On Tue, 8 Jul 2008 08:31:59 +0100, "Bob Mannix"
wrote:

"MM" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 7 Jul 2008 10:49:59 -0700 (PDT), Andy Dingley
wrote:

Anyone got useful experience or recommendations for links / books
reading on _very_ low capital cost solar heating for space-heating of
workshops? I'm looking at the real "Scrapyard Challenge" end of the
problem, with almost everything being built from recycled radiators
etc. The intended result is to raise the Winter temperature of an
otherwise unheated non-commercial workshop to "habitable" (for hairy-
arsed chippies wearing check lumberjack shirts).

I have been thinking of working in my garage during the winter, but it
is very, very cold. The main reason for the heat loss is the very
"leaky" garage door. This is a four-year-old, well-built property, but
garage doors are not designed to be airtight. The main door to the
house (from the garage) is well insulated, so the cold air does not
permeate from garage to dwelling.

So, in order to keep any heat generated within the garage, e.g. from a
fan heater or oil-filled electric radiator, I am considering the
construction of a removable wall 6" in from the garage door. This
sectional wall will be removed in the spring. The sections will be
light enough and narrow enough to store in the loft during the summer.
I envisage a 2" x 1" pine frame covered with hardboard both sides and
filled with loft insulation. The important thing will be to ensure a
snug fit around the outside of the wall (between wall, floor and
ceiling).


Wouldn't it be easier to do some rudimentary draught proofing on the garage
door and cover the inside of the opening with a piece of old carpet fixed at
the top and sides? You'll get 70-80% of the insulating effect at almost zero
cost and effort

No, because the gaps aren't regular. They appear as part of the garage
door fixing and roller mechanism. This is not this particular garage
door since garage doors aren't designed to be air tight. Sticking on
old bits of carpet to plug the gaps would look very untidy.

MM