Garage Door Insulation

[moparfreak]

So I'm curious for those in cold climates, what do folks do with the inside of your garage door? I live in the cold (WI) and so with my garage build I put in an insulated door from Menards that has an R value of 6.3. I figure that's a good start, but as an extra measure I was thinking of putting the reflective foil insulation on the inside. Any experience with this type of thing?

http://www.menards.com/main/buildin...eflective-foil-insulation/p-136969-c-5778.htm

Thanks,
Adam

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

When I built my home in VA I had them install a similar insulated garage door. Far better then the hollow shell aluminum skin and framed roll up garage doors they placed on my home in AZ. Funny how use of insulation gravitates toward cold climates rather then hot climates when its needed just as much.

I think your already max out with no room to add insulation on an insulated garage door. But you may want to take a look in the attic above the garage and if there is room have one of those insulation blow trucks add insulation up there.

 

[moparfreak]

There would still be room for the reflective layer, it's probably 1/8" - 1/4" thick at the most.

In a couple weekends I'll be installing the metal ceiling and I'll be installing R25 rolls on top of it. I'll have a shop heater as well so I want to do everything I can to keep it comfortable during the winter months. I would suspect far less heat conduction through the door in the hot summer as well. I would think the reflective foil layer would make it perform even better.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

When you say reflective layer I'm thinking about the roll aluminum/plastic bubble wrap they sell at HD or Lowes. My neighbor had it pasted to the inside of his aluminum garage door hollows. After about 2 years the ozone and sunlight got to it and it started decomposing, fading, and fraying.

I think the sooner you finish your plan to insulate the ceiling you'll realize the greatest benefit.

 

[James-W]

I have an insulated garage door made by "Clopay". The insulation value isn't the greatest, but I doubt I could do much in the way of adding any more insulation. I do know the insulated door is a whole lot better than an un-insulated door even though the insulation "R" value of the insulated door is only something like 6 or 7. I wish the "R" value were a lot higher but I don't know of any garage door that is very much better.

 

[Scott65]

I have an insulated garage door made by "Clopay". The insulation value isn't the greatest, but I doubt I could do much in the way of adding any more insulation. I do know the insulated door is a whole lot better than an un-insulated door even though the insulation "R" value of the insulated door is only something like 6 or 7. I wish the "R" value were a lot higher but I don't know of any garage door that is very much better.

Clopay makes doors with a "R" value up to 16. I have 3 of them in my garage and they do a great job of keeping the heat in. The biggest concern is sealing leaks around the edges that allow the wind to infiltrate.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Now you have me thinking about my next detached garage/man-room build and how I'mgoing to have a wall-quality insulated garage door. I mean you know its got to act like a garage.To have high R- value the door has to be thicker with as few joints as possible, a roll up must be thin and light. I'm thinking here in the SW, the only way to get the R value up is to install an older style one or two piece door on tracks, hinges, swing- spring. Yup someone is going to get rich coming up with the next generation garage door.

However, HD does sell this insulation kit for $52
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-...ce-Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-pcs/203630159

 

[James-W]

Clopay makes doors with a "R" value up to 16. I have 3 of them in my garage and they do a great job of keeping the heat in. The biggest concern is sealing leaks around the edges that allow the wind to infiltrate.

OK, now I am really confused, and quite a bit upset too. When I bought the door from Home Depot I was told that I bought the highest "R" value door they have. To find out I was lied to doesn't make me very happy. How thick is one of the R16 doors and do you know if they come in 16ft wide?

 

[Radix2]

OK, now I am really confused, and quite a bit upset too. When I bought the door from Home Depot I was told that I bought the highest "R" value door they have. To find out I was lied to doesn't make me very happy. How thick is one of the R16 doors and do you know if they come in 16ft wide?

Actually they claim R-18.4 in a 2in thick door... Not sure if that is really possible.

Here is the brochure fir the premium series line, yes available in 16ft - http://clopaypdf.pvcomm.com/pdf_files/RSDR-PREM3LAYERSS-13.pdf

HD may not be allowed to sell the premuim/custom lines clopay has ?

Www.clopay.com

 

[James-W]

Actually they claim R-18.4 in a 2in thick door... Not sure if that is really possible.

