2 Steps And Three Benefits To Insulate Your Garage

Eighty-two percent of homes have a two car garage or larger in the United States. But, the temperature outside can cause your home's garage to be too uncomfortable to use it for anything other than parking your vehicle and storing boxes. By insulating your garage door, you can make the temperature inside your garage more comfortable so you can make more use of the space. Here are two steps to insulate your garage and three benefits the insulation will give you.

Step #1- Attach Garage Door Insulation 

There are several types of garage door insulation you can use on your interior garage panels. You can buy fiberglass insulation, aluminum backed foam boards, or thin insulation sheeting. 

Using foam boards is an easy and effective method to insulate your garage door panels because you can cut the foam board to fit perfectly inside each of your garage door panels. 

Make sure you measure each garage door panel because each panel may not be the same size. Cut the foam board to be one inch taller than each garage door panel so the panel will bulge outward when it is installed. This will create a gap and an air barrier between your garage door and the insulation. Push the foam board into your garage door panel so the sides of the panel hold the foam board in place.

Step #2- Apply Weather Stripping

A garage door is usually installed with weather stripping along the bottom of the garage door. But, over time the weather, the sun's UV rays, and other factors can cause the strip to break apart and not work correctly. The weather strip needs to create a seal along the bottom of your garage to help control the temperature inside. 

Replace your garage's weather strip with one that creates a seal on your garage door, then install a threshold panel along the floor of your garage door opening. This panel will connect with the weather strip on the garage door, helping to insulate your garage better.

Benefit #1- Reduce Noise in Your Home

A garage door naturally has gaps around its panels and at the bottom of the door, which allow outdoor traffic noises to come in. The type of material your garage door is made from, such as aluminum, can also let sounds into your garage. Sound that can enter you garage can then get into your home from your home's garage entryway. 

Insulating your home's garage door can help keep out some of the outside noise. This will help make your home more quiet inside, giving you a more peaceful and relaxing home environment.

Benefit #2- Keep Heat Gain out in the Summer

If you live in a climate with warmer temperatures during the summer, or all year, you can benefit from insulating your garage door. As the sun hits your garage door, the garage door will heat up and transfer the heat to the air inside your garage, increasing the temperature.

When you place insulation panels over the inside of your garage door with an air pocket between the door and the insulation, it creates a radiant barrier. The air pocket traps the heat within that space keeps it from circulating inside your garage. If you were to place the insulation flush against the garage door, the heat from the garage door would be conducted through the insulation barrier, heating the room.

With a cooler garage, you can use the space to lift weights, as a work shop, or as a play area for young children.  

Benefit #3- Keep Cold out in the Winter

During the winter, the insulation on the inside of your garage door panels will help keep the warmth inside your garage and the cold outside. As your garage door radiates the cold temperatures from outside to inside, the insulation traps the cold inside the air pocket between the insulation and the door. This keeps your garage warmer, allowing you to use the space a bit more during winter than if the garage were the same temperature as the outside.

Insulating your garage door with insulation and weather stripping can make your garage a more comfortable space. Continue here for more information.

Share