It's hot today

[Gordon Maney]

My trees need water.

[QuantumJo]

There is solid evidence that there’s a correlation between atmospheric Co2 levels and average global temperature. To deny that the industrial revolution has played part in increasing Co2 levels is naive at best. But, that is far from the whole story on climate change. Many factors have an equal or greater influence on global temperature fluctuation. Precession of the earth axis (a wobble in the Earths axis), cosmic ray flux (the change in cosmic rays entering the Earths atmosphere), solar activity (solar flares and CME’s) and geological events like volcanic eruptions are a few of the known natural influences on global climate change.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Leading Scientists Now Blaming Global Warming on Dinosaur Flatulence

Fossilized pine trees have proven that the earth has been slowly COOLING for 2,000 years. The tree ring study gives first accurate climate reading back to 138BC.

[QuantumJo]

.5° no big deal right?

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories...ewnormals.html

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

[Bob Thompson]

Looks like someone in shipping screwed up. We seem to have received Atlanta's weather by mistake.
80 deg 90% humidity.
Is there an 800 number for this? ;-)

[Gordon Maney]

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

Oooohhh...... I envy you.

[NNICKB]

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

[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.

[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

[Gordon Maney]

A great idea!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Gordon Maney]

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

[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.