"Hax Planx" wrote in message
.net...
My ancient detached shop/garage has an uninsulated roof and now that
temps are parked in the 90's with full sunshine most days, the heat
radiating from the roof turns it into an oven. Things inside (like
projects) get warm to the touch and the ambient temperature soars to
about 105°(40.6°C). I've had to move all glues and solvents and
anything else that might be temperature sensitive into the house. As
you can imagine, it makes things like brushing shellac difficult. Any
ideas for a cheap remedy just for the radiating heat problem? I know I
could insulate the roof, but that isn't the direction I want to go with
this space. Before winter sets in, I want to frame about half of the
inside of the building into a room for the wood shop and insulate that,
but I didn't want to do it now. The building is about a 1000 sq/ft and
the roof is over 12' high at the peak, so that isn't very practical
anyway. I was thinking along the lines of maybe using a reflective
coating for the roof or tacking down tarps to cut down on the heat
absorbing properties of the black shingles. Does this sound practical
at all?

I'd say you need to put in some roof vents. If the air inside is hotter than
the air outside then it will try to escape upwards. If you have no
ventilation in the top half of your building then the heat has no place to
go. Thing to remember is, if you ventilate the top of your building, you
need to allow intake vents in the bottom half of your building too. Vents
come in all types and sizes some powered others not. I've had good luck
cooling my houses attic crawlspace and workshop (small as it is it don't
take much..) with Whirly turbine type nonpowered vents. These are the
spinner type you see on warehouses and such. They are cheap and effective.
Venting isn't the cure all answer, but it is an affordable starting place.
Good luck getting the heat out.

Aloha...
Craig