Insulating White Glass Garage Door

[Mikes61]

So my wife just had to have a white glass garage door on our rear garage door. It’s 8’ x 8’ and I have to agree, it’s really nice to look at.

In the summer it gets so hot that you can’t even touch it, and it radiates a lot of heat into the garage. I have a really nice car just on the inside of this door that I’m trying to protect.

Ive silver metal taped the aluminized bubble wrap to the inside and we rarely open that door, because it pops the tape loose when it goes up and down.

Any great suggestions for a better insulation or better tape that will hold up to the heat?

Any other ideas?

 

[rlitman]

If the glass is getting that hot, insulating it will only make the glass hotter. I'd check with the manufacturer before you cause the glass to explode from the heat.

 

[Mikes61]

The afternoon sun beats directly on the garage door for about 5 hours. The stucco wall next to it gets really hot too, but that wall is insulted with R13 so it’s cool inside. It’s only a problem for about two months when it’s about 100* here.

I went and got two of those 4’ x 8’ x 1” foam panels and stacked one on top of the other inside the door. That seems to be working and I can’t feel the heat radiating through the door when I walk up to it. I left the aluminized bubble wrap in place.

No issue with the glass exploding, the door has been installed for 3 years with some type of insulation on the inside.

 

[bluedog225]

I’ve heard of putting film on double pane glass will sometimes cause the glass to fail. But it sounds like yours is doing ok. The mylar only works with a gap on one side or the other. Might be better to move it to the outside.

Another option that might be more aesthetic is to get a large roller blind that spans beyond the two garage door tracks. Hanging from the ceiling. It can sit a foot or so inside the door when closed. Covered with Mylar or just made of a solar reflective material.

 

[Fav Onefour]

Is it textured glass? I've done tint film on smooth glass. I have a hallway with multiple windows and direct sun exposure. Two windows have tint film and the difference is noticeable walking by those windows.

In my case it's too bad. I figured I'd remove the film if it didn't help. I did only two windows as an experiment. Unfortunately, it's working well and I have ten more windows along that wall.

If you can plant a tree, shade does amazing things. I know that's not a great solution right away but. . . . ?
I have multiple places with southern exposure. One has tree shade up to the building while the others are full sun. I try to plan some of my outdoor projects to use the shaded property on hot days.
The shade factor has become a bigger deal than expected. We're shopping for another place and shade trees are now part of the criterion.

 

[Fav Onefour]

I'd also mention that insulation behind glass should not be a factor for good windows to fail.
I spent years handling single pane glass that we welded into double pane glazed units. Glass on it's own is tough and takes heat. Gunk seals may be a limiting factor for double+ panes. Early gunk materials were not so good and some were even butyl based product. Most of the good stuff now is built to handle the warranty period and it's simply better.

The counter side to that is that I'd be impressed if the all glass door is insulated glass. It would be expensive and heavy to do it right.

 

[mm08822]

Depending on the frequency of using the door this may not be a practical solution ......

Put put 3 hooks on the top of outside frame and 2 on each side frame.

Attach a tarp to the hooks with small carabiner. Tarp would have to cut to right size and need grommets added in the right spots.
Color of tarp may be the biggest issue.

This would keep the direct sunlight off the door and glass.

Maybe even look at bug screens for garage doors. Those websites may have something ready made.

 

[NUTTSGT]

HF sells garage door screens for cheap. I'd buy one and just hang it up behind the closed door.

I use them on the enclosed trailer with a piece of PVC pipe as a hanging rod.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Double/triple pane will cut a lot of the heat transfer - I want to replace our old (40+ year) double panes (used to be gas impregnated when new, now are gas deficient) with triple paned - I remember our Geometra (General builidng contractor) mentioning these exotic multi (3-4) pane windows he could set us up with... the 4's were really intriuging, as they were gas filled on the outer sandwich, and the inner was at negative pressure.

If I ever hit the lottery....