I guess the best thing i can tell you it to put plastic poly up it will hold in alot of heat and would be easy to remove if need be. The ceiling more importantly. JEFF
oh **** that video is so funny wingnutz as far as heat and electric goes run a cord and wear thick coveralls thats what i do at least your out the wind
wingnutz, thanks for posting that video, I almost fell out of the chair laughing. With work being as busy as it is, I needed a good chuckle. Nik
I'm going to ***ume you're a younger fella since you're in an apartment. What you need to do is start looking for a hot **** who just got divorced and was awarded the house in the settlement. If she's hot, she probably married well enough that the house she got to keep has at least a two car garage. I can say this from experience as my first wife got the house, but I got to keep the cars. Fair trade to me. Nik
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