Thoughts on adding AC/Heat to attached garage.

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted by Fawteen
As has been stated, running ductwork from the house's HVAC system is a very bad idea for several reasons. You don't want any way for CO2 from the car exhaust to get back into the house, not to mention chemicals and odors from other "garage" type activities such as spray painting.

Originally Posted by KrisZ
Yes I do. You get a permit so that the city knows you are upgrading your house and will reassess the value of your home very quickly so that they can collect more property tax from you.
All under the guise of safety.


No you don't.
While assessment value is just one portion of the reason for a regular homeowner, safety is another (more important) reason. For example, if some doofus chooses to rewire his home, does it incorrectly and it catches fire that's a safety issue for everyone in the house. And if that fire spreads to the neighbor's homes, it's a safety issue for the others in the neighborhood as well. Especially for those neighborhoods that have very little room between houses, or have row houses/townhomes.

Any work I have done in my rental units is inspected by the city-it has nothing to do with the property value, but the safety of the potential renters. Anything that is not up to current code is corrected, again for the safety of the renters, not for property tax purposes.


Question. Are the inspectors and the city that issues the permits liable for any of their inspections?
If your house or your rental catches fire due to say wiring, that was inspected, can you hold the city liable?

I know in Ontario and California many municipalities have legally protected themselves from this threat.


Another question. Why do we have home insurance then? Aren't your rental properties insured? Or does the policy only cover acts of God, vandalism and such, and not construction related problems?

 

[kschachn]

Sometimes things digress to the point that if someone wishes to run a hose from their exhaust pipe to their bedroom it would be best for all concerned to let them do so.

But for everyone else reading this, remember that not everything posted to a public Internet forum is in actuality a good idea.

All under the guise of safety of course.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

I have an attached garage.
No heating or cooling.

I do have two Ceiling Fans that are useful sometimes.

What I really like is having a Washtub in the garage.
It sits in the corner and I use it ALOT.
I would never want to be without it.

 

[KrisZ]

I never claimed it was a good idea. Even if one ignores exhaust fumes, a vent just creates an extra entry point for critters to go inside the living space.

But I was challenged that I do not know what permits and building codes are for.

Just look up various lawsuits against municipalities where they failed to inspect the construction work properly, but issued all the permits non the less, and see how far they went.

When a permit does not guarantee that work done is safe or even compliant with the building code, then what is the reason for the permit and the building code in the first place?

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted by Kestas
If nobody's home, I'll just leave the door open to the garage to let some heat in from the house during the winter.


+1

I'll even get a fan and place it in the doorway to blow the heated air from the house into the garage.
(If it is really cold, I have a propane heater)


Actually, I do the same with the AC air in the summer.

 

[skyactiv]

Thumbs up

 

[Skippy722]

I'd only do it if you spend a lot of time out there. Otherwise I'd only consider heat, maybe a small wood burning stove in a corner. I can't stand being cold though lol

 

[Linctex]

In Texas, you'll spend a fortune in the summer.

It's best to built a small "office area" that can be climate controlled, if you have a nice large shop.

 

[greg_J35]

Do not modify the existing system. Have a mini split installed just for your garage.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted by KrisZ
I never claimed it was a good idea. Even if one ignores exhaust fumes, a vent just creates an extra entry point for critters to go inside the living space.

But I was challenged that I do not know what permits and building codes are for.

Just look up various lawsuits against municipalities where they failed to inspect the construction work properly, but issued all the permits non the less, and see how far they went.

When a permit does not guarantee that work done is safe or even compliant with the building code, then what is the reason for the permit and the building code in the first place?

So, because some inspectors are lazy and/or incompetent, we should just throw all building codes in the trash, not have inspections, and let everyone do whatever they want, no matter how unsafe it is. Ok, got it.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted by exranger06

So, because some inspectors are lazy and/or incompetent, we should just throw all building codes in the trash, not have inspections, and let everyone do whatever they want, no matter how unsafe it is. Ok, got it.

