I have 18'x22' garage dedicated as a woodworking shop. But I'm cold. I currently use a propane fired convection heater like this one from Mr. Heater
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I don't like the smell, open flame, and lack of thermostat. I'd like to install a externally vented gas heater such as the Hot Dawg with a control thermostat, but the problem is that I rent the house. So, a permanent installation isn't attractive.
I could use either propane or natural gas. Of course if I use NG I'd have to have a contractor come in and run the gas line. If I use Propone, could I just stand a 100 gal tank against the wall and run the line to the heater? Or do they require a more permanent installation? I realize I'll have to vent it to the outside. But I figure when I leave I could just pull the heater, tank, and venting, and leave just a nice vent cover in the wall.
Just a thought, but you might want to contact the owner and make sure that it is ok with him to punch a hole in the wall of his house. I would be pretty pissed if you did that to me without asking. Unless you spend a lot of time is a cold shop, you might want to consider an electric heater (220V).
If the owner won't mind a four inch hole through the outside wall, then you might consider a pellet stove. I use a small, older stove to heat my 3000 sq ft shop for around $1 a day.
*ANYTHING* that is 'permanently attached' to the structure of the building becomes the property of the _owner_ of the building. Remove it without the permission of the owner, and you could get charged with theft.
I know that _seems_ silly for something *you* paid for and installed, but that IS the way the law reads.
The thing to do is _discuss_ the matter with the owner, get *permission* to (a) install, and (b) _remove_ when you leave, the heater. And make sure that _whatever_ agreement you come to, you have everything *IN*WRITING*.
Might help, but I've rented in diverse areas in several states and it has ALWAYS been in the lease or local law that anything attached permanently belongs to the landlord.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of variation: the intent is to prevent things such as through-the-wall installations of AC or heat, with a resulting hole left in the wall when the tenant leaves. I've installed cabinets and built and installed cabinets in rentals, and would have beenin deep doo doo (thanks to GWB for his contributions to the language) if I'd removed any of them, though they'd have left few, if any, marks.
If it's going to be a permanent installation, it is essential to talk it over with the landlord. Get a couple months' rent free, if possible.
Charlie Self "Brevity is the soul of lingerie." Dorothy Parker
Contact the owner and see if the two of you can work it out. I've had times when renters have wanted something for their immediate benefit that added to the value of my property so we shared the cost. In your situation, if you're willing to buy the heater I bet the owner might be willing to pay for the plumbing to it. You can figure out other options that might be more appealing to you, but the point is that if the owner gets something in return he/she might be willing to foot some of the cost. You have to figure out what you'd be willing to spend and leave with the owner when you leave. If you plan on staying a year you might not want to spend $500, but if you plan on staying three years and can find a heater for $300 maybe that would be reasonable to you to stay warm.
And I believe pretty much everywhere in the U.S. anything you install "permanently" becomes the property of the owner. Lastly, someone else owns the house so before you punch a vent hole in the wall you really should talk to the owner about it. It's just not cool to drill a big hole in someone else's property. I.e. the owner may get very pissed.
It is NOT in statute, nor ordinance. It is part of the "common law" heritage going back literally hundreds of years.
If a thing is permanently attached to a piece of real property, it becomes _part_ of that real property. And, as such, the ownership of that 'thing' which was attached to the real property transfers _to_the_owner_ of the real property to which it was attached.
"Nuts & bolts", "screws", "glue", "molly bolts", "toggle bolts", "permanent" double-sided sticky tape are _all_ considered means of "permanent" attachment. "Removable" double-sided sticky tape is not. Nor is 'scotch(tm) tape, or cellophane tape, or masking tape. Not even "duck tape". "Velcro"(tm) or other "hook-and-loop" fastener is not considered permanent -- except for the 1/2 of the fastener (itself) that happens to be 'permanently attached' to a wall or whatever.
"Construction staples" _are_ considered permanent, while 'desk stapler' staples are _not_ (*DON'T* ask me 'why its different', I _don't_ know :)
Curtains, on a rod are not permanent additions, although the curtain rod itself usually is. 'Blinds' are a _really_ messy subject -- cases have gone both ways, depending on the precise construction/mounting.
Wall cabinets raise some interesting issues, too. If they're bolted/screwed to the wall, they're 'permanent'. If they're just hanging on a French cleat, they're *not*. (although the wall-side half of the cleat *is*).
There is *lots* of case-law on point. *VERY*LITTLE*, if anything, approaching "recent" regarding a dispute over whether a thing "is or is not permanently attached", however -- *that* has been a 'solved problem' for a long time. :)
If you _don't_ have an *explicit* agreement with the owner about what you can do (and, equally important, "can undo"), any 'improvements' you make *DO* become the property of the owner.
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