I have an attic that gets direct sun until the afternoon. It gets quite hot. I had easy access to the rafters so I used radiant barrier, and the difference is very big. As you're putting it up you can tell that it's blocking the heat standing in an a covered vs uncovered area. In subsequent days when it was all up it was obviously cooler. It's still hot but not unbearable.
Radiant barrier is more expensive and fiberglass probably would have worked just as well in this situation, but I didn't know enough about air flow in that space to tell whether fiberglass would impede anything,so I used radiant barrier and left a gap at the bottoms and tops. It is very easy to install. Fiberglass wouldn't be too hard either, but the barrier is daed simple and there's less volume to move around.
In general, my experience say it's going to help, and whether you do fiberglass or radiant barrier is up to you.
Put in a radiant barrier.
A radiant barrier is a layer of metallic foil that reflects up to 96% of radiant heat, assisting in the energy performance of a building.
I have the same problem with a different setup. Half finished walls. Nothing up except the roof. No insulation on walls or ceilings. 15 degrees hotter than outside.
Lack of insulation on roof and vents that are kind of blocked by the finished walls is my issue.
Solutions I've thought about are putting a vent up high, by the ^ of the roof. Putting a fan near that. Stapling insulation to the joists, just under roof, to keep some of that heat out.
Out of left field solution: get a heat pump water heater. It will be a lil loud tho.
You might've insulated your garage door, but did you weatherize it? You can get decent weather stripping to go along all 4 edges of the door to block off the cracks. As far as insulating your garage ceiling, it's something I've considered too, but one thing I don't have an answer too is how that would affect the airflow or code compliance for my gas furnace and gas water heater, which are both in the garage.
Also, when we did an exterior remodel, we discovered there was no insulation in the exterior garage wall, only in the walls shared with the interior of the house, so you may be contending with that. We had that wall insulated when we did the renovation, and it made a noticeable difference. I've also planted trees to shade that garage wall, otherwise it gets blasted with afternoon sun.
If I had the energy and time, I would put batt insulation above the garage ceiling and also replace my attic stairs, which are old and poorly sealed. A mini split AC would also be pretty sweet.
You might be interested in watching videos by Matt Risinger on YouTube, he does a ton on insulation projects in 70s-80s builds in Texas
Get/borrow a thermal camera, and use that to see where the heat is coming in. Some libraries have thermal cameras, but that might be rare. You can also get very cheap and nasty thermal cameras from Aliexpress for $60 AUD
You need some kind of vent fan to blow that air out of there. Like a thermostat attic fan for example, In the garage. I've seen people crack a window if you got it. Crack the garage door or back/side door when you're home. Nothing is going to get rid of that heat except some ventilation of some kind.
First and foremost please please please remember water is F***ING heavy.
I know it sounds stupid to say but it's so easy to forget how fast it adds up.
Is your shed wood floored?
What is it sitting on?
Would you be comfortable grabbing a 50cm diameter boulder and placing (Not dropping) it on the floor and not have it buckle let alone break?
If yes then you might be alright.
MIGHT!
is the outlet 110? Check the fuse and not how many amps it's rated for.
If it's just you and you have at least 20 amps I would seriously consider one of those inflatable hot tubs.
You can get one from anywhere between $200 and $600 and they will work for that wattage AND distribute the water weight enough you won't crack a concrete base, even a not too thin one.
If you are thinking of a cast iron tub or something similar maybe with higher walls or smaller footprint as the shed isn't big enough for a hot tub then you need to seriously worry about that it will be sitting on.
Finally dumping the water once in a blue moon with 2 squirts of soap isn't great but it will do minimal damage but 2 or 3 times per week is a LOT of water that will concentrate in a small area and if you plan on washing at all that adds to a lot more soap and detergents then you realize concentrating in your lawn.
Consider doing some filtering before you dump. Charcoal or sand to start and that will help quite a bit. It'll mean very slow drain but you don't really are about that do you?
If you're looking for a commercial product it's called a whole house fan. The tl;dr is there are vents in the places you want cooled connected to this fan that sits in your attic. Twice a day or so it exhausts the hot air letting it be replaced by the cooler basement air. Depending on the humidity you might need to run the AC to dehumidify the air a bit.
I’ve seen either a video of someone having done exactly what you’re talking about (including the prefab shed) or maybe it was a pic. So yes. Go for it!
The concept is doable for sure, but I'd reconsider the draining issue. The volume of a hot tub is quite something, and if you're using any kind of soap or other chemicals, you've got a potential environmental challenge on hand. Even if you only use biodegradable stuff, that doesn't mean that plants will rejoice being smothered with soapy water.
For the heater you'll need something with a decent wattage to get it up to temp in short enough time, so make sure you're not overloading the circuit. Those outlets in some shed are often not the best.
Propane/butane would work as well, but in that case you'll need to take care of proper ventilation as well. Or just leave the door open.
Sounds very doable! My friend has an old claw foot tub that he lights a fire under. If you want something a little less country, you can buy on demand electric or propane water heaters and hook your hose up, though I'd expect the electric one wouldn't be able to keep up at 120v. Hardest part of this project is probably moving the tub. I say go for it!
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