Re: I know it's warmer here today but Jeez..
10 below zero, and still 80 and dry in the shop with the wood stove. I know, I am being a jerk here, many don't have the option like i do. BUT... I will say, David was correct in the post above, vapor barrier is important. Too late now for most folks, but if building a new shop put heavy plastic under the concrete floor. Makes a huge difference. Another thing I did for my harsh northern climate is put 2" high density foam down 4' around the slab to keep the frost from getting to the concrete. That way, the floor is always at earth temperature, generally about 54-56 degrees, so at that temp an insulated building will never freeze inside even with no heat at any temp. My old shop was like Marts, tools rust INSIDE the tool box, no need to leave them out in the driveway to rust. The dehumidifier certainly is a help for that, I had one that I modified to drain out thru the wall so no need to empty the container. I do not know how much energy they consume, but not bad I would guess. I also run a small window AC unit occasionally in the humid days in summer. I only run it a short while, mainly to dry the air. It will never bring the temp down much, but the dry air is a great improvement you notice the second you go outside. I run the AC so little that I see no difference in the electric bill, but the shop is a much more pleasant place to hang out, which is what I do pretty much all day...everyday !
