quote:

Originally posted by Gallo Pazzesco:
I have exactly the same situation. A few years ago my wife and I, now empty nesters, downsized to a 2400 sf home and, in the process, I had to give-up my old dedicated 1200 sf detached building that I had used exclusively for reloading (I also had a detached 1400 sf bldg that I used as a wood shop) .... now I am using a room (reloading only) in our garage that is roughly 12'x5'.

It took some doing.

First of all I am in SC ... famously hot is our catch phrase, our slogan. Lou Holtz once said, "During summer practices being in SC is not hell but it's right next door" and he wasn't kidding. My Texas family visit often from Dallas, Marfa and Midlands and they always comment on the heat here during their summer visits ... so I can relate to your dilemma.

Here's how I solved mine.

I downsized equipment. I sold off my two 550s and two 650s. I kept my Rockchuckers and my T2 and a Pardner. I kept both the MECs along with some peripheral things like scales, dispensers, swagers, a vise, etc., .... but I had space issues with even that little bit of stuff.

I still had over 500 lbs of propellent, 50k pieces of brass and 100k primers plus all my reloading books and manuals accumulated over the decades.

All of my stuff in my old reloading facility was custom built right down to the trap door I could open that would allow me to shoot from inside the room down a 300 meter line range.

So in this new room, 60 sf vs 1200 sf ... and with no climate control ... here's how I did it.

I emptied the garage storage room (as stated, 12x5) and built above counter cabinets in there, enough to hold most of the powder, primer and pills, but I had to make sure all that weight wouldn't pull the cabinets off the wall. Long story short .... I managed that, plus I built a custom bench that fits under those cabinets that, along with another bench I bought from Sportsman's Warehouse, I placed under the cabinets.

Still, that only offered me 24 sf of benchtop space and, even after sacrificing all of my beloved progressives ... it still wasn't much to work with.

I solved that thanks to Inline Fabrication. I invested in their rail hanging system along with their quick change system and it has worked really well.

Finally, on climate control, (which is humidity control and which is why we often have well over 100° days here a year because we have heat factors drastically elevated because of our high 80%+ year round humidity), the garage storage room I moved into is adjoining the main living area inside the house and as with on most conventional foundations it is below floor level, on the same level, same slab, as the garage. So I was able to go underneath the house and cut open an opening for a vent in order to adjoin/extend exisiting HVAC ductwork with the newly cut vent opening that dumps cool air into my new reloading room. It was easy and it looks great. That's meant doing a little weatherstripping and insulation work in the room but that's been relatively easy as well and my room rarely gets above or below the low 70s even on 115° summer days here.

A small hanging fan keeps air circulated.

It's early and I have to get some things done this morning before Church but I'll try to find some progress pictures and post them today.

Oh ... and a simple fix for A/C? A DeLonghi from Costco but warning ... there will still be cuts into walls or foundations for the vent hose plus they make a lot of noise and take-up some space. And they're not going to work well in an open space like a garage where there is no air seal and the door is going up and down all the time. I know ... I tried it. I've got several floor units we use for emergency power outtages that run off the generators. They are awesome modern technology, far superior to window units imho, but they are not practical to cool a space like you've described in heat like ours where, not only will you be doing precision work but, you will also be storing powders that will have their self lives shortened by heats above 90° .... and, as you know, we have nights where the temp never drops below 90s ... plus add 10-15 degrees for the garage because it retains heat overnight.

Anyways, I'll try to upload pics today to give you an idea of my fix to a similar problem to yours.