On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 15:42:55 -0000, "ian mayo"
wrote:

Hi again all,

we've bought a wendy-house (see separate thread).

I'm considering installing an electrict greenhouse heater (120w or
similar) - both to take the bite out of the cold when the children are
playing in it during the Winter, but also under the (possibly mistaken) idea
that having it on for a couple of hours per day would prolong the life of
the house.

In a single layer wooden building, a 120W heater is not going to do a
great deal to make it warm.

If you use a good preservative on the outside and maintain it (see
other post) and the wood is isolated from the ground and ventilated,
then it won't come to much harm.


The Wendy-house builder chap warned against use of such a heater, but I
wasn't convinced.... He said that wood likes to be damp, and the drying
effect of the heater would reduce the wendy-house life.

Not really. If the wood had been damp before machining and assembly
and the building poorly made, then suddenly heating and drying it
could lead to shrinkage and cracking, but that should not have been
the case.



If the slow-steady
heat is destructive I'd be happy enough to (safely) fit a convector heater
for the period when the children are actually in there. I just want to
double-check the builder's statement.

So, I'd appreciate any advice on heating my lovely new erection ;-]

Christian's insulation idea could make a lot of sense. I did
exactly this with my garden cabin and used 50mm Celotex to do it. I
also did the space under the floor, which is probably not an option
for you now. The walls and roof were done by fitting a light frame
inside and leaving a small gap behind the Celotex which was then
ventilated (important). Before fitting this, I painted the interior
with a colourless wood preserver (Cuprinol).
The Celotex has its own foil vapour barrier and joints can be taped
using foil tape, so no additional vapour barrier is required. I
finished the surface with wooden cladding, varnished with a water
based matt varnish. Other board such as ply or even plasterboard
would be fine. With kids you might want it ding proof.
I secondary glazed the windows and door with toughened glass.

The building is used for a variety of purposes and also houses a
freezer, being a low energy one.

It is comfortably warm most of the time, if I go in there and close
the door, I haven't needed any additional heating



--

..andy

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