My Master BR is exactly above my garage, both facing west (least to
say that I live in TX). As a result, my upstairs AC is always on
(thermostat is in the master bedroom) and my master BR seems to be
always hotter than the other rooms upstairs. Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

I do not want to keep the garage door open, even partially, as the
backside of my house is full of woods and I have spotted some snakes,
mice, rabbits etc around our house.

Thanks much in advance
Jan

if you have an attic and enough space to crawl in it,
add a radiant barrier (aluminum foil backed heavy brown paper),
cost about $100 per 1000 sq ft for the material,
most bang for the buck,
beyond that,
spray in some cellulose to seal the air movement (which fiberglass does not
do at all) to keep your cool air in and the hot air out,
go with 12" or more

you could also experiment with adding radiant barrier to the inside of the
garage doors and garage walls to see if that lowers the temperature (rather
than raising it, which you don't want to do),
seems to work in some applications and not work in others

if the garage doors are wood or some other material you can saw through,
add some sophit vents (louevre type with screen that are usually used on
overhangs of houses to ventilate attics) in the garage door panels up high
to keep rain out,
or maybe even some small screened windows

also,
get your air conditioner checked for freon level,
sometimes they're just a little low and a few bucks of freon can make a
world of difference

good luck !

"Jan" wrote in message
om...
My Master BR is exactly above my garage, both facing west (least to
say that I live in TX). As a result, my upstairs AC is always on
(thermostat is in the master bedroom) and my master BR seems to be
always hotter than the other rooms upstairs. Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

I do not want to keep the garage door open, even partially, as the
backside of my house is full of woods and I have spotted some snakes,
mice, rabbits etc around our house.

Thanks much in advance
Jan

"Jan" wrote in message
om...
My Master BR is exactly above my garage, both facing west (least to
say that I live in TX). As a result, my upstairs AC is always on
(thermostat is in the master bedroom) and my master BR seems to be
always hotter than the other rooms upstairs. Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

I do not want to keep the garage door open, even partially, as the
backside of my house is full of woods and I have spotted some snakes,
mice, rabbits etc around our house.

Thanks much in advance
Jan

Some type of venting for the garage would be the only thing I can think of.
Ours faces west also and it does get quite hot even here. Heat does rise.
Whatever accumulates in the garage ends up in the room above.

"Jan" wrote in message
om...
My Master BR is exactly above my garage, both facing west (least to
say that I live in TX). As a result, my upstairs AC is always on
(thermostat is in the master bedroom) and my master BR seems to be
always hotter than the other rooms upstairs. Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

I do not want to keep the garage door open, even partially, as the
backside of my house is full of woods and I have spotted some snakes,
mice, rabbits etc around our house.

Thanks much in advance
Jan

In addition to what others have suggested, if your lot permits, a row of
screening trees to shade that end of the house might be of help. I realize
that even the fastest growing trees will take a while to get big enough to
help but if you are going to be there for a while it might be worthwhile...
--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]

Return address will not work. Please
reply in group or through my website:
http://johnmcgaw.com

I had this problem. I considered a supplemental A/C in the hot room, but
instead I ventilated the garage with a thermostat-controlled thru-the-wall
exhaust fan, and put mirrored film on the windows of the garage and room
above. It helped. It doesn't help to insulate the garage or any other
un-cooled/un-heated space because then the are stays hot when you don't want
it to.
-B

"Jan" wrote in message
om...
My Master BR is exactly above my garage, both facing west (least to
say that I live in TX). As a result, my upstairs AC is always on
(thermostat is in the master bedroom) and my master BR seems to be
always hotter than the other rooms upstairs. Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

I do not want to keep the garage door open, even partially, as the
backside of my house is full of woods and I have spotted some snakes,
mice, rabbits etc around our house.

Thanks much in advance
Jan

On 31 Jul 2003 16:44:45 -0700, (Jan) wrote:

My Master BR is exactly above my garage, both facing west (least to
say that I live in TX). As a result, my upstairs AC is always on
(thermostat is in the master bedroom) and my master BR seems to be
always hotter than the other rooms upstairs. Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

I do not want to keep the garage door open, even partially, as the
backside of my house is full of woods and I have spotted some snakes,
mice, rabbits etc around our house.

Insulating (better?) the garage ceiling (bedroom floor) would likely
be a big help.

(Jan) wrote on 31 Jul 2003:

Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

My two cents. . .

More insulation in the attic and a radiant barrier should help.