Have you even seen some of the new construction? It's horrid and borderline dangerous in some cases. Like wiring crossing over each other other objects. Or cut out support beams to run duct work. All signed off by inspectors that are in the pocket of big development companies.

But while all of this is being done, they will wheel out some rare example of an owner doing something stupid with his property to boast their "safety" argument/

It's like they catch few pounds of drugs and make a huge deal out of it, while tons are being transported across the boarder daily.

If it's all done for safety why is money being charged for the permits? These people are on tax payer's money anyway. Wouldn't that greatly reduce the corruption? Remove money aspect and see how far the scheme takes you. My guess is it would be abandoned rather quickly.

And if money is being charged, why have the immunity? After all, if a transaction like this takes place, it is a contract. So why is it that one side is free from any responsibility for their contractual agreement?

 

[xxch4osxx]

" All signed off by inspectors that are in the pocket of big development companies. "

This is quite common up here. I know a few people over the years who do new home construction and they have told me of some of the poorly built houses getting "inspected" and approved. Many times, the inspector will only actually go in and inspect a couple houses on a block and proceed to sign off on the whole block/job. I can only imagine the money some of those inspectors make under the table doing shoddy work like that.

 

[P10crew]

Mini split system if you have 240 available

 

[Schmoe]

Being that there are flammable products in a typical garage, a building permit may even make you get an intrinsically safe system. Also from where you live, do you even need heat? Especially if you drive daily....your car or cars will give off a lot of heat once inside and the door is shut. I know in the winters here in Oklahoma, when the wife and I get home and both cars are in the garage, it gets nice and toasty in there. Cooling the garage won't do anything for the cars. I'd get a ceiling fan or maybe a swamp cooler and call it good and save the money.

 

[PimTac]

The economical way would be to get a window ac unit for the summer. For the winter, a good pair of long Johns.

 

[4WD]

Gasoline stored in a garage makes no sense to me. I have a shed in the property corner as far away from my house as possible


If I did not have the shed … I'd still use storage benches or something to get gasoline away from the house.
In fact … that's where I put charcoal starter and the skeeter fogging juice I just attacked them with …

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by PimTac
The economical way would be to get a window ac unit for the summer. For the winter, a good pair of long Johns.

Think you and me have proposed lower cost solutions … some of these ideas floating around are darn expensive

 

[Andrew1972]

Originally Posted by KrisZ


Regarding building code, yes there are valid reason to keep the garage space separate, but as long as the owner understands the risks, they are free to do whatever they want. It's their house.


A lot of ramifications involved. Especially at sale time with unpermitted construction, insurance claims, and tax evaluation.

I had my garage hit by 15 year old kid speeding in his moms BMW. I ended up with in excess of $14k of additional improvements like fire doors, insulation, sheetrock, rewire all under the guise the construction was not safe to fix. Geico car insurance was not happy with me tripling their original estimate. I pushed the building and fire inspector into it.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted by madRiver
Originally Posted by KrisZ


Regarding building code, yes there are valid reason to keep the garage space separate, but as long as the owner understands the risks, they are free to do whatever they want. It's their house.


A lot of ramifications involved. Especially at sale time with unpermitted construction, insurance claims, and tax evaluation.

I had my garage hit by 15 year old kid speeding in his moms BMW. I ended up with in excess of $14k of additional improvements like fire doors, insulation, sheetrock, rewire all under the guise the construction was not safe to fix. Geico car insurance was not happy with me tripling their original estimate. I pushed the building and fire inspector into it.


LOL
You got this weekend's "Got balls?" price

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted by exranger06
Using the house HVAC in the garage is against building code. Risk of carbon monoxide getting into the house, and a fire hazard (any walls or ceilings that are shared with the house need to have drywall, I think 5/8", as it has a 20 minute fire rating). Having an air duct going from the garage into the house is like an express-lane tunnel for fire to travel through.


Is this just a Connecticut thing?