Heating a large space

[jmoose]

Oh - another idea: Here in frosty Minnesota I have heard of the practice of heating a sauna with a modified electric water heater. This would be the cylindrical type of water heater. Basically you cut the top off (with a sawzall)...

Can I just say that's possibly an extremely dangerous thing to try? A long time ago in a galaxy far far away I worked at a hardware store and some jackass came in to buy a Sawzall and attempt that very trick. Only in his case he was trying to break a water heater down so he could remove it. Well, he came back the next day to buy a sledgehammer. Turns out that the interior of the water heater had concrete or a similar substance in it and the Sawzall was just bouncing off the sides of the tank!

Moral of the story...find out what the tank is made of before you cut!

[Dave-H]

I have a fairly large space my self. Not near as big as yours for now I have two "Kero-Sun" that I can use when I am in the studio. When it's below 20* outside, I can get it up two 52* inside in a half hour You would be surprised how good that feels when you are playing.
Next Spring I am running a natural gas line out there from the house so I will have regular heat. No forced air but vented radiant heaters so there is no added noise.
Good luck,
Dave Huffman

[Paul Schubert]

Practicing in the loft is not a bad idea.
Due to what's called "The Stack Effect", heat rises. Therefore up is good.
If you wanted to practice lower, the use of ceiling fans to bring the heat down can be utilized (more energy needed). There are some ceiling fans that are relatively quiet.
Insulation on/in the walls will help to retain the heat longer and it will reduce the outside noise as well.
One thing to remember though, no matter how well you insulate, the job is only half finished if you do not air seal. Openings that allow cold air into the structure can also let in noise. Remember, there are two types of openings. One is a direct opening (one you can see light through) and the other is an indirect opening (an opening where air can come into a wall, travel through the wall, and come in somewhere else, possibly through a wall outlet). So seal all cracks you suspect air might be coming in through.