If built to code, the garage ceiling should have 5/8" drywall (for
fire protection) and insulation between the joists. Probably not
much to be done there.

Your biggest heat gain is probably coming in thru the windows.
Better windows with UV coatings will help, but are expensive for
what you'll get unless your house has really cheap windows.

I know awnings over the windows aren't really a "Texas thing," but
they would be a real help and a good bang for the buck.

If your garage doors have windows in them, replacing them with
insulated, windowless doors would help and would be better for home
security - thieves can't tell if your car is there or not.

I'd do the awnings and the insulation/radient barrier before I
tried anything more difficult.

And leave the ceiling fan off when you aren't in the room.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

"And leave the ceiling fan off when you aren't in the room."

I respectfully ask why?

------------------------------
http://iBuyMinis.Us

"Doug Boulter" wrote in message
.230...
(Jan) wrote on 31 Jul 2003:

Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

My two cents. . .

More insulation in the attic and a radiant barrier should help.

If built to code, the garage ceiling should have 5/8" drywall (for
fire protection) and insulation between the joists. Probably not
much to be done there.

Your biggest heat gain is probably coming in thru the windows.
Better windows with UV coatings will help, but are expensive for
what you'll get unless your house has really cheap windows.

I know awnings over the windows aren't really a "Texas thing," but
they would be a real help and a good bang for the buck.

If your garage doors have windows in them, replacing them with
insulated, windowless doors would help and would be better for home
security - thieves can't tell if your car is there or not.

I'd do the awnings and the insulation/radient barrier before I
tried anything more difficult.

And leave the ceiling fan off when you aren't in the room.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

I've had this problem for years. I have always wanted to put an
exhaust fan and some vents (on the opposite side) to get rid of
the heat from the 2 big chunks of iron parked in there. A hot
car engine radiated a tremendous amount of heat in a closed
space. As I said, I have never done this. What I have done is
to put a 2nd AC thermostat in the master bedroom. Both
thermostats are programmable and have exclusive times; MB runs
at night, the other one, downstairs, runs for the daytime hours.
This works pretty good.

iBuyMinis wrote:
"And leave the ceiling fan off when you aren't in the room."

I respectfully ask why?

------------------------------
http://iBuyMinis.Us

"Doug Boulter" wrote in message
.230...

(Jan) wrote on 31 Jul 2003:


Are there any other
things that I can do to lower the temps in the master BR (besides
keeping the ceiling fan on, which, anyway, isn't much effective)?

My two cents. . .

More insulation in the attic and a radiant barrier should help.

If built to code, the garage ceiling should have 5/8" drywall (for
fire protection) and insulation between the joists. Probably not
much to be done there.

Your biggest heat gain is probably coming in thru the windows.
Better windows with UV coatings will help, but are expensive for
what you'll get unless your house has really cheap windows.

I know awnings over the windows aren't really a "Texas thing," but
they would be a real help and a good bang for the buck.

If your garage doors have windows in them, replacing them with
insulated, windowless doors would help and would be better for home
security - thieves can't tell if your car is there or not.

I'd do the awnings and the insulation/radient barrier before I
tried anything more difficult.

And leave the ceiling fan off when you aren't in the room.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

"iBuyMinis" wrote on 02 Aug
2003:

"And leave the ceiling fan off when you aren't in the room."

I respectfully ask why?

Because moving air cools people by making perspiration on the skin
evaporate - so the person feels cooler. But moving the air around
doesn't make the air any cooler. That's why weathermen talk about
a wind chill factor.

IF you have a really high ceiling in the room, a ceiling fan can
push the warm air near the ceiling down to the floor, making the
lower part of the room warmer in the winter. But in summer natural
convection will carry the warm air to the ceiling anyway. That's
what the cupolas on the 18th and 19th century houses were for -
natural whole house fans.

Bottom line: if no one is in the room, the fan is just using
electricity in the summer if the house is closed up to air
condition. It's not making the air any cooler.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

You know I have never thought about that this way before.

Thanks for enlightening me.

--
------------------------------
http://iBuyMinis.Us

"Doug Boulter" wrote in message
1.230...
"iBuyMinis" wrote on 02 Aug
2003:

"And leave the ceiling fan off when you aren't in the room."

I respectfully ask why?

Because moving air cools people by making perspiration on the skin
evaporate - so the person feels cooler. But moving the air around
doesn't make the air any cooler.address