Unfinished basement, starting detached garage in spring. Need heating ideas.

brizzle55555

Looking for different ideas to heat a detached garage that I will be building in the spring.
I enjoy radiant heating in a garage as it warms the space and the floor is a good temperature when working under cars etc.

Originally I was thinking of running a separate gas line and installing a single zone boiler in the garage.
I am a little hesitant on this as this is not my forever home and it will cost a lot more than a forced air furnace.

Another option I thought of but am not too sure if it is possible is if I could have a boiler installed in my basement and run one zone underground the the detached garage (22'x24') and use a second zone to heat the basement. I currently do not have a coil in the basement slab but I believe there are options to install one on top and either pour a gypsum or concrete on top.

I figured this would be less expensive in the long run rather than installing 2 separate boilers. This also eliminates running a gas line underground but will instead need to run some Pex out to the garage.

Also I am located in Alberta, Canada so it does get cold outside (in case that changes anything for running lines underground outside.)

If this is possible or if there are any better suggestions I'm open to anything.

Thanks,

Jamie Hall

"And the wind sure can blow cold, way out there" (Ian Tyson).

Your least expensive solution, seems to me, will probably be forced air, or even barn type unit heaters. The floor won't be warm, though -- but if you keep the interior temperature up after a fashion, it won't be too bad.

What is the distance from the house to the garage? You could run piping out there and radiant pipes in the slab. If the garage is well insulated, you could probably get enough heat that way. You would have to insulate those lines, though, even if you buried them fairly deep.

brizzle55555

The edge of the garage will be about 10 feet from the edge of the house on the walk out basement side.

Jamie Hall

I'm old and creaky. 10 feet isn't that far. I have to admit that I'd very seriously consider putting an enclosed passage out to the garage. And putting radiant heat into it's floor and into the garage floor, firing the whole lot off of one boiler in the basement. You would need to insulate like mad or your fuel costs will be rather high, and the installation costs would be more than the forced air -- but at least some of it might be recoverable in terms of added value on the house.

Do your heat loss calculations very carefully!

BobC

Think about this very carefully, that boiler is going to have to fire many hours every day just to keep the water lines from freezing and you will probably have to use industrial grade insulation rated for direct burial.

Get someone competent to do the design, if the design is not up to snuff it will just be thousands of dollars down the hole.

Bob

Zman

I like the idea of the boiler in the basement.
This is the way to do the underground pipe.
https://www.rehau.com/us-en/mechanical-and-plumbing/pre-insulated-pex-piping/insulpex

Paul48

Personally.....I'd go cheap on the heat, and put a 2-post lift in the garage, but then, I'm not a heating contractor, I'm a machinist.

leonz

If it were me I would be using one pipe steam from the basement or simple propane fired wall mounted floor heaters.

1. insulate the exterior of the block foundation with foil faced insulation board above the ground level after the garage floor drains installed and the foundation footer is cured.
2. Install the vapor barrier and 2 inch insulation board in the floor before installing the steel mesh for the concrete floor.
3. install the heavy steel mesh for the garage foundation floor and around the foundation drains.
4. Use a sand mix concrete with 3-5,00 Lb. strength for the floor if available.

5. after the pour is done lay down heavy canvas tarps and lay a thick layer of straw and irrigate the pour with a simple fan type lawn sprinkler for several hours a day to help it cure to very strong concrete for at least a 2 week period.

6. With your climate you would want 2 by 12 side walls and ceiling joists to have a thick layer of reflective fiberglass insulation with a vapor barrier in the walls and ceiling.

7. if you avoid installing wiring runs in the ceiling joists and garage walls you can avoid having places for cold air to enter garage and it will cost less in labor and parts.

8. having the garage outlets and ceiling lights wired with BX is OK and the BX can be painted

9. plan on buying an 2 car wide insulated overhead door.

10. a single overhead door will reduce the work needed to finish the rough carpentry for the garage as no center upright sill plate , studs and fire stop plates will be needed and will reduce the expense for the door as a second set of door tracks and door opener will not be needed.

11. A very small boiler the size of typewriter table can be used to heat the garage and the enclosed walkway using a floor mounted radiator that would permit the use of a one pipe steam system feeding the garage.
a. The single steam line coming from the walkway will feed the garage heating system.

12. you can use one or two steam to forced air garage heaters to heat your garage with one near the door and the second near the opposite end of the garage with smaller piping.

13. The advantage for steam is that it creates heat by expanding one ounce of water 1,700 times to create the low pressure heat energy at 1-1.5 PSIG to feed the radiators with one pipe steam if I remember my math correctly.

Whatever you do you have to use the Canadian plumbing code
and electrical code with your local codes as required.

Big_Finner

Hi Leonz,

I am planning to use ICF foundation walls around the perimeter of a garage with a suite above that I am building. I am wondering if you or someone else can recommend the best way to create a thermal break between the garage floor and where the double garage door will be and outside pad continue?

Zman

Big_Finner said:

Hi Leonz,

I am planning to use ICF foundation walls around the perimeter of a garage with a suite above that I am building. I am wondering if you or someone else can recommend the best way to create a thermal break between the garage floor and where the double garage door will be and outside pad continue?

The post is drifting a bit...
@Big_Finner I like using 2" ridged on the vertical. I cut a 45 bevel on the top so the gap between the 2 slabs at the top is 1/2"

leonz

Can you afford a very small steam set up with two hanging steam to forced hot air heaters and a long radiator in your insulated enclosed walkway?

About your slab, what is commonly used or was used is the rolls of thick felt to separate the slabs of concrete when they are poured.

Wellness

If a toasty floor is what you're after, why don't you isolate an electric heat mat in thin-set on the concrete pour just in the area where you will be servicing your vehicles and use forced air for general heating. If you do, I'd put a polystyrene insulation under and around the sides of this area you are heating--both for expansion and if the wiring fails and you have to jack it out.

Zman

I think you answered your own question with "I am a little hesitant on this as this is not my forever home"

Just run a gas line over and hang one of these. http://www.supplyhouse.com/Modine-HD45AS0111-HD45-Hot-Dawg-Natural-Gas-Power-Vented-Heater-45000-BTU

No worries about freezing, just crank up the temp when you go out to work and turn it way down the rest of the time.