Written by Glenda Taylor and Bob Vera | August 30, 2021 at 8:47 AM

When the outdoor temperature is low, the typical garage is not designed to keep warm indoors. Garages often lack insulation, and their concrete floors are cold all year round. Even with a small space heater, the temperature in the garage may not rise more than a few degrees.

However, when the air in your garage is bitterly cold, your tools will freeze, paint and glue will not bond properly, and car repair or carpentry work will become difficult and unpleasant. So, if you want to use your garage workshop in all seasons—not just warm seasons—keep reading. We have outlined 10 tips for heating the garage to a comfortable temperature so that it can continue to be an efficient work space.

Visit your local home improvement store in late autumn and you will find aisles of large and small portable space heaters. However, most of these options are not sufficient to heat the entire garage. If you are looking for a serious heat source, please consider installing a ceiling-mounted forced air heating device, such as a hard-wired Dr. Infrared 10,000 watt ceiling-mounted garage heater (available from Home Depot), make sure it is the right size for your garage Square feet. Place this type of heater in a corner of the garage and point it down at a 45-degree angle to provide the best heat distribution. Most ceiling heaters today come with a remote control and thermostat, so you can set the temperature you like, and the rest depends on store heaters.

Related: The best heater for garage work areas

The only disadvantage of ceiling-mounted heaters is that the few inches closest to the floor may still be cold. If your feet are still cold, try installing a skirting board heater where you can work most easily-one possible place is the area under the workbench. Hydronic baseboard heaters such as Slant/Fin Hydronic Baseboard Heater (available from The Home Depot) are connected to the household boiler. When hot water flows through the pipes in the heater, the warm air radiates into the space, keeping the floor and other places warm.

No matter how powerful your garage heater is, if the walls are not completed, you will find it difficult to maintain comfortable warmth in the garage. Many garage walls consist only of studs and are covered with sheaths and siding. If there is no garage insulation, the cold outside air will quickly transfer to the inside of the garage and affect your heating work.

To create an insulating barrier, install fiberglass mat insulation (for example, Johns Manville R-13 fiberglass mat insulation, available from The Home Depot) in each stud space, and then install drywall, plywood, or oriented strand board To complete the interior wall (OSB). Insulation and finished walls will help maintain heat in the garage, and you can save on heating bills.

Usually made of thin metal, garage doors are notoriously cold in winter. In fact, if you live in a northern climate, it is not uncommon to find frost on the inside of a metal garage door. Insulating the door will help prevent cold outdoor air from entering the room and cool the workshop. Even before you turn on any heaters, insulated garage doors can warm the space by an average of 10 to 12 degrees in winter. Since kits such as Reach Barrier's garage door insulation kit (available on Amazon) contain all the necessary supplies, this process is not that scary for those who do it by themselves. When choosing a garage door insulation kit, be sure to measure your door carefully. Although the Reach Barrier kit will isolate a standard garage door, garages with extra gates (or two or more doors) will require an additional kit.

Related: So, you want to...isolate the garage door 

Investing in insulation and heaters will help you keep your garage comfortable in the winter, but you should also seal any gaps that let cold wind blow through. First, take a walk in your garage and focus on the three most likely sources of drafts.

If you like to fix your car in the garage, you may be afraid of having to lie on the cold concrete floor during oil changes or repairs. A good way to solve this problem is to install a radiant floor heating system. Unfortunately, this is only a viable solution for those who are building a new garage or planning to demolish and replace an existing garage floor. Install radiant heating before pouring the concrete. First, a reflective liner is installed on the sand-filled bottom of the excavation area, and then the flexible pipe is placed in the ring on the liner. Finally, the concrete is poured. The radiant heating system is connected to a boiler, and the boiler circulates hot water through pipes, radiating heat to the floor and objects above.

If you have been in the garage for a long time and are considering refurbishing it, then a radiant floor heating system may be right for you. But remember, this is not a DIY project. You need to hire a plumber who specializes in installing radiant floor heating systems. It is estimated that an installation cost of US$5 to US$9 per square foot will be required, plus the cost of the boiler. But the resulting system is ideal for heating garage workshops: it can heat the space without blowing away wood chips and dust like forced air heating, keeping your work space away from particles that might interfere with detailed work.

