[Danknee]

Originally Posted by jadedlady

Thanks for the warning. We talked about that. We figured that we would never be warming up the car in the garage as there is no need to, and could not think of any other reason for the vents. We can remove them (the boards or the explosive item(s) if any) if we change our minds. What could explode?

See page 12 for the relevant building code (pdf link)

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by jadedlady

Thanks for the warning. We talked about that. We figured that we would never be warming up the car in the garage as there is no need to, and could not think of any other reason for the vents. We can remove them (the boards or the explosive item(s) if any) if we change our minds. What could explode?

The object is to keep heavier than air gasses from getting to the flame in the water heater. Gasoline, propane, spilled or leaking solvents could all do it.

I would leave the vents open. Not very likely. But....

[jadedlady]

I see. Thank you for that info. I will have the boards removed and maybe I can just put up a finer screening to keep some of the bugs and dirt out, yet still have ventilation. The vents are close to the water heater, which is elevated about 2 feet above the rest of the garage. So that does make sense. And I have a brand new swamp cooler in storage in California that I have to go pick up.

I was in Home Depot tonight and they sell a garage door insulation kit, actually more than one brand. The guy who helped me said he used it on his garage door and it brought the heat down from something like 135 to 90 some degrees. Now I am comparing products on HD's website, so perhaps with the door insulation and swamp cooler, that may be all I need. Hope, hope. I still want to get more estimates for the attic area over the garage. Home Depot has several kinds of DIY insulation and they let you use the machines for free when you buy the insulation material, either cellulose or fiberglass, I believe. But those machines are big! I would never attempt to install the blown-in insulation myself though.

One of my neighbors recommended a handyman who lives here in our subdivision. He does work for several people here. He installed a hardwood floor that my neighbor let me in to see what a beautiful job he did. So he must be pretty good. I will talk to him about insulation and I also have other things that I need a handyman for pretty soon.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by jadedlady

I was in Home Depot tonight and they sell a garage door insulation kit, actually more than one brand. The guy who helped me said he used it on his garage door and it brought the heat down from something like 135 to 90 some degrees.

That kit isn't going to make much of a difference. I have one. You still have a giant metal door acting as a heat sink. Insulation only slows the transfer of heat. It doesn't stop it entirely.

Depending on which way your house faces, if the sun hits that door for any length of time, it will still heat up the garage to unacceptable levels. (Insulation loses to the sun.) Then after the sun transits, that garage door insulation slows the transfer of heat -- from the garage to the outside. The insulation is counter-intuitively keeping your garage hot. (Much like a thermos full of hot coffee.)

That's why powered ventilation is so much better. I can at least keep my garage the same temperature as it is outside.

Although if I had an unfinished garage ceiling -- I would take care of that immediately. The walls and the door? Not so much. Doesn't matter. Waste of money.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by jadedlady

... I was in Home Depot tonight and they sell a garage door insulation kit, actually more than one brand...

Which direction does your garage door face? My mom's faces the afternoon summertime sun dead-on. I put the Home Depot kit in, and that was good for maybe 15 degrees -- It is better than nothing, not expensive, so yeah, do it. But the garage is not going to be comfortable, temperature-wise, for you to work in it for more than a few minutes.

[Andrew808]

I was also thinking of getting the insulation kit too. I have a 3-car garage and use the 2-car space as a woodworking shop. Last summer it was brutally hot in there. I bought a 10000btu portable AC to cool it down and it had almost zero effect: e.g. Temperature was 98, brought it down to 96 after running for over an hour.

If the garage door insulation will bring it down by 15 degrees, it will be well worth it for me...

[jadedlady]

To answer Sporty and Misty's question, I am embarassed to say that I am not sure exactly which way the garage faces because the house is on an angle and the streets are winding. However, if I am standing straight in front of my garage door, which faces the street, the morning sun is up at an angle to my right. I know how stupid that sounds, believe me. So I think it's southeast. The left side of the house gets the morning sun and the back and right sides of the house gets the afternoon sun. Oh, and also there is a big tree that shades the garage most of the day. So it's not like the sun is beating down on the garage door all day. Not at all.

I went to Home Depot's website and looked at the different offerings for garage door insulation. There are quite a few, and they mostly have very good reviews. Some have photos of the reviewer's job and most say how easy it is to install. So I am not deterred from putting up the panels of insulation. They fit between the door segments. I just have to make sure of my measurements and decide which kind I want.

[Buzz123]

When they talk about humidity in Florida they mean 95% almost 24/7. You'll never have that problem here.

As far as washing your own car, I think you might be fined for wasting water. I don't think that's allowed anymore - indoors or out. It would just be silly anyway to go to all that trouble to retrofit your garage.

[Rhedrich]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

When they talk about humidity in Florida they mean 95% almost 24/7. You'll never have that problem here.

As far as washing your own car, I think you might be fined for wasting water. I don't think that's allowed anymore - indoors or out. It would just be silly anyway to go to all that trouble to retrofit your garage.

From the city of henderson site you are incorrect on the car washing


Washing of personal vehicles at residential properties is limited to one day per week with the use of a positive shut-off nozzle.

[Danknee]

If you do install a drain in the garage you will also have to install an oil/water separator to be legal.