When it's too cold on the job, some tools, materials--and workers--just don't perform. Ask Ken Polhamus of Great Plains Drywall, who has seen his share of frozen Illinois winters. "We'll rock if it's 20 below zero, as long as we've got heat and it's warm enough to work;' he says. "The temperature doesn't affect the rock--it's more of a labor effect. It costs more to get the job done when it's cold."

Fortunately, when you need to bring heat to a jobsite, either by buying or by renting portable heaters, there are plenty of options. The hardest part is deciding which type of heater, and fuel, suits your needs.

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Portable heaters designed to condition large areas include fan-forced hot air or convection heaters; infrared and electrical-resistance units that radiate heat directly at people and objects; and radiant ground heaters for thawing the earth itself. All of these units operate much like the fixed residential heating systems they're modeled on. Most can be used indoors or out, although their effectiveness diminishes rapidly, especially outdoors, depending on ambient air conditions and how close or far the work activity is to the heat source.

Heaters are rated on the amount of BTUs, or British thermal units, they produce per hour. Air temperature is always a factor, but even a small portable heater rated at 25,000 BTUs can adequately warm an average room in cold weather, while very large (yet still "portable") space heaters that produce up to a million or more BTUs are available for heating whole buildings.

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