Many houses are connected to natural gas pipelines, but garages usually do not, which leaves homeowners with fewer garage heating options.

Electric heating is almost always possible, but in many areas, electricity is expensive. Similarly, electric garage heaters consume a lot of power, which can cause circuit overloads and circuit breakers to trip, especially if you are running some tools at the same time. In addition, relying on electric heating may require additional circuitry. For all these reasons, using propane heaters in garages may be an affordable alternative.

A standard 20-pound propane tank can power a small propane heater. If the heat is not enough, you can choose a larger 500-gallon water tank and have a plumber connect the gas line to the garage to fuel the larger propane gas heater. In places where ventilation is not possible, look for a non-ventilated propane heater designed for clean and safe combustion.

For those who plan to spend a lot of time in the garage workshop during the colder months, it is hard to beat the soothing warmth of a wood-burning stove. Wood-burning stoves can not only provide heat, but also add a comfortable atmosphere to the space. If you have a readily available source of wood, this may be one of the best options for cheap heating.

When installing a wood-burning stove in a garage, safety considerations are paramount. The stove must be placed on a non-flammable surface (concrete garage floors are ideal) and must be kept a safe distance from walls, cabinets and other objects. However, the models are different, and some of the newer wood-burning stoves have insulated casings that will not overheat.

It should be noted that wood burning stoves must be properly ventilated to prevent smoke from accumulating in the garage. Local building codes come into play here, usually requiring a three-walled chimney to be installed vertically through the ceiling. Please consult your local building authority for other restrictions.

Black kerosene heater in composition on white background

An electric heater is very suitable for supplementary heating in cold weather, but if the space heater will be the only heat source in the garage, it should be a sturdy model-a kerosene-driven heater is suitable for this requirement.

This type of space heater, usually called "torpedo" or "newt", generates a lot of heat and concentrates it in a specific direction, so the DIYer or mechanic working in the garage can keep it well and warm. Because these heaters usually have electric fans, they still need an electrical outlet, but the heat itself is generated by kerosene.

Kerosene space heaters, such as the HEATFAST forced air kerosene heater (available from The Home Depot), can generate up to 215,000 BTU. When choosing a kerosene heater for your garage, please purchase a kerosene heater designed for indoor use to ensure that it does not emit toxic fumes. Kerosene torpedo heaters designed for outdoor use may not burn as cleanly, and they are not suitable for use in enclosed spaces.

Certain types of heaters will blow out hot air that warms the space, but radiant heat works slightly differently. It is one of the best options for heating the garage in cold weather.

Radiant heaters use infrared energy generated in a variety of ways through heating elements, infrared lamps, and even actual flames. However, their way of working is fundamentally different from forced air heating. Imagine standing outdoors on a cold day. When the sun comes out, you will immediately feel its warmth-that is radiant heat-even though the air temperature may not rise significantly.

In garages or workshops, radiant heaters can be installed on the wall or overhead. Optimus ceiling mounted heater (available on Amazon) uses a quartz heating lamp and a highly reflective base to radiate heat outward, it will warm you and everything around you, no matter how cold the weather is, you can work comfortably external.

Although heaters and insulation will definitely help keep the garage warm in winter, there is one more factor to consider: the garage floor. Concrete floors can feel cold to the touch, and this can be a problem for anyone who has to run under a car or kneel on the floor for projects.

The solution is very simple-just cover the floor. Put down indoor/outdoor carpets and warm them by sweeping the floor or cleaning the carpet with a leaf blower. For more comfort, please consider using interlocking rubber pads, which not only insulate the floor, but also provide a certain degree of cushioning, making it easier for you to stand for long periods of time.

Disclosure: BobVila.com participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide publishers with a way to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites.

You agree that BobVila.com can process your data in the manner described in our privacy policy.

Copyright © 2021 Acton Media Inc. all rights reserved.