AC or no, I'm not going into the shop this week!

[dbhost]

92 stinking degrees F in the shop. Nope, not gonna do it. I need more insulation, to replace my rollup door seals that are now blown out, and get rid of the now old portable AC and swap in a mini split heat pump.... At least 18,000 BTU....

I went out there to grab some drill bits to drill for drywall anchors in the network closet, and dang if the bit set wasn't hot...

[atgcpaul]

Just curious, do your tools rust in your shop? I hear the Houston area is very humid. Maybe that's an understatement.

When we stepped off the plane here 2 years ago, it was hot and humid (not as bad as SE Asia but approaching it) in October, but the airport is down at sea level close to the coast. We are nearly 1/2mile up, though, and 20 miles to the coast so it's actually fairly comfortable year-round (almost like inland San Diego). We are in the rainy season now and it is noticeably more humid than in the dry season, but still not as humid as when I lived in the DC area. I actually don't run the AC during the day except on the hotter days (upper 80s) when the afternoon heat and humidity build right before a rain storm.

What surprised me, though, is nearly all my steel tools have surface rust on them--clamps, screw driver bits, handplanes. My "shop" is in a large carport so it's fairly open, but rain doesn't get near my tools. I never had surface rust in my shop in MD which was insulated but rarely conditioned except when I would work in there in the summer or winter. It was noticeably more humid there in the summer than here. I just find it curious that those conditions seemed more severe but my tools rusted here. Maybe the enclosed shop acted like a sponge?

[dbhost]

I use a LOT of paste wax, and it still isn't great. I have wrenches, screwdrivers etc... pretty much everything gets surface rust on it. Not a lot I can do other than run a dehumidifier.

Again long term goal is to finish the insulation and do the mini split. Might have to at least run it so the shop stays under 80 and is dry...

My overhead door gaskets are crumbling, I need to get to Home Depot and get a new roll of the material, install and paint it, but who wants to do that when it is 100 deg F and 87% Relative Humidity... At least according to Alexa...

There are a lot of things I love about Living in coastal Texas, the climate is not among them...

[dbhost]

atgcpaul Okay it is still morning and reasonable so I went out and snapped a pic, and did more tidying...

I bought this set of wrenches off the Snap On truck in the spring of 1994 in Tucson, and then moved to Houston in late July, so a couple of weeks shy of 28 years worth of being here in coastal Texas. I clean then, and they obviously get treated to an oil bath whether I want to or not periodically, are stored in a rolling tool chest with dessicant packs periodically changed out, and this is what I get.

My woodworking equipment is in better shape, but it is much newer. I do periodically have to use the scotch brite and WD40 on the cast iron surfaces, and paste wax the snot out of them. And mind you, I stepped away for a few years due to the scale of family issues / losses and just not dealing well with anything, so I have had a LOT of time spent polishing the crusty stuff off of my lathe, bandsaw etc...

[atgcpaul]

That level of rust on your chrome spanners is impressive; mine were spared that here. I have surface rust on all my cast iron handplanes, all of my hex shanked driver bits, and wherever steel got scuffed (like on the bar of my QuickGrip clamps). I haven't looked at my blue Marples chisels recently, but they are in a cotton tool roll. Last time I used them, I think they were OK.

[dbhost]

FWIW, when I worked professionally as a mechanic, when I could justify spending $$ on Snap On, there were the senior guys I worked with that had that level of rust, and worse on 20 year old wrenches. It is the climate for sure. Something to consider is I am a little over a mile from Galveston Bay, my air here is hot, humid, and somewhat salty...

[cwsmith]

How big is your shop and what is the general description of it's build. The reason I ask is that I have a 12 x 20 Amish-factory-built shed with a gambrel roof (barn-like roof). I've been delayed on getting it finished on the inside (insulation and dry-wall.) While I have all the tools in position, everything is temporary because I haven't found the time to concentrate on the interior finish and as you mention, it gets way too hot in the summer to work in there. (Like yesterday it was 96 degrees.) In the winter, I have a twin-radiant reflector that fits the top of a LP tank, and that works pretty well for me. I've considered putting in a natural gas wall heater, but then I thought perhaps a mini-split might well handle both heating and cooling.

My shed is painted dark green so it blends into the yard better, but it sure does absorb the sun's heat. A mini-split around here are at least $2K or better, that last time I checked a couple of years ago. I haven't looked into it with any depth, but I'm considering doing it myself, if I can.

So, that is my question.... is that a do-it-yourself opportunity or do you have to contract it?

CWS

[dbhost]

This is going to be a bit long, sorry but I wanted to give you as full of a picture as possible...

Attached finished garage, slab on grade, allegedly a 2 car garage but they must be 2 microcars because measured out I am 18'x20' with a 2.5' x 6' recessed nook where the dust collector and mechanics rolling tool cart lives.

The walls / insulation are as follows.

-1. House is oriented with the front of the house facing NNW, The small spit of wall between the doors is insulated with expanding foam, the doors themselves are insulated with 2 layers / 1.5" of R Max 5 insulation so R10, with 2 layers radiant barriers. There is supposed to be a weather strip around the roll up doors but it has dry rotted away and needs replacement NOW, I just don't want to do it when it is so stinking hot.
-2 The SSE wall would be the common wall with the house and is fully insulated and weather stripped.
-3. The WSW wall is the "power wall" and when I had it open for power, I installed radiant barrier and R15 fiberglass as they are 2x4 walls.
-4. The remaining wall, which is effectively ENE I think, anyway the remaining wall has yet to be insulated. I can put my hand on the drywall and feel it hot on days like today.

