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Posted by Alex on June 30, 2006, 3:31 pm
Hi all,
I'm about to get my amateur radio license (technician class), and with
our house not being all that large I was thinking the garage might be a
nice place to setup shop... we don't really use it for cars, and
currently it just has the mower and some other yard equipment out
there. I was wondering if others have converted their garage into a
home for their ham shack or computer area without doing an entire room
conversion.
The garage is on one corner of the house with one wall being exposed to
the outside and the garage door. My idea is if I blow insulation into
the attic above garage and also into the one wall, then get a better
garage door that seals better, it should be dueable.
Now the catcher is heating and cooling. We live in Texas, so heating
isn't generally a problem. During the Summer I was thinking a window
unit and a simple space heater during the winter. My concern though is
the heat and cold on the equipment. If the garage is insulated okay
with a sturdy garage door, I'd think that should work, right?
Just curoius if anyone has ever looked into doing this... the garage is
430 sqft of space we're not using, and it'd be perfect if I could setup
shop out there :)
Thanks for any suggestions,
Alex
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Posted by Oren on June 30, 2006, 3:59 pm
>Just curoius if anyone has ever looked into doing this... the garage is
>430 sqft of space we're not using, and it'd be perfect if I could setup
>shop out there :)
>
>Thanks for any suggestions,
>
>Alex
Cant speak to the radio equipment. I've run computers in my garage for
years (wireless) with out any known problem or adverse affects. We
skipped spring this year and went into triple digit temperatures in
Las Vegas.
I just have a portable ShopCool evaporative cooler I run in Summer,
crack the garage door a little... the PC runs and runs....
Oren
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Posted by Travis Jordan on June 30, 2006, 4:15 pm
Alex wrote:
>> Thanks for any suggestions,
Congratulations on becoming a ham. I have a number of ham friends and
I'm jealous of their skills and knowledge. One day I may have to go for
the license myself.
Several of my friends have set up their 'shack' just as you plan -
building a workbench for the equipment and cooling with thru-the-wall
A/C for the summer and overhead radiant heat for the winter. It seems
to work for them, but the temperature extremes don't approach those that
you might see in Minnesota or North Dakota! I'm not sure where you are
located.
Good luck.
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Posted by Alex on June 30, 2006, 4:20 pm
Travis Jordan wrote:
> Alex wrote:
> >> Thanks for any suggestions,
>
> Congratulations on becoming a ham. I have a number of ham friends and
> I'm jealous of their skills and knowledge. One day I may have to go for
> the license myself.
>
> Several of my friends have set up their 'shack' just as you plan -
> building a workbench for the equipment and cooling with thru-the-wall
> A/C for the summer and overhead radiant heat for the winter. It seems
> to work for them, but the temperature extremes don't approach those that
> you might see in Minnesota or North Dakota! I'm not sure where you are
> located.
>
> Good luck.
Hi Travis and everyone else,
I'm in Central Texas where our summer days get up to about 100-105 at
the hottest but average probably 95-99. Winters are rarely below
freezing, and I'd guess stay around 40-50 most winter days.
My only concern is the garage door, which doesn't seal very well, and
the insulation. If I can get both of these better sealed I think it
would make for a cozier place. Also sealed I hope it'll keep the
varments out as I do find an occasional mouse running around in there.
Thanks for the great info, and if you wouldn't mind asking your friends
who do this what tips they have, I'd love to hear some feedback.
Take care --
Alex
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Posted by Travis Jordan on June 30, 2006, 4:35 pm
Alex wrote:
> I'm in Central Texas where our summer days get up to about 100-105 at
> the hottest but average probably 95-99. Winters are rarely below
> freezing, and I'd guess stay around 40-50 most winter days.
>
> My only concern is the garage door, which doesn't seal very well, and
> the insulation. If I can get both of these better sealed I think it
> would make for a cozier place. Also sealed I hope it'll keep the
> varments out as I do find an occasional mouse running around in there.
Sorry, Alex, I don't know why I didn't read your location in your first
post -- when I went back to re-read it you clearly had said Texas. Must
be old age setting in!
The shacks that I've seen set up in garages have L-shaped workbenches
that still leave room for a car if you need it. The long part of the L
is along the wall and the short part angles off at something less than
90 degrees (maybe even 45 degrees?) near the front of the garage area.
The radio equipment is mostly along the front part of the L with the
operating positon at the apex of the L. The long part of the L is used
for storage, junk boxes, test equipment, etc.
Adding insulation and a better garage door will certainly help with the
heat load.
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