Here is the brochure fir the premium series line, yes available in 16ft - http://clopaypdf.pvcomm.com/pdf_files/RSDR-PREM3LAYERSS-13.pdf

HD may not be allowed to sell the premium/custom lines Clopay has ?

Www.clopay.com

That is a very good point, I had not thought of that. I guess I screwed up by not checking the Clopay web site myself. If I had done that I could have found a place to buy one of their better insulated doors. The garage door I have is insulated fairly decent, I wish it were better insulated of course, but all in all it isn't too bad. Still, I am not happy about the guys at Home Depot who didn't tell me Clopay has better insulated doors. I will take half the blame for not checking into it myself, but you would think they would have the decency to at least mention about Clopay having a better insulated door since I specifically asked about the "R" value of the insulation in the door.

 

[Scott65]

That is a very good point, I had not thought of that. I guess I screwed up by not checking the Clopay web site myself. If I had done that I could have found a place to buy one of their better insulated doors. The garage door I have is insulated fairly decent, I wish it were better insulated of course, but all in all it isn't too bad. Still, I am not happy about the guys at Home Depot who didn't tell me Clopay has better insulated doors. I will take half the blame for not checking into it myself, but you would think they would have the decency to at least mention about Clopay having a better insulated door since I specifically asked about the "R" value of the insulation in the door.

I ordered by doors from a local building supply company and was able to choose any of the Clopay doors in the catalog. "r" value was a primary consideration as I wanted to be able to heat a space with three garage doors. Last winter on the coldest days the temp stayed near freezing without the heat on. Remember thickness is not the only consideration. the insulating material and trying to be as airtight as possible are big factors in maintaining temperature.

 

[Algoma56]

I have 2 garage doors, built by a Canadian manufacturer, and the R value is around 13. Need a good seal as well to prevent cold air from blowing in.

 

[rburke65]

H Depot told you that you had purchased the highest R rated door THEY had.......not the highest R rated door that was made. Ya gotta read. My Clopays are 12'x8, were 16.7 R and are 2" thick.

 

[moparfreak]

R18 for a garage door is better than probably most of the exterior walls in my 1960s house. Geez, and here I thought my R6 door was decent. I guess before I put that foil on, I'll do some testing through the winter with the IR gun and see if surface temps are much different and if I can make improvements.

I did install a brand new set of exterior seals and got 'er sealed up really tight. Add to that the new bottom seal and a newly poured pad with an actually flat sealing surface, I don't feel any wind coming through. True test will be when I put the ceiling and attic insulation on over the weekend and I'll really be able to feel how much the fully insulated garage does of trapping / maintaining decent ambient conditions. I've got one of the new Craftsman door openers that has a nice control panel by the entry door with thermometer readout, and with temps diving into the 30s / 40s this fall, the garage has been sticking to mid 50s / low 60s at night so far. I think it'll be even better once it gets closed up from the attic.

Thanks,
Adam

 

[Denwood]

I'm chatting with the folks at smartgarage.ca

Their roll up door is continuous, (no seams) and uses a combination of closed cell foam and thermal reflective insulation bonded to the inner surface of the door. From my research, this door should perform very well with respect to air leakage, which reduces most door ratings effective R value by 60-70%. I'll post a review once in hand.

 

[CA_Tallguy]

Keep in mind that (I believe) the R values that garage door companies advertise are the insulation value of a point on each PANEL -- not for the whole garage door assembly. So when you factor in the cracks between the panels and the gaps at the edges, etc, you are looking at a fraction of the advertised R value for that section of your building.

In addition, try to take the high R value claims with the grain of salt. I don't see how ANYONE can make a garage door at R18+ unless it is at least THREE inches thick! (And again, that would only be the insulation value of the panels, not taking into consideration the whole assembly and gaps/cracks. etc. Polyiso is generally considered to be the expanded foam with the highest R value per inch of insulation, typically R6 per inch of material, so you'd need 3 inches of that to get to R18. But I don't think the manufacturers are using Polyiso. You can read more about the various foams at energy.gov http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/insulation-materials

So yeah, I don't really see how they can possibly be claiming to be R18 or greater in 2 inches or less.

See this discussion on Green Building Advisor for more... this article supposes that the ACTUAL (effective) R value of most garage doors is about 1/3 of what is advertised.
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/energy-efficient-garage-doors