Watched this video (watch all your videos) then went out and bought shop lights. Glad to know I’m not going blind. Installed them in less than 30 minutes, and it made a huge difference.
I live in Canada, and I installed a mini split. You are definitely right on the mark Matt, with it being a good investment. Where i live in southern Ontario, the winters get down to -22 deg F and the summers into the 90's. And that bad boy keeps everything in the shop a steady 65 deg F year round. You barely notice a difference in the electric bill, if any at all. It also has a built in dehumidifier. And when I accidentally do something to annoy the wife, lol... I could live in my shop.... comfortably. Then use the climate controlled shop to build something for her that smooths my way back into her good books.
I also added a dehumidifier and mini split to my shop last spring. I was a game changer. I can work in the shop all year long and not feel like I am in an oven. I no longer have to worry about wood movement like I use to and rust is a thing of the past
I added a Mitsubishi Mini-Split (heat pump) to my shop and it has been awesome. I was concerned about the coils getting really dirty from the fine dust, so I made a pre-filter plenum to sit on top of the air handler. I used a foam rubber weatherstrip seal around the bottom to seal the plenum to the air handler. Then once per month, I slip a fresh 20x25 furnace filter into the plenum. My coils are still clean. The A/C guy was at my house doing other work and he saw my plenum and asked me about it. He opened things up and commented on how clean it was inside. Jay Bates did a similar setup in his huge shop.
Dehumidifier is on point. I stained a dresser a few weeks back and had troubles with humidity. First video I've seen about it. Definitely on my list!!!
You can also put the dehumidifier on a stool or something a little higher than the ground and still put a piece of hose on the back and then put the hose in any size bucket you want. I usually empty it about once a day. Thank you for all the great content and easy to follow directions !!
Thanks, Matt. We have the very same dehumidifier. Here in Central Wi, the concrete floor sweats like crazy without it in the summer. As you say, it helps dry out your lumber. We have a Wen unit for the fine dust and are thinking about adding a second. With winter on the way, insulating the doors is next. I had an electrician wire a 220V electric heater for warmth. We'll see how well it works. Thanks again for the info!
Newer subscriber! I installed a very similar insulating product (from Lowes) in my garage doors earlier this year. The previous day, I installed the insulation on one of the doors and the next day I was about to do the same to the other. Before I did, I used a temperature gun and on both. The insulated door read 91.7 while the uninsulated door read 110.9. Both doors were in direct sun. This is in Florida and what a difference! I've also places some LED lighting, the very thin (drywall thickness) kind and yes, you're spot on, it's so much better! Okay, back to finish the video!
Thanks for the tips! I run the same Sunco leds in my garage and they are awesome! Great call on the horse stall mats. I’ll go look into these for the shop.
Another great video. It's funny about the lights. I'm old so I installed so many of those led lights that when young people come into my shop they reach for their sunglasses 🙂. I have also started putting those mats down. I need about 6 more of them.
Thanks, Matt love your videos. I live in southeast Texas and understand the humidity issue. I guess I will be getting a dehumidifier for my detached garage.
Definitely sharing this video with my father-in-law who spends almost every day in his garage-based workshop. The tips about the floor mats and insulation on the door panels will really help a lot! - Great video! 👊
Your videos are always practical. I'm trying to work out how I'll cool my new shop before the next summer (Seattle winters are not severe, but they're cold enough that I don't have to think about AC at all until the Spring). One thought on the garage door: you can use it for some very limited storage. In particular, FastCap sells some hangers you can use to attach your track saw guide rail to it, or you can make something similar. Guide rail can take up a lot of space, but is also very light and flat. It's ideal to sit on the individual sections of the door.
I added LED lights to my garage 3-4 years ago and man, what a difference. Only cost about $30 for the kit of 6 lights, on Amazon. I used one of those outlet adapters you screw into a light socket to power mine. Easy, peasy. I've been wanting to insulate our garage door for a few years now. Our door faces the afternoon So. TX sun and I've seen it get to 100 degrees on some of the hottest days. I just do what folks in the northern climates do, i.e. I don't work in the shop for a couple months out of the year. Of course, when the wife has a bunch of projects for me to do around the house, I don't get in the shop much for the other 10 months. Lol. What's it like to clean sawdust off that flooring? It looks like it would be great to stand on, but it also looks like a rough surface. It looks like you'd need a vacuum because a broom would be ineffective.
