: I'm locating a work space to build a kayak this winter, and the
: Chicago winters get pretty darn cold. The types of spaces I'm
: finding are mostly insulated but unheated garage spaces.

: I imagine this is a pretty common problem. What sort of heating
: solutions do you use for fiberglassing in cold spaces?

Heat the work rather than heating the work area. You can do this with the expensive infrared heaters, or you can use inexpensive lightbulbs. Quartz-halogen flood lights put a lot of heat into a well-defined area, but they cost more than plain incandescent bulbs.

1500 watts of electric lights puts out about 5120 BTUs, which is more than enough to heat a small area around the boat. You could probably get by with 500 to 1000 watts. 10 100-watt light bulbs set 2 feet apart give you a zone 20 feet long and 2 to 3 feet wide which can get very warm.

Drape a sheet of plastic a couple feet over the boat. put the lights under it for an hour. pull off the plastic, glass the boat, cover with the tented plastic again, and turn on just half the lights to keep it warm enough for the resin to cure. The radiant heat warms the wood, any neary air that gets heated, too, is trapped under the tent. As long as the temperature near the boat is in the range of 'room temperature' your resin will set up nicely.

Where in the Chicago area are you? It might be easier to just find a warmed workspace. In the city you might inquire about working at the Lincoln Park Boat Club or Rowing Club. Or, check with the Chicago City junior college nearest you and see if they have spare workspace. You may need to just sign up for a woodworking class, and move the boat in as your class project. if you are in the 'burbs, you can check the various community colleges.
Other options are heated storage areas which allow you to work in them. Check the yellow pages. The big names storage chains like Public Storage, generally don't allow you to work in the spaces, but the smaller, privately owend ones might. Look for boat storage site, too. There are 5 or 6 small airports around the city--ask about renting a hanger for a month. Contact a realestate firm and see if they have any vacant retail space, lofts or warehouses you can rent for a month. Look for spots that were selling halloween costumes a couple of months ago. They may be tax prep sites in January, but all thru December they may be vacant--and available for a month--more than enough to get your glassing done.

Just some thoughts.

PGJ