how to air condition my shop

Luckily it is already insulated and has lots of electric plugs. That's what gave me the idea in the first place.

So in summary of all this, I cannot hook it up to the central AC of my home without jumping through alot of hoops.





So now the question of this thread becomes: i want to cool the shop. I want to do it as inexpensively, and with modifying or cutting/drilling as little as possible, and without violating any code. What method should I use?

The alternatives proposed have been:

1. window units - I do not have a window, and I am not willing to cut a large hole in an exterior wall.

2. portable AC unit - I've heard they perform questionably, but I'd like to hear input from someone who has one. Also wondering if I can run the exhaust into the attic rather than cutting a hole in the wall or door.

3. ductless AC units - the most intriguing so far. Wondering if I can do this myself or if it would need professional installation.

any others?

 

Ya... City code doesn't restrict paint, but HOAs will.
The HOA will keep the local Goth kids from painting their house black with red woodwork and a big pentagram on the garage door.

Yup. Anything with a vertical component, and normally anything attached to the building needs a permit.
Concrete may or may not. In most cities, basic slabs without water or power lines running through or under them do not need a permit... but in my city, any slab over 100 square feet does require a permit.

I did my back yard in 4 sections, spanning about 6 years, keeping each of the 3 slabs and the planter below 90 square feet (my back yard is only 15x15ft). The first was a simple 3ft x 11ft slab to have a place for a tool cabinet and trash cans.
Later decided to get rid of the railroad ties that provided the pad for the BBQ, so I built an elevated slab for that and a picnic table.
SWMBO wanted a new planter, so I moved to the other side and built a basic concrete "box" and covered it with tile.

The following year, we decided to eliminate the last area of grass, since it was really too small to call a "lawn" and was a pain to take care of, so I filled in the area between the planter and the elevated slab and put in a mosaic sunburst.

Moved the table to the center of the sunburst, and brought in a portable spa for the elevated pad.
The only place where I skirted code was on the cover over the spa.

Here's the sunburst and you can see the edge of the elevated slab and part of the planter.

 

"I love living in a neighborhood with an HOA. They force my neighbors to mow their lawns, can't park vehicles in the street for an extended period of time, no political signs in the yard, etc. Well worth the $20 a month.

My last house also had one. I lived out in the the country and the big value to the HOA was that it was illegal to fire a gun for target practice outside. Saves you from the neighbor who doesn't give a shit about your peace and quiet. Also one of my neighbors didn't mow his lawn so when I was selling my house I just called the HOA, told them, and they mowed it for him and sent him a bill.

In an oil boom town like this one, any subdivision that you enter that doesn't have an HOA looks like shit, even if it's brand new, because people dont care...they are just here for a quick buck and when the bust hits they leave."

Like I said - learn something new every day. My neighborhood is pretty quiet but it would be nice to force the neighbors to fix their septic system - very nice as a matter of fact.

 

I considered that long before posting this. The hot water heater, furnace, etc are all in the two car garage, which is sealed off from the insulated one car garage.

The ductless one does sound like the best option so far. just not positive where i would put the outside unit.

 

Keith , dumping conditioned air into the attic and not venting it to the exterior is NFG here but that may be different in your climate

 

Can you explain further? My attic has 6 or 7 vents just above the shop alone.

 

That answer was to the guy I quoted who didn't understand what the big deal was.

Agreed... Window is out.
Ductless is going to need professional installation since the system will need to be purged (normally, the compressor is pre-charged, so the connections are soldered and the valve is opened, that fills the coil, but air should be purged)
Another issue with both ductless and portable is drainage for the coil.
I don't know how it is handled on the ductless units, but it might require another small hole near the foundation. Portables, like I said, I would imagine they have a pan that needs to be manually dumped.

On the portable, you could vent it into the attic, but I would absolutely supplement that with an attic fan. Heat rises and will collect at the peak. The eave vents don't provide much ventilation at all.
If you have a gable vent (side of the house near the peak), that is a perfect place to install an attic fan. That will forcibly vent the hot air from the top of the attic and draw in cooler air through the eave vents... it'll make the AC's job easier.

