Garage Tech-Insulating Garage Doors? (1 Viewer)

[cubiclecaptive]

Looking to insulate my garage a bit for the upcoming winter. 2 car garage with 2 overhead doors. Garage itself is insulated and doors seal well against the frames and floor, but are bare (thin) metal. So do I go with one of the "kits" from Lowes/Home Depot (15R fiberglass batting and "studs") or should I opt for the solid core styrofoam and liquid nails that to the panels?

I'm in Arkansas so not sub-zero temps for weeks on end but a not-uncomfortable place to rebuild calipers and such is my goal. Cruiser is too tall to fit inside so full-blown shop atmosphere is not necessary.

Ideas and tips are welcome. Thanks in advance...

 

[BirfMark]

I just cut 1-1/2" or 1" (don't remember which) styrofoam and tucked it into the panels of my metal door. No glue needed to hold them in place.

 

[shelfboy1]

i did the styrafoam myself works well, also good for holding tools and welding rod,but doesnt last as long .

 

[re_guderian]

I did the Owens Corning batting kit from Lowes this summer. I'm mixed on the results. Kept the summertime temps down by ~10 degrees, until I parked a hot car in there. The "stud" thingies are gimmicky. Buy a roll of white duct tape to seal off any loose ends. The stud/clips tend to fall off and let the batts sag. We'll see how they do in the winter time as we're supposed to get down to high 30's here soon. Oh, and you'll probably need new garage springs. I did on my double door...

 

[fsusteve]

In our guesthouse I did the batts tucked behind the hurricane crossbars which works fine but looks like crap.

 

[MoCoNative]

Get the highest rated and lightest 1 1/2 inch foam with the foil backing. Lowes/Home Depot don't carry it, will have to find it at a real lumber yard or insulation supply place. It will work very well, cut it to fit the size of the panels, put a slit down the middle but don't cut the back foil and shove it in, it will stay without any adhesive.

the blue and pink foam in 1 1/2 inch is not rated very high and is heavier than the foil stuff. Don't know the exact name off hand.

 

[wxm]

I had been looking to do the same for a couple of months but did not like any of the off shelf products. They either looked ugly or felt not long-lasting. Anyway, finally did it last weekend with my own way - basically 1/2" Dow Insulation Pad, covered by 1" styrofoam pad. I went Dow pad because it gives me relatively "good" R value. Unfortunately it is kind of brittle, and I won't be able to bent it slightly in order to tug into the garage door "frame". So I went with the 1" styrofoam pad as the cover layer. Both can be bought from local Lowes or HD and about $12 per 4x8 sheet, and 2 sheets of each kind per door. So the cost of insulating one 8x8 door is around $50 and 2 hour labor. The end result:

• The R value is not as good as the off-shelf product. But good enough for garage door purpose in NJ (at least for my standard)
• Excellent noise reduction, even the door open/close is so much quieter
• A lot better lighting - a side effect due to the foil cover.

I would not say it is easy to install. I took some struggle to tug the pieces in especially you want them tight and nice looking. But once done, I am very happy with them.


Here are some pictures:
- Before insulation

- Materials:

- Finished:

 

[MoJ]

Looks nice and effective. Well done.

 

[fsusteve]

looks good.

 

[nickdj101]

I did about the same but with styrofoam I picked up "along the way". Some of it is blue, some is pink. I glued it on with liquid nails and it's holding great. I live in central MN and the cold doesn't seem to have hurt it any. It might not look all that neat or professional, but I don't do neat...