It's hot today

[74w300uteline]

Summer subway visual

For those of you lucky enough to live and work in the great wide open parts of this country, heres a visual. Imagine a dumpster with 100 people squeezed into it. At the next stop 10people get off and 25 more squeeze in. I probably couldnt pronounce the fat smelly ladys name because she comes from some foreign country where wearing a mu mu house coat is considered acceptable attire when riding public transportation.

[Gordon Maney]

For those of you lucky enough to live and work in the great wide open parts of this country, heres a visual. Imagine a dumpster with 100 people squeezed into it. At the next stop 10people get off and 25 more squeeze in. I probably couldn't pronounce the fat smelly lady's name because she comes from some foreign country where wearing a mu mu house coat is considered acceptable attire when riding public transportation.

That gave me a visual I am trying desperately to un-see.

[Rick Walker]

Temperature outside

I am visiting family in utah this weekend and the heat is bad about 94 degress and there are fires in the surrounding areas, iam thankful for my air condtioning and at this time very mind full of all those who are fighting fires in are western states. Rick Walker.

[712edf]

I am visiting family in utah this weekend and the heat is bad about 94 degress and there are fires in the surrounding areas, iam thankful for my air condtioning and at this time very mind full of all those who are fighting fires in are western states. Rick Walker.

My cousin's husband works on Hagerman Federal Wildlife Refuge here in Tx. He has been sent to Colorado to assist in the firefighting.

Bucky

[Bob Thompson]

For those of you lucky enough to live and work in the great wide open parts of this country, heres a visual. Imagine a dumpster with 100 people squeezed into it. At the next stop 10people get off and 25 more squeeze in. I probably couldnt pronounce the fat smelly ladys name because she comes from some foreign country where wearing a mu mu house coat is considered acceptable attire when riding public transportation.

When I lived in Seattle they had great public transit so I rode the bus rather than drive if I wasn't carrying a lot.
It never ceased to amaze me what attire people would wear in public.
I have ridden subways in a number of cities, With out doubt Tokyo has the worst rush hour. Their trains are packed nearly around the clock. If you are a conniseur of bad smells try the Paris Metro.
But as always the worst one is the one you happen to be riding at any given moment.

[Doc Dave]

One year in my shop I had a medium size bull snake that lived in my shop. It would spend some time lying in one of the overhead door sections. I think it did that because the sun made it warm. When I would open the door it would slide out of the door section into a cluttered area on a shelf where I keep various pieces of structural steel. I suspect it lived off mice in my shop.

Insulation in the ceiling of your shop would make a huge difference in summer.

I insulated my shop a few years ago, and you are right, it is much cooler inside on the hot humid days with the garage doors closed.
Before, I would be forced to open the doors and it would be hot, just a little cooler than outside being in shade.
Now, it is significantly cooler.

[Gordon Maney]

It also helps quite a bit in cool weather, even when not running any heat.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Good insulation, keeping the doors closed and a dehumidifier sure help. My shop was only 83º and 40% at 2pm the other afternoon. A small AC would have made it very comfortable.

[NNICKB]

Some years ago I bought a late model pickup, used (not a Dodge, sorry). It is a 3/4 ton, and I was delighted to find one with a HD 5 speed manual. It was a couple of hundred miles away, off the mountain, in a warmer place. I kind of lowballed the salesman and he countered with "Don't expect to get it cheap because it is a stick-shift. Lots of people still like those." "Naw," I told him. "I expect to get it cheap because it doesn't have air conditioning." He kind of looked at the ground and said "Oh." Then he promptly sold it to me for what I offered.

We do not get a lot of heat waves here in the icebox but when we do, it is a big deal since not many of us have air conditioning in our homes or offices. Certainly not shops.

In my shop, I added a full size garage door in the wall opposite the main entrance. It looks kind of funny there, since there is a four foot drop on the outside. But it provides a cross breeze that really cools things down, even on the hottest days.

The inspiration for this came from shops I saw near the beach, in Southern California. Basically, they were carports, that is, roofs with no walls. These guys had big red boxes of Snap On tools, all exposed to the "elements," and were wearing Bermuda shorts, working on old Jaguars and similar such cars, well worn but rust free. A chain link fence surrounded the property, which they locked up at night.

That part of the world has 68-70 degree temps all year round, with no humidity. Just perfect. Many homes lack both air conditioning AND heat. Just bring a fat wallet, love taxes, and be willing to share your weather with others.

[Alxj64]

I'm a softy I guess. The house I bought had a single vehicle detached garage that the previous owner had built to store his old Camaro and do little side projects in... like tie flies... So he had a window unit it before we bought the place. It was built well and is finished out with drywall and is actually insulated better than my house. When my wife and I were looking for houses my requirements were a detached garage so that I wouldn't risk burning the house down welding in an attached garage or it smelling up the house with smoke and fumes. This just happened to be the house that fit her desires and the shop filled mine, whether insulated or not.

It has two windows, one door, and a standard size garage door. For the first few years living here I would open up everything and use a couple shop fans for circulation but being so coastal, down low in the swamps, and 100+ degree temps on occasion, it was miserable. I actually got dehydrated a few times because I would get too involved in what I was doing and just not stop to drink enough water, and occasionally too much beer instead. After a battle with some really bad kidney stones last year at age 27... I decided it was time to buy a $200 window unit. It stays 68 degrees in the shop all the time unless I am doing a lot of welding or cutting and then the shop door opens up for ventilation. I guess this makes me a softy, but I knew that I would just keep sweating it out and end up sick again. Also, the fact that its not miserable out there makes it to where I am more interested in going out there after a long day at work (Bridge Inspector) regardless of how bad the weather is because I know its going to be just as comfortable out there as in my house. I also have a nice stereo setup out there and a lap top with a wifi signal so that I can research pictures, tap and die charts, even order parts and hardware without having to get clean enough to enter the house and "touch the furniture". I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much done on the Carryall thus far without having the A/C. My friends joke me about it but they are always sitting in MY shop drinking beer helping me work on stuff... So it also works in that manner.

[Gordon Maney]

A great idea!

[TommyDodge]

My workshop is set up similar to Alxj64's however it is 14x24 and is not a garage even though there is a "garage door" on it. It was listed as a boathouse when I bought the house in 2006
It is drywalled and has an old window a/c unit in it and the attic is insulated and is completely finished with osb on the floor of it and boxing in the rafters.
The workshop has electricity in it throughout. The a/c unit is junk though
Ron in Indiana recently put 14 inches of insulation in my house and with the 100+ heat last week it was a thousand percent better than before especially with the new storm and house doors that he put on the house.
It was 100 degrees or over here for 3 days in a row last week for the first time since 1947
I believe I am going to purchase a new window A/C unit for that workshop to celebrate my 60th birthday early and get a hot dog heater for the winter and I will have to have Ron put new doors on the workshop though the ones on it now are shot
Then I will be able to use it year round

[Ron in Indiana]

Tom I'm glad to hear you found the second benefit from having all that insulation in the attic. We had 4 days of HEAT last week two of which were just over 100 degrees and beat the record temps for the area. This weekend doesn't sound much better for our local car show.

[NNICKB]

It is 65 here right now. Sunny. No clouds. Ahh!

[Gordon Maney]

It is 65 here right now. Sunny. No clouds. Ahh!

Oooohhh...... I envy you.