Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Insulating Your Garage Doors

Recently I decided it was high time to make my work space more workable (see post here).  Since winter is here and it's way too cold to work out in the garage/work shop, I decided insulating the garage doors was the first step.

So here are the steps to getting it done.

There are a couple of options when it comes to the type of insulation you can use.  We decided on the foam panels.  It gives a nice finished look once installed.  We weren't able to find these at our local home improvement stores but we did find them at a garage door specialty store and were able to buy them there.  They can also be ordered online.

Before you go to buy your insulation panels, you will need to know the height of your garage door panels.  They generally come in about four different heights (18", 21", 24", and 27").  This will allow you to determine the size panels you need.

Next, you need to know how many insulation panels you will need.  Most garage door widths are pretty standard.  We told our guy we needed enough to do (1) two-car garage door and (1) single car garage door.

Here are what the panels look like.


Now it's time to measure how wide your panels need to be.


On our garage door, the two end sections were different widths than the two middle sections.

Using your tape measure, measure off this width onto the insulation panels...


and use your straight edge and box knife to cut them.


It doesn't cut all the way through, so you can gently "snap back" the panel for a pretty clean break.


Now it's time to install.  Slip the bottom in the "notch" on the garage door panel and gently bend the insulation to pop it into place.


For a finished look, you can install these end pieces.  They install in a similar manner (these were pre-cut to the height of the panels)



And that's really all there is to it!  My husband did both doors in about 2 hours time and the cost was a little over $225.

We have noticed a definite difference in the temperature of the garage - about 10 degrees F warmer than the exterior.  And it's much quieter now (the stereo sounds better, too!).

It's not the most glamourous upgrade but it makes working in the garage in the winter much more bearable!

6 comments:

  1. That's a great idea! Glad to know it's fairly simple. Did it make a difference in your home's heating/cooling costs? We added a molding with a rubber edging that you mount against the garage door opening. The rubber piece lies flat against the door to keep the wind out. After the blizzard, we had snow that blew in. The moldimg should keep that from happening again. I would think doing both would make a substantial difference in the temperature! Thanks for sharing!!

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    1. Dana, our utility bills did drop, partialy because I wasn't having to run a space heater out there while I worked. But again, with the garage being my primary work space a 10 degree warm up after the insulation is huge! If you decide to do this, good luck!

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  3. I agree with Dana; this is totally a really good idea! I’m glad to know that insulating your garage doors has helped you save on utility expenses because the insulation keeps the place warmer without electricity. And to think, it was a fairly simple project to do, too! How has the insulation been holding up? I hope it’s doing its job as well today as it was when you first installed it a year ago.

    Libbie Olivas

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    1. Libbie, the insulation has held up beautifully! It looks the same today as it did the day we installed it. We had our first cold snap of the season this week and there was a marked difference between the outside temperature and the temperature in the garage. Definitely money well spent!

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  4. Thank you for sharing this information. Such a great help to us.
    Insulated garage Door

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