On Sat, 14 Oct 2006 04:25:46 -0500, Troy
wrote:
These doors have
brown horizontal (plastic?) panels. I shouldn't call them "roll up"
cause they more "fold up" then roll. The slide up into the ceiling so
to speak.

A cheap solution, and better than nothing, would be to use 1-2 mil
plastic and double-sided tape to cover the entire doors and whatever
windows you don't need for ventilation. Just like the window
insulating kits they sell at the hardware store- not classy, but they
do help.

I'm in Knoxville, Iowa and already we're in the 20's at night. I've got
1 small electric heater and 2 large ones going and they are barely
keeping the office bearable. I definetly don't want to waste energy as
my utility bills are already quite high as we have a 100+yr old house!
We're trying to get it "weatherized" now. We keep not catching the guy.
As for the house we have "central heat and air" and the Garage is
unattached so I don't think that would be very efficient even though its
only about 12' from the house.
We currently have natural gas. Propane here is MUCH more expensive then
Natural gas. I was considering Kerosene like walmart sells but I don't
know about that.

Kerosene isn't a terrible choice- they sell an odorless version now,
too. If you get one of those jet heaters that look like a tube on a
flat tank, it'll heat the place up quick. Just make sure you've got
some ventilation, and they work great. I've used them in construction
and woodshops alike, and there's never been an issue with the dust
igniting. A good one heats so quickly and intensely, you may find
yourself shutting it off fairly often, even without insulating.

My garage is roughly 24' square.
The ceiling is another thing. It is open right now. Just look up and
there's the roof. ( except as mentioned in the office )
I don't know if I should "close this off" and lose the storage space, or
keep it open. I know I need to do something!

Could split the difference, and staple plastic to the bottom of the
trusses for the winter to lower the ceiling so you're not heating the
peak before any warmth gets to you. It won't keep the heat in without
a heater running, but it will keep warm air around you for a longer
period of time before it blows out the roof.

I'm more then fine with ceiling mount. My one larger heater that I'm
using right now is a "radiant shop heater" and its a cieling mount with
a small halogen lamp for lighting.
Definetly not wealthy, in fact 100% on the opposite end of the pay scale

In that case, look at the jet heaters, as mentioned above- or get a
"Mr. Heater" that hooks on a standard 20lb propane tank (usually for
heating ice fishing shacks). Either one will make your shop bearable,
at least- though you may have to move the Mr. Heater around a bit to
keep it near where you're working.

But from previous expeience, don't even bother with electric ones.