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I went and got a pile of lumber tonight so I'll be ready to build anytime it's not to too cold.

Here is the one I have. Vents with B pipe out the roof or you can mount it near a wall and vent it out the wall. I have it pointed at the lift. Often if I'm not going to be out there for long I can just have it blowing hot air at my work area. I have a propane bullet heater but it gives me headaches if I run it too long so I bought the unit heater and all the exhaust vents outside.

I'd be somewhat concerned with how much it will cost to heat the way you want? You could spend the whole day getting it up to a nice temp and then Lana changes your plans for the evening. Another option I guess could be a wood stove or pellet stove but either one would take up valuable floor space unless you get the one sits outside and the heat gets ducted in?

I think a lot of the mini split systems have their own built in remote wireless thermostats? If they work with any thermostat it may be better to get the mini splits without the aux heat and install a unit heater as your aux heat? Might save you a couple hundred on the mini split purchase to help offset the price of the unit heater?

You forgot the link or pic.

I share your concerns. Years ago I had a shop in a section of a barn in upstate NY where it got frikin cold and it seemed like the wind was alway blowing. I insulated it and used kerosene heaters, I had a big bullet unit and 2 smaller wick type units. I found the bullet heater warmed the air in 5-10 minutes.....but the floor and equipment was cold for a long time and my hands lower legs would just ache after a hours or so due to cold while the rest of me was sweating due to the heat. It was awful, but better than being outside. So the bullet heater was the emergency solution but normally I'd flip the 2 small heaters on thursday night to have the shop ready to work friday evening but wasn't really comfortable until Saturday morning....just so much thermal mass to deal with.

Here I'm hoping thew insulation under the slab lets me heat the floor a whole lot quicker and the in-floor heat will make it happen in an hour or 2, I don't think I can hope for more than that. I'm thinking about 36k but for this.

That leaves the walls and equipment....another 36k btu from the minisplit should be able to warm the air in an hour or 2. But to you're point I may be smoking crack and its going to take WAY longer than that.

This year I won't know as I won't have the shop buttoned up until spring at the rate I'm going. I know the minsplit will handle the AC needs so I'm good for the summer, if I get the outside work done so I'm allowed in the shop. Then come fall I'll have to see. I have the bullet heater as a backup and if I find I need it then I'll add something like you have.

You're right on the mini split thermostats....I'll need to look at that. I could do somehting like have the floor heat act as aux...I don't know.....I'll need to see what makes sense.

Maybe I should do the floor heat with propane right from the get go. A small tank type water heater is maybe $600. Maybe

So with Kevin's concerns on my mind I started looking at propane options for the heater floor more seriously. A standard tank water heater starts around $500 for around 30-35k btu and as BTUs go up the size and price go up. Instant heaters start around $200 for 35k btu...if I can make it work as that are min/max flow and pressure requirments...and I have to wonder why its so cheap, looks like they have all manual type controls. Direct vent would make my life easier too.

Real boilers actually designed to heat a house start around $1800....thats a big difference that I'm not sure I understand unless its got to do with duty cycle where I know a boiler is designed to run 24/7 and is basically a lifetime warrenty but a water heater really isn't and may have a short life acting as a boiler.

https://www.totalhomesupply.com/75000-b ... 8wQAvD_BwE

Here's the link. I believe mine is the 75kbtu? It might be higher? I'd have to go out and look at it. I saw someone has it for $799 free delivery.

What about going with the propane fired unit heater and leaving your options open for heat pumps or in floor heating if you already put in the tubing? Gets you fast cheap heat and you can add the expensive heat pumps later and use the money to buy a 4 post lift instead?

In floor heat is really nice and comfy but it takes a long time when you just want to go out and make a quick trip to the garage to work for an hour? Maybe it won't cost that much to maintain the garage heat 24/7 to a reasonable temp?

Did you already put tubing in the slab for in floor heating?

I went back and look at your pics and I see you did put the tubing in. The may restrict you to a 4 post lift unless you know exactly where the tubing is in the floor and left a spot for a 2 post lift?

When my friend built his shop with in floor heat He drew a map of where he intended to put the lift. Then after he poured the slab he lost the drawing. We ended up raising and lowering the temps many times and checking the temps over and over again with a pyrometer to find the two spots he didn't run tubing. We prayed the whole time we drilled the mounting holes that pink water didn't come shooting out one of the holes.

Yes I put the tubing in, it's probably less then an inch from the top so in theory your pyrometer idea could find it...but like the attic I never planned for a 2 or 4 post lift. While we were looking at hundreds of garage door photos the other day Lana noticed 3 cars stuffed into a 2 car garage and asked how they did the....."A lift, we'll probably need one", "how much?", "about $2500"....no response.

I think you're right that a 4 post with wheel is the versitel option there.....we'll see but I suspect it will end up in the attached garage as a way for me to double stack before it ends up in the workshop.

Yes, in floor heat is notoriously slow responding, even and comfortable but slow to respond to change and probably not a great option for on/off applications. Forced air is much faster and I really REALLY want AC .

Another option is install a real hvac system. Selfcontained systems start around $1800 and sit outside so no lost space. There are heapump, furnace/AC and duel fuel options but it looks liek the duel fuel stuff (heatpump+furnance) adds some cost as the cheap brands don't appear to offer it. Lots to think about.

Somehow my AC guy was able to do a hybrid system with my oil furnace I had gotten earlier. The heatpump has an outdoor temp probe built into it. I don't know if the mini splits have the outdoor temp probe built in or not? I would think they would? Maybe just the units with the resistance heat built in to the interior unit?

That's pretty easy, the magic happens in the thermostat. If you have a 1cooling, 2 heating verion you can make it work. My geo has a 2C, 3H thermostat with a geo setting becasue the compressor is 2 speed and then the resistive heat for aux and emergency and unlike air heatpumps you run the geo always, not just above a set outside temp.

I just looked and mini splits do NOT have aux heat, at least not the ones I've been looking at. Also reading though the manual for the panasoninc it appears to basically shut down when its below 23F outside. That changes my thinking a little bit about how wonderful these things are...or are not.

I also probably don't want to do a central forced air sytem or try to use room to room ventaltor for the bathroom.....that will be for the pool and shouldn't be filled with garage smells anymore than needed if I want Lana happy with me. Its a tiny space so the smallest window AC unit with a resistive heater or keeping the floor heat on at 50-60F wouldn't be the end of the world and would be very cheap.

I'll keep thinking about that rest of the shop.......but I'm headed for trying the floor heat,1/2 window AC unit(s) and adding a ceiling mounted burner if its too slow to heat. Then do the attic room with a couple fo the room to room powered ventaltors. This is a pretty cheap path.