How big of a space are you talking about benny. Sq. ft and ceiling height ect.

To be honest $6k does not seem terrible.

I am sure it is a bit of a system shock to go to the heat and humidity of Florida from virtually no humidity and cooler temps of the PNW. .

600 square feet. 9 foot ceilings.

No windows?

No.

Ok, what is the const? block or convention?

I am guessing the $6k is going to be a good number. Is that guy reputable in your area? What kind/brand/size of equipment did his estimate include?

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Swamp cooler

I thought swamp coolers were only good in hot/low humidity areas (e.g., Arizona)?

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Swamp cooler

https://www.homedepot.com/p/He...q-ft-MC37V/304078772

Don't think that's what you want in FL with 80-90% humidity to start with.

mini splits are fairly straightforward to install.

Especially in a garage if you can put the outside unit on the outside of the garage. Electrical will depend on how far your panel is from the garage and how much room you have in it.

I've used those stand-alone units that have a vent to the outside. I think it will struggle in a garage in FL unless it is well insulated and the doors are also insalated.

I'd buy a 110 volt wall unit, cut a hole in the wall and install it with a wood and foam surround.

I've got a wormdrive skilsaw with a concrete blade that will go through that like butter.

I had a mini split AC/heat pump put in my garage and $6k is definitely in the ball park for estimates. If you can get it done, it is really nice.

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
600 square feet. 9 foot ceilings.

1200ft2 & 10ft ceiling called for 24kbtu/hr
12k would likely be enough if you don't have a lot of internal heat load & decent insulation. Good 12k 110v window/wall units are <$500. Cut a hole near an outlet & be done with it.

I wouldn't pay 1/2 of $6k for a 24k mini-split install, but I'm in rural Indiana.

Window units are not allowed in any part of the house per HOA. I'll get it sorted out soon. I'm accepting that it's going to cost a pretty penny, but it will be worth it.

Tony.

So I bought three garage door insulation kits and installed them last week. It's made a noticeable difference. After I installed the kit, I bought a temp/humidity sensor and mounted it in the middle of the garage. Over the last couple of days the temp has slowly dropped as the items in the garage shed heat.

I opened the garage this morning and it cooled down to 83˚. It was 78˚ outside. The garage door faces east, so it gets sun first thing in the morning. The peak of the day has already passed and it was 95˚ earlier today. It's now 92˚ and cooling down outside and the inside temp 89˚ with 50% humidity.

The mini-split is scheduled to be installed tomorrow, so that should make working inside pleasant. The guy got it permitted and the total is going to be around $7k.










The three kits cost me $405 at Home Depot.

So far, my garage door openers have been able to handle the extra weight without issue.

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:

So far, my garage door openers have been able to handle the extra weight without issue.

You can always crank the spring a 1/2 turn or so to re-balance it. **watch videos prior, you can knock the hell out of yourself if you screw it up. Not hard, just need to know what you are doing.**

Pull release cord. Pull door up ~waist high. If it's heavy, you need more tension on the spring. Stop movement & let it go. If it drops, you need more tension. If it rises, you need less. 1/2 turn makes quite a bit of difference, don't move it a bunch.

A pair of vise grips, 3/8 or 5/16 wrench for the set-bolts & the adjusting bars (1/2" or whatever fits the holes) are all you need.

I've now replaced both openers, springs & rollers on my 2 doors. I will likely just DIY new doors & tracks when the time comes - it's not that difficult. Local places act like they are doing you a favor calling you back after 2 weeks. I started calling from my wife's phone so they got to hear the wrath.

quote:

The mini-split is scheduled to be installed tomorrow, so that should make working inside pleasant. The guy got it permitted and the total is going to be around $7k.

Hope he's using the good lube. I'm sure there's a FL & summer tax, but damn. A $3-400 window unit would work fine, 7k is nuts.

Window units not permitted by HOA.

Quote:Window units are not allowed in any part of the house per HOA. I'll get it sorted out soon. I'm accepting that it's going to cost a pretty penny, but it will be worth it.

Tony.

Friend who lives in Englewood said the air handler heated up the garage. He installed a mini split which helped a lot...until the condenser died. Down side was the parts are not available....for months to a year. He had to put in a new condenser. Never heard of the make but popular in FGL.

strange part...he had lower temps last weekend than here in Epping.

That's good that it's getting installed, good work on insulating the doors, you may want to put a couple of inexpensive ceiling fans in the garage to keep air moving this will drop the temp feel for you, and check the areas around the doors, be sure you don't have gaps where the cool air will escape.

Some blown in insulation above the garage may be a good idea as well.

Updated to suggest you look into a full coverage screen door for the garage. In the fall, winter and spring you'll like having fresh air in the garage, and additionally to keep out bugs, birds, snakes, gators, zombies...

Wife had this installed a year ago for a birthday present as I spend a lot of time in the garage and it's great. We selected the darkest blackout screen for privacy, makes it difficult to see through. It allows for air flow but the dark screen does block off some flow, you can go with a less dense screen.

You can just make out the lit garage opener lamp and the back of the white SUV, if it was black or a dark color it would be difficult to see.

Also has a center sliding screen so you can get in and out easy. It comes up on it's own track, separate from the garage door.




Use this link to find an installer.

https://www.lifestylescreens.com/Dealer-Locator.html

Lot of good suggestions here. Glad you got it sorted out. I have retrofitted several garages for customers, as part of a remodel. In some cases a complete rebuild would have been easier.

In our current house, I have 1000sq ft up and 1000sq ft down in a garage attached via a sunroom between the house and garage. I insulated and finished the garage just as if it was living space. Separate electric panel, hvac, water heater for the two story garage building. My office is above the garage.

The conditioned space above the garage, allows me to heat and cool the garage with only one supply register from upstairs. Even at 0 degrees outside, the garage never gets below 60 degrees. UNLE$$ someone leaves one of the doors open. I am becoming my Father. He used to say, “Give you a nickel to close that door”!

I hit the door button after I get in the car, and then on return, I hit the button before getting out of the car. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked out the door. And seen my Wife sitting in her car talking to her Mother on the phone, WHILE the door Is open. SMH

I have achieved a blissful 75˚ in the garage with ease yesterday.

While the unit was supposed to be installed over a week ago, the unit that was received was smaller than what I ordered. I ordered a 16 SEER mini-split and they sent a 13 SEER unit. The supplier made a mistake and gave me the next bigger unit for free, a Mitsubishi 19 SEER 3-ton unit!

The AC guys said this is what is commonly used in industrial server rooms. It cooled the garage from 85˚ to 75˚ in about 3 hours. It will also act as a heater in the winter months too.





Thanks for following the journey...

Tony.