Garage Heating

[Tonyb66]

Hi there, I`ve never owned a classic car before and wondered if I need to heat my garage . Its perfectly dry and has a roller door so reasonably sealed from the damp but does get cold.Do i need to leave windows open /closed ,and if i need a heater whats the best option. TIA Anthony

[slotcarone]

I personally have never heated my garage but it is under my house so it never get to a really low temp in there. As for the windows I prefer to keep them all closed up tight. Have never had any problems doing this in 40 years with collector cars.

[EdwardB]

Hi there, I`ve never owned a classic car before and wondered if I need to heat my garage . Its perfectly dry and has a roller door so reasonably sealed from the damp but does get cold.Do i need to leave windows open /closed ,and if i need a heater whats the best option. TIA Anthony

I’m assuming you live somewhere in the UK rather than the Canadian Prairies!
If so, I don’t think heat is really necessary and in some cases might do more damage when storing a wet car.
Some ventilation is a good thing so don’t seal the garage tight.
I personally run a dehumidifier but tend to use it only if the car is wet and that’s very rare.
I’m always surprised at how much water it extracts.
Just my views, others may offer different views.

HTH
Edward

[Steve Payne]

It depends on how you generate the heat, if you use gas that produces a lot of water so probably has a negative effect.

Keeping the garage dry is more important in the UK, not putting the car away wet after a drive in the rain and then leaving it in a garage heated by the engine is probably about as bad as it could get.

Dehumidifiers work well but only if the area you are using it in is sealed or you will be trying to dry the hole atmosphere. They are very expensive to run but the water they produce can be kept for topping up the cooling system.

I am working on a car at the moment that has been stored for 25 years in no more than a garage, no rust anywhere other than the disc brakes. The engine is seized but we don't know if that is the result of the extended lay up or happened before hand.

Steve

[Kevin Birch]

Ventilation is the key, my garage is at the bottom of the garden, is dry but quite drafty. If the car is wet, then leather it off, so long as it has good ventilation it will dry quite quickly, and keep moisture to a minimum. As Steve says, de-humidifiers pull gallons of water out of the atmosphere and so the garage needs to be sealed, this will then start to dry the leather out, which you don't want. Don't forget these vehicles are designed to work in the wet, and the materials too, unless of course your car has silk seats and velvet paintwork.

[colin7673]

There has been some good advise and everybody is different, some have the floors tiled and air conditioning in there garages, other use a cocoon to keep their cars all tucked up for the winter months. A lot does depend on what you can afford and how far you want to go.

The house we live in now, had a carpet on the garage floor, very old one, this was because the last owner use to spend a lot of time in there, so when I had the chance of a thick rug in good condition, that was to be thrown out, I took it, as It happen is was 16ft x 5ft, so the car now sits on this in the garage, which I feel stops damp or cold air rising. We haven't 'sealed' the garage, as this would be a lot of work, If you see our garage you would understand, but when we had a extension to the kitchen, we took out a utility room, which had a radiator in, this was then plumped in to the garage, the plumber did ask why, but this is set to a low heat and keeps the 'chill' of the car in winter, when we had the really cold weather a few years ago, you could tell the difference.

So really the choice is yours.

[JHV8]

The best thing you can do for an old car is use it. In the winter when you get a chance on dry days take it out even if for a short run once a week or so.
Ventilated garage is better than a warm one.

[Steve Payne]

The best thing you can do for an old car is use it. In the winter when you get a chance on dry days take it out even if for a short run once a week or so.
Ventilated garage is better than a warm one.

Agree 100%, having a car sitting idle for months on end does it no good at all. The other bad thing to do is start it up for 10 mins once a week or fortnight and let it idle, all this does is introduce moisture into the engine.

It costs you nothing to tax it for 12 months a year and I suspect very little extra to insure so when it is a nice day take it to work or for a run on a Sunday.

Steve

[shaun]

Totally agree Steve,
I know when mine was away for just under a year under the knife it was not quite the same when it came back. No blame what so ever to the restorers but simply the fact it hadn't been run any distance. Now, after a year or so I feel it is back to where it was before. Get in, start it up and go for a stress free run.
Which brings us on again to low mileage over 40+ years or higher mileage and used. I believe this has been discussed at length before. Museum glass box icons or machines out and around the globe doing what they were designed for giving pleasure to drivers and observers?

[kees]

When I build my garage 20 odd years ago I fitted 4" insulation on the roof and 2" in the cavity walls. As it is directly on to the house, I plumbed the radiator with its own thermostat in the garage into the central heating of the house. I try to keep the temperature slightly over the outside temperature summer and winter and have slight ventilation. Relative humidity is thus always lower inside than outside. It keeps the cars and all parts/equipment/tools etc. bone dry. I could probably improve the situation slightly by tiling/sealing the thick concrete floor to totally prevent any damp rising from the floor. Concrete is water tight but does pass a little water vapour.
Kees Oudesluijs

[Tonyb66]

Many thanks Gents for all your advice ,must admit the bit I liked best was to get it out and use it on a dry day. Need to get a few jobs done to make it more reliable on longer runs but driving it is the best bit . My garage is sealed from the weather but not sealed air tight and I live in surrey .The floor has been painted with epoxy paint so will be easy to keep dry . Thanks again Anthony