Electric trike

[FrankenMech]

I worry about the neighbors hearing my 'creative bitching' I have the tools to open that wall but I am not sure about the strength. Maybe I will hire the neighbor that does house renovations to do it. He has a carpenter and electrician he uses on his crew if he needs help. I have a big 30 space 100A electrical sub-panel in the garage.

I know where the AC unit will go to clear my head out in the carport, I just need to figure out a BTU rating to use. My 12x24 garage metal shop has at least 4000 pounds of metal to cool off in it. Everything I do in there makes gobs of heat also. Similar problems exist with heating in the winter. Cold tools will suck the life out of your hands and I use gloves. I have been getting by with opening the kitchen door and placing a box fan in it but the weather is too extreme nowadays combined with the limited capacity of the home HVAC equipment. On these days when it gets up to 100°F or more the house AC unit slips 2-4 degrees during the day. I keep the thermostat set at 76°F for cooling and 66°F for heating and close off vents to rooms I am not using. Climate change sucks. Equipment that has been OK for over 50 years is no longer adequate. Some folks say it is just a normal temperature cycle, -I say BS.

[jackrides]

Paint the roof and west wall very white. Any way to insulate the work space from the near roof space and ventilate near roof space? Screw the code, it only has to meet your needs. Caulk the larger cracks.

[FrankenMech]

It is an attached garage on the East side.

House was built in 1962, spec house, cheaply built, minimum codes IF they followed them.

I have found there are several things the 'inspectors' may have been paid to overlook.

Our fine city government has always been crooked as a snake and still is.

The ceiling is finished with blown-in insulation.
Attic space is very well ventilated.
There is a plywood uninsulated but sealed 30x36" attic access door
Exterior walls are minimally insulated.
House wall between garage is insulated in a minimal fashion.
Kitchen original hollow door is well sealed but does not meet fire codes anymore.

The weak spot is the wood garage door on the north side which is uninsulated but well sealed.
I have materials and plans to convert the garage door to an insulated carriage house pair of doors.
I have even figured out how to mod the 40+ year old chain drive garage door opener to open the new doors.
The worst thing is a heavy snow could seal up all my doors and I would be unable to exit the house.
I use the garage door now for exit in heavy snow.
I try to keep the front door area shoveled during snowstorms to avoid blocking them.
If the front doors are blocked I would have to exit rear doors and smash through a privacy fence.
I do have a sledgehammer and a post driver but I am getting too old and weak to swing them.

I am thinking about adding some reflectix insulation to the west bedroom wall for some more insulation from the sun. The neighbors probably will not like the appearance but I figure everyone will have to do it in years to come. I had it up several years ago when the house next door was vacant and it seemed to work well against the sun. I saved the insulation in 4' rolls with battens. It is easy to put back up. This is similar:

www.amazon.com/REFLECTIX-BP24010-x10-Foil-Insulation/dp/B000BPF22U/

It adds almost no physical insulation but does reflect the sun. The house wall does not do badly if it is not heated by the sun to 200°F on the outside.