IBAUCLAPlaya Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Looking for some opinions/advice. Living in a <1 year old new build home and potentially looking to insulate exterior garage walls and garage door. Wall adjoining to house and garage ceiling are both already insulated. Master bedroom is located above garage. Garage is 3-car, with 1-double wide door, and 1-single door. Problems I'm looking to solve in order of importance. 1. During winter, master bedroom is 5-8 degrees cooler than the rest of the house, and the floor is quite cold. 2. During very cold days of winter, sometimes garage is below freezing and snow & ice will not melt off the cars overnight. 3. (or 1a). During summer, master bedroom is 3-6 degrees warmer than the rest of the house, and the floor is warm. I've already had inspectors out to check the insulation that already exists and there weren't any issues. Also had HVAC company out to balance system. Part of the problem is the master bedroom is large (approx 400sq ft), and only has 2 registers. I've recently bought vent boosters to help pull in more warm air when the furnace runs, but don't expect this to solve the issue. I don't plan to install any type of heating unit in the garage. So do you believe insulating the exterior garage walls & garage door will solve my problems? I've researched online and have seen mixed opinions, but personally I have a hard time seeing how it will, given I don't plan on having any source of heat (other than warmth from the car engine after parking). But I'm not an expert by any means. If the consensus is this that will solve my problems, which garage door insulation kit is recommended? And will it require any adjustment to my current Springs, or changing to a more powerful opener than the 1/2 HP units I have today. I don't want to spend $1700 for insulated garage doors, but have seen the following 2 kits: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-Pieces-Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-pcs/203630159 http://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Corning-Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-Panels-GD01/202257272 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotart Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 My parents put foam insulation on their garage door and the torsion spring broke a few years later. Garage door repair company put in a larger spring. No change to the opener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 So my best friends room growing up was above the garage. It was never capable of being warm/cold enough. The logistics aren't there. Small things that helped were putting in thicker pad under carpet, insulating drapes and making sure the garage was as sealed as possible. Despite all of this and the extra insulation it was never the most efficient room and I always had a heater and own separate a/c In the window. Maybe spray foam in the ceiling of garage would have helped but I doubt it I wonder if you could put heated floor like the bathrooms have under the carpet to make it feel warmer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffro Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 220 volt baseboard heater. Fashionable and practical supplimental heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBAUCLAPlaya Posted November 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Already running portable electric heater at night to help. Don't want to tear apart brand new carpet and pay for heated floors. Or wiring for 220v baseboard heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrodh Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 New house should fix this easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Already running portable electric heater at night to help. Don't want to tear apart brand new carpet and pay for heated floors. Or wiring for 220v baseboard heater. Maybe a project for next year. This is a problem that will only exacerbate, so thinking of long term solutions is a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10phone2 Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 I recently put a garage door insulation kit from menard's and it was a noticeable difference. Before I couldn't get it semi warm even with two space heaters. Now one is enough. The laundry room is attached to the garage and then the kitchen. Now that part of the house is not 5-10 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. Parents also did theirs in the two car garage in Hawaii and now you don't sweat to death during the summer while in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 No question, insulating will help. It's relatively cheap to insulate the walls, so do it right. I don't know much about these door kits, but I'd say if you can feel noticeable amounts of cold coming through it, it should help. Make sure the rubber/vinyl seals around the door are sealing properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Insulate and drywall everything in the garage and insulate the garage door with one of the simple kits, not insulated doors. Whole thing won't hit $1000 and will definitely help. Plus it will add home value and has no down side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truckin Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Insulating will help, don't cheap out on the R value you put in. But reality is any area above a garage is the worst area to try to control in any season, with the opening and closing of such a large area to outside climate it's always gonna be a battle. But insulating the walls and garage door will help. A better insulation in the garage ceiling would help as well, but removal of DW isn't cost effective for the little benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewtoys Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 My old place had this issue. Same deal, newer home build. I ended up just heating the garage (4 baseboard heaters) and it solved the issue. The whole garage was already insulated aside from the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBAUCLAPlaya Posted November 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I'll be insulating the walls and garage door. I have 2x4's so r-13 it is. Any feedback on whether or not I need to adjust the spring or replace door openers after insulating the garage doors? Also, what about preference between fiberglass kit or styrofoam kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent1976 Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Unhook the door from the opener and try it by hand now. Then after you insulate the door try it again. If it's heavy to pick up then it needs adjusted, if it's not it will be fine. The styrofoam kit will be fine. It will probably make your door go from R-1 to R-8. Insulating your doors will make the biggest difference of all of the things you've listed. That's 175-200 sq. ft of uninsulated area. Your garage door opener will be fine. All AC motor powered garage door openers are 1/3 hp. The only difference between a 1/3hp unit and a 3/4 hp is the capacitor that starts the motor spinning. It's only 3/4 hp for about 1/2 a second. DC powered motor units are actually what they are rated the entire time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectragod Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 My garage is attached, not insulated, 2 car with a single 17' insulated door. Previously, I had no heat, when I cleaned up the garage, I installed a rubber floor from rubberfloorinc.com, that winter, I noticed that my garage that was normally 10-15 degrees colder than outside temps, was now 10-20 degrees warmer. Still cold, but not the bitterness of prior years, I have lived here for close to 25 years, the following year l installed a natural gas vented heater, I leave it set on 60 degrees. The rubber floor did the trick for me, maybe it will for you? It is expensive stuff though, either rolls or tiles, I would recommend rolls for water runoff reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10phone2 Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 good to know about the rubber tiles. Are you able roll an engine hoist with an engine on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 My garage is attached, not insulated, 2 car with a single 17' insulated door. Previously, I had no heat, when I cleaned up the garage, I installed a rubber floor from rubberfloorinc.com, that winter, I noticed that my garage that was normally 10-15 degrees colder than outside temps, was now 10-20 degrees warmer. Still cold, but not the bitterness of prior years, I have lived here for close to 25 years, the following year l installed a natural gas vented heater, I leave it set on 60 degrees. The rubber floor did the trick for me, maybe it will for you? It is expensive stuff though, either rolls or tiles, I would recommend rolls for water runoff reasons. Thats a great idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRTurbo04 Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Will be doing doing this winter. Plan on insulating the wall and putting up drywall. Haven't thought About the garage door, but it makes sense. Even if it helps a few degrees it's worth it the small investment. My 2 year olds room is right above the garage and her room is the coldest in the winter by 5 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectragod Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 good to know about the rubber tiles. Are you able roll an engine hoist with an engine on it? I would say it would be dependent on weight and the size of wheels on the hoist, another reason I would say to go with the mat as opposed to the tiles. I went with the tiles, if/when I change this up, I will use roll out mat. But that amount of insulation between the concrete and inside of the garage made a huge change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Also check all the seals around the garage door including the ground... you can insulate all day long, but if there are open seals where wind can blow into the garage, you won't do diddly squat.... My house is 4 years old and I do have an insulated garage door as well as ALL walls of my garage are insulated... It was still cold as balls out there, I checked the seals last year and adjusted as needed and now the garage stays around 50'ish even on the coldest nights and you can't feel any bitter cold in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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