As part of the agreement I made with my wife well over a decade ago, in order for me to have my shop, and power run to it, I had to have the standing deep freeze in there as well. Mostly a fair trade, but it puts off a good bit of heat in there as well.

The front right corner, so NE corner of the shop, probably 6' x 6', is camping gear, and yard equipment storage.

The remainder of that wall currently has sheet goods, and lumber rack storage on it. I kind of need to get myself a shed in the back yard I can move the "other stuff" to and free up the wall, and at that point I am just going to do blow in insulation, not even going to bother with batts.

The ceiling is R19 fully insulated except for the attic stairs door...

I have a 13.5K BTU portable AC, 2 hose model, that the hot side hose seems to have lost its insulation (my ex wifes old fleece blanket) some time last year. I need another junk blanket to wrap that hose with.

Honestly if I simply closed up the gaps in the door seals, and wrapped / insulated that hot hose, which may end up with me just getting a 10' section of 6" insulated duct and slipping it over and duct taping the ends, I could get the shop to 75 degrees when it is 100 outside all day long. I need to do it...

The portable unit is made as well as any portable unit, meaning it is absolute and complete junk, but it functions for now. The idea for a mini split comes from a need to get stuff off the floor, improve reliability, and efficiency as portables are known to be terrible for efficiency.

When I had the shop wired, I had a run pulled specifically for HVAC, but it is in the wrong place. I can get my electrician to move it, but generally speaking...

At the capacity I am thinking, I am going to need to run on the 220v circuit, thus I need an electrician, however there are models that do not require an HVAC tech. No idea how they do it, But the systems are sealed in components until the components meet up / are connected. I am guessing the tiny bit of air / moisture gets pulled by the receiver dryer. HOWEVER, aside from the electrical connection, I have the knowledge, equipment, and experience enough to muddle through, vacuum down, add refrigerant oil, and charge up the system. It's the electrical part I worry about...

Now having said that, I have an HVAC guy that will pull the permits, route the lines so the outer unit hides behind my fence thus no HOA hassles, do the full install including power, and get it all going for less than $400.00 labor which is pretty good...

To get the 18K BTU 208-230V Mini Split heat pump, the extended lines, the gravel and pad for install, and misc wiring / plumbing bits and bobs, we are looking at $1,400.00, so a total of $1,800.00 to convert to mini split, then I need to close off the 5" duct holes in the wall, so more expanding foam, and about $100.00 in wood siding and trim, I already have the paint and primer, and probably $60.00 of blown in insulation, and rental of the machine, so maybe $150.00 + the time and hassle to patch the walls and repaint.

So I am thinking for around $2.2K I can have the shop fully sealed, insulated, and HVAC climate controlled. Flooring will still be the sloping concrete pad, but I have a layer of kiddie play mats, and anti fatigue pads covering easily 90% of the open floor space.

I have lamented the space before. There are LOTS of issues with it being an attached garage, most notably my wife sees it as a garage and overglorified junk drawer. I would LOVE to have a stand alone shop, but honestly I don't have the land or money enough to build one big enough for what I want, and my desires are actually pretty modest compared to many / most I have seen.

I would LOVE a workspace about 20x24 with lumber / sheet storage and breakdown space outside of the shop, so like a side storage room with a panel saw or something like that...

By the same token, there are MANY that wish their shops were as big as mine, and I remember the days of working on an apartment patio with a circ saw, straight edge, jig saw, sander, and a cheap router / router table... I got a lot done including rebuilding a pop up camper dinette and floor that suffered some rot after a plumbing leak...

[atgcpaul]

How big is your shop and what is the general description of it's build. The reason I ask is that I have a 12 x 20 Amish-factory-built shed with a gambrel roof (barn-like roof).

CWS

Sorry to Dave for going off on a tangent.

CWS, How tall are your walls and do you use the space above the walls for anything? I need to build a shed to store lawn equipment and lumber. If I keep it below 150sqft, I don't need a permit, but 12x16 (12x20 is too big) is looking like a good size.

[dbhost]

No need to apologize, I am the king of tangents... It's getting worse as I age. I thing eventually I am going to turn into Grandpa Simpson...

[cwsmith]

Answer to atgpaul,

My interior walls are 76" high unfinished. The roof is 'gambrel' shaped, like an old barn roof, two angles on each side to peak at the center. I ordered it that way so I could have a so-called loft at each end. As originally built, the loft space at each end was 4 x 12, but I expanded that out another sixteen inches on each end and I doubled the loft floor, adding double 2 x 4 x 12. That way I could store eight-foot stock up there with three ft off overhang back toward the center of shed. Under the loft areas at each end, I have 76 inches from floor to ceiling and in the 10 ft long area at the center of the shop, the height is significantly higher because of the roof shape.

I ordered this in mid-December 2015 and it was delivered about a month later. Built down in the south-western Pennsylvania and ordered from a local dealer here in our area. Price was $5392 including tax, delivery, and installation. It included two windows, fabricated side entry door and a double door at one end and the loft areas at each end as well as a small vent at each end. The ceiling and walls utilize 'LP Tech Shield" material with the ceiling incorporating a foil heat barriier. The flooring is also insulated.

CWS