 

I think I would do this, actually. The only concern then is separating (slowing down) potential fire from the living space. If you're not storing flammables in there, then I would say game on. You're supposed to have a return air register in place anywhere you want conditioned air to flow, but I doubt the house or garage is sealed up tight enough for that to be a must, and you don't want shop smells or dust in your house anyway.

 

Roof vents act to exhaust the air trapped in the attic . Outside air is drawn in from the soffits and exits by way of the roof vents by way of a convection current . Essentially this exchanges the air in your attic .

Attic air is meant to be the same temperature as the outside air , introducing heated , moisture laden air from bathroom or kitchen exhausts , can cause a condensation issue on the underside of the roof decking ( plywood ) contributing to mould growth

As I said before , probably more of an issue in a heating climate like ours as the relative temperature differences between inside and outside would be greater

 

thanks Rich that's really helpful.

Perhaps I could pipe it so that the exhaust comes directly out of one of the eaves vents?

That makes sense. I'm not too concerned with moisture in this particular application since it will only be the shop, and not a bathroom or kitchen , that it is venting from. Also, the humidity around here is routinely in the single digits so the exhaust would not have a high moisture content to begin with I would think.

 

Hot air doesn't like to go down without a fan to help it.

 

Pop your head up into that attic space... there should be a stucco or other heavy wall that goes all the way to the roof (would be the same material as the main wall).

That is a fire wall. Most older homes were stucco, but more modern homes may just use heavy drywall.

Be sure that you verify what it is and are able to not only block the hole in the ceiling but also repair the hole in the firewall to a building inspector's satisfaction.

 

True but if I sealed it, wouldn't it have no choice? I'm thinking of running the duct work all the way up to and over the vents. It would blow out at some velocity, from the fan inside the unit right?

 

That sunburst came out really nice Rich, how long that take to put down? There is kind of a before and after of my house in my photo gallery, although the after is my house during Christmas, kinda dark, but you can see the porch roof I put on, and the other changes I have done.

And Keith, I would maybe call some people to see what one of those ductless systems cost to install, can't hurt to do that. Cause that sounds like it would be your best cooling option. And if to much, can't hurt to try a portable one. You could just put in like a dryer vent also to vent a portable unit. I think the tube to vent those is about dryer size.

 

I had done the slab the previous weekend, and I started the Saltillo probably around 10am.
Got the bulk of the Saltillo done except for the square around the sun, then I cut a piece of wonderboard into a circle to raise the circle so the colored tile would be the same height as the Saltillo.
Stuck that down and then got to work cutting the Saltillo to fit around the circle.

Took a break and went to Chili's while we waited for the thin set to set up enough to get back to work.
Got back on it probably around 6 and we just sat out there smashing colored tiles, seeing how they fit, trimming with the nippers, and sticking them down. We probably spent another 6 hours finishing it up, so total actual working time was probably around 12 hours not counting breaks.


I like Saltillo.
I have a lot of respect for guys that can do good flatwork.
My flatwork sucks... but Saltillo is forgiving enough to lay over Jimmy Hoffa.

 

Really sweet house!

I like the original shrubs surrounding the porch area, but I tend to be a private type at home.

 

Nice, good job!

Thanks man, and lol, those bushes where the 1st to go. The lady before me did'nt get along with my neighbors, so thats probably why she had them, meanwhile, I love my neighbors.

 

Any feedback on this anyone?

 

Just wanted to repost this Keith, incase you missed it. Might not be a bad Idea for the dryer vent route for the portable unit, the more I think about it. A hole would need cut, but obviously nothing huge.

 

Ah, I did miss that. Thanks.

The units themselves look to be $6-800, without install. Might be a bit too steep. The portable is my favorite option if I can find one that has enough power.

This one is inexpensive and has good reviews:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=UTK5T_3FC6WC2wXU0Yi0CQ&ved=0CKUBEPMCMAI