I am building a garage with living qtrs above it. I am looking for any and all suggestions on what to use for exhausting smells from the Buick and others. Any and all thoughts are appreciated - they are framing this week so need to provide to the contractor. Thanks, byron (mods please feel free to move if this is in wrong location)
Id look into a CO2 detector with automatic exhaust fan. Something like this, without the annoying alarm. I'd use a more industrial fan than the example in the video. I'd also want to be able to trigger it manually if needed.
Your local building codes should address that. Garage will need a finished ceiling with all seams taped and spackled. A hot air heating system can not be shared between living quarters and the garage. That should cover the requirements. Ventilation shouldn't be required in the garage unless you are doing painting in there with the doors closed. Spray foam insulation in the ceiling of the garage will seal it up very well... will act as a barrier to garage fumes and will better insulate the living area above it. There is a forum dedicated to garages, check out www.garagejournal.com
I have a 40 by 80 PEMB (Pre -Engineered Metal Building that I went far in excess of the minimum Code requirements (I used to be a Navosh inspector; we had to know and heed OSHA requirements on all facets except military unique equipment). My corner man-cave (16 by 26) would not meed requirements for residential occupancy because I didn't want to put another egress means to what would have been the bedroom; now it is an office and entertainment area (wink wink). Review your plans with your area code enforcement BEFORE making any purchase or deposit; you may need to have Code compliant engineering plans for review before construction. Those cost as well. I put a manually controlled exhaust fan on one end opposite the man-cave with a power-opened louver system on the other end. Insulate the heck out of the building (I note you are from MN, so you know cold). A shop exhaust fan is not that noisy when you are working, but can be a drone to someone in a residential capacity...Insulated access and roll-up doors are a must. Go for a MINIMUM of 200 amp electric service; You WILL need it. Also put in more 220 and 110 outlets than you think. Welder leads are NOT that long... and who likes extension cord running all over the place; consider drop reels from the ceiling that plug into outlets up there. Go for a separate power distribution for the shop area and the occupancy area; some places MAY require it. If you plan on having a sandblaster cabinet, consider a separate enclosure, possibly outside, with an exhaust dust filtration system; the residual 'dust' is a bear to get clean. You will have to consider the environmental aspect of a shop. Capture and reclamation of waste and spilled fluid is costly to install a drain system and EPA liscensing. Don't even THINK about a paint area in combination with a residential area. A correct style LEGAL paint booth is killer money... I was going to suggest using several sunports to reduce lighting needs, but you state residency above. Are you going to install a lift? if so, consider making the shop area one bay length longer than the residential area for that purpose. Get INDUSTRIAL style shelving, like used in warehouses an 'big box' stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc) You may find some place going out of business. As for your HVAC system, Try to avoid using a system that has those "energy efficient, ECM controlled motors. They last only until barely after the warranty end, and are NOT cheap. A conventional motored system will cost a little more to use electrically, but beats $750 + replacement... I know this may seem crazy, but you WILL need a bigger area than you think you want. I originally was going with a smaller building, but I actually need more room than I have...Stuff takes up space as you expect, but then YOU have to have mobility around it. I have to use those wheel dollies to move my cars sometimes because there simply is not enough room. Allow 8 feet longer and 6 feet wider per vehicle. You need to get into and out of the vehicle doors, trunk, and engine. Access for an engine hoist will require quite a bit of space...
Fellas, thank you for all of your comments. The building is 38 x 38 with 6” walls. There are 2 residential furnaces - one for up, one for down. The code called for recirculating/air exchanger system up stairs, but not downstairs. I will have discussions on the use of a furnace recirulation system for downstairs as well. I believe the fresh air system will provide the air movement that I anticipate needing. I very much a appreciate your comments and will work with the hvac company to ensure the air exchanger will work as required. If it does not, I will install a thru the wall 24” fan. Thanks, byron
I have a 50 x 34 garage and put a round restaurant exhaust fan through the roof on a curb similar to one used for HVAC. It runs through a variable speed control and can run from whisper quiet up to tornado velocity. It is grease proof and all the electrics are insulated from the air flow. The noise and fumes go up so I don't tick off the neighbors. At one time I produced small racing engines and ran a dynamometer a lot, so I plumbed a commercial garage exhaust hose into the side of the fan airstream which created a nice venturi vacuum effect so I had positive exhaust ventilation with the doors closed.
Your building a garage in Minnesota, and NO in floor heat? HUGE HUGE mistake in my opinion. Buildings with in floor heat hold a higher value, just ask the tax man. There is a huge difference in the comfort level between radiant heat and forced air heat. Keith
Are you going to support the residential floor from below with posts? That's the least expensive way to do it, but you will come to hate them. When I built my Barn in Massachusetts, I used open web steel joists to support the floor above that was stressed for a live load of 18,000 lbs. It was a bit more expensive then posts, but every time I walked in I looked at them and smiled. 15 years later when the barn was repurposed from Horse power to Horsepower, all I had to do was rip out the stalls, move a couple of electrical fixtures and I was good to go. The above may be of little value if they are framing this week and you haven't already decided, but clear span is the way to go. I set the barn/garage so that I had 8' 1/2" floor to joist clearance. The bottom of the floor joists were 15 1/2" higher.; not high enough for a lift, but I didn't intend to install one, so that was not an issue. Had the structure not originally been built for horses, I would have made it 26' X 30'.
I heat my 60 x 100 shop with in-floor heat. It costs a little more initially, but I love it. It is absolutely the only way to go IMHO.
Thanks again - I didn’t go with in floor heating. We have that in our home across the street - we love it, although it works best when it is really cold outside. The ceiling is 12’ in the garage. I went with a 98% furnaces for both up and down. The upstairs will be with AC. The building is in the woods, didn’t feel I had a need for AC down. The garage floor is open with floor trusses for the upstairs - so should be obstruction free. I will have to install a exhaust fan of some type. In the initial discussion with the contractor, we spoke of in floor heat. With that system you have to have a built in fresh air/ recirculating air system. (We have that in our home with in floor heat). As a result of my lack of understanding, I will still need to have a through the wall type system for exhaust. Ziggy, do you have a name or model of your system? Although I can’t go through the roof, I could possibly exhaust through the wall into the car port area on the south side of the building. I like the idea - I don’t see using the building much in the winter but a quiet exhaust fan that moves enough air in the summer would be useful. Thanks to all, byron
