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Luv2travel 06-22-2011 03:20 PM

Garage is at 100F, help
 
My garage now reads at 100F which in my view is way to high. What have you all done to help this situation. I did insulate my garage door but that didn't really help too much.

Uptown Girl 06-22-2011 03:38 PM

I'm no expert... and I haven't lived an entire Florida summer yet, but "up north" in Illinois our summers can get pretty hot and humid.

Two easy things I do are:
Keep a standing fan to use (while the overhead door is open) when I'm working out there.
Keep a hot car on the driveway until the engine has cooled down.

I also keep the garage clutter free (no dead stuffy space)
Might help until you find a better remedy!

l2ridehd 06-22-2011 03:56 PM

Get a solar attic fan installed and then pull down your attic stairs about 6 inches and place something there to prevent it from closing. Let the hot air rise to the attic and be vented by the solar fan.

BowleesCreekYachtClub 06-22-2011 04:24 PM

We take out the attic door and when we are home we open the garage door about one foot at the bottom - makes a big difference.

rubicon 06-22-2011 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luv2travel (Post 364665)
My garage now reads at 100F which in my view is way to high. What have you all done to help this situation. I did insulate my garage door but that didn't really help too much.

I choose not to leave my garage door open because of all those critters lurking here and fro. so I called Thumper and he installed an overhead screen door which help alleviate some of the heat while providing a barrier against critters. It was a good investment

Bob45 06-22-2011 05:47 PM

I had louvers installed in the garage door and an exhaust fan in the garage ceiling. It pulls air through the garage and up into the attic space above. It helps cool the garage and I would think it cools the attic also.
Bob

faithfulfrank 06-22-2011 07:11 PM

I installed some 9" x 16" soffit louvers in my attic stairs that open in my garage. This allows the hot air to be pulled into the attic, up through the roof venting. For intake air I partially open my screened garage window. I also have a ceiling fan out there for when I'm working in there.

Frank

dillywho 06-22-2011 07:21 PM

Screen
 
We have the retractable sunshield screen. It deflects more of the heat than the plain screen and you can't really see in during the day unless you get pretty close. It makes a world of difference (our house faces West) and keeps the critters at bay. Michele's Hid'n Screens out of Ocala did ours. We've had it about 6 years now and love it! Their service is outstanding and reasonable (good thing since hubby backed into it on more than one occasion....thank goodness it was him and not me, if you know what I mean). Now we back the cart into the garage...seems to have solved the problem, tho I hate to say that because........

champion6 06-22-2011 08:09 PM

I agree that 100F is too hot, but the high today was 96F. You could implement every idea posted and it would still be hot in your garage. :shrug:

I'm just giving you a hard time. I will be doing some of the things suggested.

laryb 06-22-2011 08:33 PM

When we had the house inspected for the end of our warranty, the inspector told us if we should install attic stairs (and we did), we should put the drywall door back up. He said the door is fire-rated and to leave the plywood door up would cause an unsafe situation. I would imagine that leaving the door open and having a fan running in the attic could cause a chimney effect in the event of a fire. With that being said, I will probably crack open the attic stairs myself, but I won't go to bed with it open. I'm not an expert, so maybe some retired firefighters or inspectors can give their opinion.

KEVIN & JOSIE 06-22-2011 08:46 PM

My wife and I were just looking at homes and notice there was no insulation over the garage space in the Villa we looked at. (this is common in new construction) If you can access the space, have insulation added, at least a R-30 rating, over the garage, and you should notice a hugh difference. After the insulation, consider adding a supply air register to add a little conditioned air (air conditioning) to the garage. Sometimes, if the air handler is in the garage, a supply grill can be added in the duct work, with little effort. Don't leave the supply open fully, or you could effect the supply air balance, (the amount of conditioned air needed in each room of your home.) Hope this helps to cool you down.

faithfulfrank 06-22-2011 09:04 PM

I would not suggest having a supply duct in your garage......if that register was open and the air handler was not running it could cause Carbon Monoxide to enter your living space from car, golf cart or lawn mower exhaust.

As to the breaching of the fire separation rating with the attic stair door, that would be correct. It would be a breach. In my home the pull down attic stairs in the garage are NOT fire rated, and only have a 1/4" plywood backing. It is 15 years old. The addition of those vents did not compromise it much more then it was already.

They DO make fire rated pull down attic stairs. They cost more, ($400-$500). They have them in both steel or fire retardant plywood. Of course, cutting vents into these would nullify the rating.

For the record, I am a Professional Firefighter, (IAFF Local 896) and a licensed Home Inspector.

Frank

beartrack 06-22-2011 10:08 PM

Hot Garage
 
I also found my garage too hot. I made sure that the attic was insulated properly. I do not have pull down stairs and have never found a need to store anything in my attic. If I need to go up there for some reason, I use a ladder. I just had an electrician install a fan box for our kitchen and using a ladder was no problem. I do some woodworking in my garage and I wanted to cool it down a bit. I moved the attic trap door cover over and measured the opening. It is just under 20 '' wide. I went to Lowes and bought 2 20'' box fans. I laid them in the opening and they fit perfectly. I made a small spacer between the fans and set them on high, blowing up into the attic and then I ran an extention cord to a surge protector with an on- off switch at my work bench. The whole project cost about $45 including the box fans. I also put a ceilling fan over my work bench and now the garage is a lot cooler and because the fans move all that hot air out of my attic I find that my air conditioner is not working as hard to cool my house. I also put the fans on a timer so that they will move that hot air out even if I am not there. This is a simple, inexpensive solution, and I find that it works great. I hope that this helps.

Shirleevee 06-22-2011 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laryb (Post 364733)
When we had the house inspected for the end of our warranty, the inspector told us if we should install attic stairs (and we did), we should put the drywall door back up. He said the door is fire-rated and to leave the plywood door up would cause an unsafe situation. I would imagine that leaving the door open and having a fan running in the attic could cause a chimney effect in the event of a fire. With that being said, I will probably crack open the attic stairs myself, but I won't go to bed with it open. I'm not an expert, so maybe some retired firefighters or inspectors can give their opinion.

We have a solar attic fan and it does cool off the garage.

KEVIN & JOSIE 06-23-2011 10:49 AM

[QUOTE=faithfulfrank;364742]I would not suggest having a supply duct in your garage......if that register was open and the air handler was not running it could cause Carbon Monoxide to enter your living space from car, golf cart or lawn mower exhaust.

You do make a valid point, and I guess the individual would need to make the decision. Since most of us open our garage door when we run our cars, golf carts, and lawn mowers, the chance of any CO poisoning would be minute on a supply side of an air handler unit. ABSOLUTELY never put a return air grill in the garage for the reason you mentioned. I put a supply in my garage 10 years ago with CO detectors throughout my home, and have never detected any CO. Again, it works well for me, but if others don't feel comfortable with this, don't do it.


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