Nice job and great info Matt! I would also recommend a chair or shop stool with wheels for spending long stretches of time in the shop. The ability to sit down while working on some tasks could help relieve pressure on sore feet. 😊
I like to sit on a stool or chair when I'm doing small stuff but I notice I tend to stand up in front of my chair a lot and not use it 😅 so I've got to where I don't even bother now
I bought some of the 5k lumen led shop lights from harbor freight a couple years ago. Good light and seem to be holding up just fine in my unheated basement. Really need to invest in a dehumidifier.
Great video! Maybe a useful tip for your floor mats: I also use those same type stall mats for my home gym and found that they like to move quite a bit. If you hammer the corners of your mats into mending plates (mending plates on the underside of the mat), you get a pretty tight fit. You could probably get away from using tape to close up your seems. It's a very clean look and could potentially save you the tape maintenance.
Great channel! I previously installed and have enjoyed the benefits of tips 1-3 for several years now. I have 2 shops and use the 2’x2’ interlocking floor mats, for one house purchased from Sam’s Club and the other from Costco. They both do a great job. All my equipment and benches are on rollers but since i seldom move them, i have mats only in the walking/standing areas. My feet thank me.
Good sound advice. One question....if you dry down the lumber in your shop as you're working, what happens when a piece goes to a new home with a less controlled environment. When I moved from KS to CO my things got loose. Then when I moved from there to WI things like drawers are really sticking. Just a thought. Thanks for your videos.
Lighting was one of the first things I changed after Dad passed. Not sure, but I think it was from Patriot. 4 foot LED with speakers on each end. As the 4 foot flourescents quit, I'll replace tbem with LEDs. One other way to minimize rust is with the silica pacs that are used in shipping. I've got them in caginets and tool boxes.
I got led shoplights so no bulbs to replace or break when swinging lumber around. Get them at walmart on sale every now and then for 12 bucks I think it was.
I got a Mr Cool mini-split and I used to turn it off and turn if on and it just took too long to cool the garage enough in the summer. So, I tried to leave it on 78 all the time during an entire month, August, in Alabama....it's HOT. Our electric bill went up $60. I'm sure not ALL of that it related to the mini-split. But I think most of it was.
Matt, first of all, I REALLY enjoy your videos! Keep them coming. Full of wisdom for sure. For the shop flooring, I installed those hard PVC integral 12” X 12” floor tiles. They are better, I believe, in that my various equipment and worktops can easily roll over them. And because they have a smooth surface, mostly, it is easy to blow off or vacuum the sawdust.
I’ve got to try a dehumidifier. Southeast Texas is bad during the summer too. Should be a great addition. My shop is actually my barn which also house the cows. Would the dehumidifier effect them in anyway? They have their own space but it’s all in one building
I have the same flooring - I’m sure its nearly paid for itself through all the stuff I’ve dropped but not broken. The only downside is small drill bits are really hard to find if you drop them!
Do you have a video on wood stain or staining wood? I have two IKEA Moppe that I am thinking staining, reversing the drawers and adding hardware to give it a card catalog look.
My husband worked in HVAC industry, Trane and York, for decades both in manufacturing and sales. The mini split technology, dominated by Japan and South Korean manufacturers, is lightyears beyond standard US HVAC products. It is another industry that we have allowed other countries to gain dominance in because American executives refuse to accept that there is a better way to do something. Our systems still heat and cool using the “freeze - fry” approach: the thermostat difference is huge. Mini split system have a much narrower thermostat difference because they have a variable speed compressor system that allows the system to operate at a level needed to meet the demand placed on it. If a space is hot - the mini split will rev up to drop the temperature quickly. Once a space reaches the desired temperature, it will operate at a slow speed to maintain that temperature, which is why your electric bill went down. This is a great technology and product and I curse the incompetence of American companies’ managers who, over the past 20 years, failed to keep their companies’ products on the cutting edge of this technology. They opted to “maximize shareholder value” by milking an aging technology of every last penny. Now, they have to try to compete against strong brands like Fujitsu, Samsung and LG. 🤯
Great video. Thanks for sharing. Not really cheap upgrades but for sure worth the money. BTW I would like to have a PLAINER (5:31) Where can I buy one? LOL
Matt, about the camera up by your Laguna filter, is that for security or filming? If you use it for filming (and like it) would you please send me an affiliate link? I have been looking for more angles to film from.
Thank you for sharing. I have a box fan with a furnace filter taped on it, but I have been thinking about an actual filtration unit. Need to put insulation on the ceiling of my workshop first since it's in the basement.
@@731Woodworks Insulated my ceiling with Rockwool Safe & Sound insulation this past weekend - immediate difference noted in how much quieter it is upstairs and in my basement workroom. I also created an air purifier from 4 20x20 air filters, cardboard, duct tape, and a box fan that seems to work much better than my previous method.
Great video! You say your electric bill went down. Logically, you must have been using another system, but what was it? I'm torn between a mini split and a wall heater/window a/c
I believe the reason it went down is because before the mini split, the garage was basically functioning as an oven and heating 2 walls that join the house. With the mini split keeping those at 72-74 degrees it meant that my home unit didn't have work as hard. Just a guess though.
I have done a plug in led as well I like your setup better. Good review as well. Also. Question Sir?? I am looking to buy my first pneumatic nailers. I am renovating my house. I am installing door casings, baseboards and quarter round. I am also building a none load bearing wall to enclose a room to make it into a walk-in closet and a small closet built off of a corner of a room. I have learned to buy the right tool for the job yet at the same time I prefer to buy a quality tool so years down the road I do not have to buy that tool again. I am a Diy’er and aspiring wood worker. I am currently comparing the Freeman vs Dewalt vs Metabo and Rigid pneumatic nailers. I am planning on getting the 18ga Brad, 18 ga narrow crown stapler, and a Palm nailer to frame in the closets. Any suggestions on what tool is the best bang for the buck??
Could you park a car on the flooring? I will also have cars in the garage and wondered if your flooring idea would work for a normal garage that is also used as a work area.
Hi Matt, another excellent video. Question on the Horse Stall Mats, Been looking at them but was told they are hard. How much cushion is there? I have a 12x16 shed with a wood floor. I am thinking about the stall mats for cushion as well as some insulation. Have any thoughts? Thanks!!!
They are a dense rubber. They won’t compress any noticeable amount when you walk on them. Even rolling my tool carts you can’t notice any compression. The workbench compresses them a little as you can see in the video. They are a hard rubber but not hard like concrete
Always find your videos informative. Thank-you. Q: doesn’t the mini-split dehumidify? Seems like the overlap between mini-split and dehumidifier would be redundant.
Thanks for another useful video. On Amazon one review talks about another reviewer pointing out a design flaw in the dehumidifier in which water collects in a certain part of the unit and forms scummy residue. But the linked 2nd review is for a hOmeLabs dehumidifier. That particular humidifier also has complaints about leaking hose attachment point so I think this is at least part of the issue. I'n the time you've had the Vremi model have you experienced any package at the drain hose connection point or any of the above-mentioned internal scummy water inside the unit? Thanks!
The mates also help if you drop something, you are less likely to damage what you drop, plus it helps as a sound absorber or sound deadener making the area a little more quitter when using loud tools.
I'd like to know how much all this stuff costs. I can't do it as a woodworker in my corner of the US; need to hit the lotto, or have a state pension. I know that stall mats up here are about $75 each. The mini-split? Laguna air filter? Cnc. saw stop 3 or 4 K depending on the model. Wood working must be much more lucrative in AR than it is in the NE. Most of us, who aren't professionals would not be able to afford your set up. Especially if we're trying to raise kids and feed them at the same time. That's why "creators" (you know, Wilerson, DiResta, etc) crack me up. Regular folk do not have endorsements, or paid advertisements, or tools given to them for free to offset our small shops. Please post a spreadsheet of the total, retail price of your shop. Thanks.
