Is there any benefit to insulating an unheated garage?

I'm getting ready to hatch my plan on "finishing" my garage. It's not really a finish, just a better/cleaner organization with some homebrewed storage cabinets, etc.

The garage is unheated beyond my little portable propane heater that just follows me around when working in the winter - and I frankly have no plans to ever install permanent heat...I'm hoping this is merely the first garage I'll have, and not the last. at best I'd consider a tank-top propane heater simply to warm the space a bit more when I'm out there....which in the coldest part of winter isnt much!!!

2 of my 3 walls (the 4th wall basically being the garage door) are skinned with 1/2 plywood....(read: very easy to remove if I want). The 3rd wall is unfinished drywall, loosely attached via nails around it's perimeters by the PO. So as of now, it's also relatively easy to remove and get behind.

My reorganization plan centers mostly on the as-of-now unfinished drywall portion of the garage...it is here where I will be building my cabinet storage system. Since I'm going to have this entire wall stripped of anything prior to starting this project, I'm debating taking the drywall off and putting insulation in.....it's never going to be easier to do than now. Of course if i did it on this wall, I'd continue around the perimeter - which would be pretty easy simply b/c it's plywood attached with screws. So my debate is to insulate my unheated space....

The garage isnt huge (20x21 ish), and the cost of insulating isn't back breaking and not really my concern....I could do the drywalled wall now, and hit the rest incrementally through the year before next winter. then again if there is no advantage I'll save the money, and the time, i would spend insulating, and just get cracking on the storage build.

I know I know I know.....what about the ceiling? as of now it is basically open joists. Part of my plan is to get some plywood onto the joists to improve "attic" storage, but I really have no plans to insulate up there. So any heat I generate will go right on up and out, short of what the new attic storage wood can hold in....but again, the heat will be temporary and not a permanent install.

So what are your thoughts? any benefit to adding wall insulation? skip it and get to work?

IMO if you aren't going to insulate the ceiling, no need to bother with the sidewalls.

If you want to be warm with a tiny heater you should build it like a thermos, and do the ceiling as thick as you can..

Yes, insulation is always worth doing no matter if you heat the garage or not. My detatched garage is well insulated. In the summer, it stays 20 or more degrees below outside temperature just by keeping the doors closed. In the winter, the garage stays 30-40 degrees above outside temperature with no heat added. There is enough ground heat rising through the slab to heat it that much and the insulation holds the heat in the garage.

As the prior poster said, the insulation will greatly reduce temperature swings in both summer and winter.

Tom

Gary S said:

Yes, insulation is always worth doing no matter if you heat the garage or not. My detatched garage is well insulated. In the summer, it stays 20 or more degrees below outside temperature just by keeping the doors closed. In the winter, the garage stays 30-40 degrees above outside temperature with no heat added. There is enough ground heat rising through the slab to heat it that much and the insulation holds the heat in the garage.

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thammel said:

As the prior poster said, the insulation will greatly reduce temperature swings in both summer and winter.

Tom

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hmmm thanks guys. In writing my OP I basically started talking myself out of it...and pretty much expected a lot of folks to suggest skipping it. You've given me more to think about. Thanks!

whats it gonna cost- about $150 and a few hours of work, id do it.

If you were going to insulate anything, you should start at the top and work your way down. Heat rises.

By closing in your walls with no insulation and adding a warm/cold differential in the winter, your adding a space for moisture to grow which could turn into mold growth.

As others have stated heat rises, but you will see a noticeable difference both in the winter and summer if you just do the walls. My ceiling was left open as I did not want to sacrifice the storage area up there.

I added fillers to the walls to bring them out to 2 X 6 dimensions, then insulated with F'glas and covered everything with 1 X 10" pine rough boards(freebies).

Would I do it again? Definitely..........makes a huge difference (and also contains much of the noise too)

When I bought my house there was R11 in the walls and nothing in the open rafters. It was hot as hell in there during the summer. I added R30 to the ceiling before winter and it definitely stays warmer inside now. I don't know that it's worth it to do the walls and not the ceiling.

When building our house inside an old garage structure, we did not have ceiling insulation for the first year. In the hottest part of summer, it was 30 degrees hotter inside than out. When adding the ceiling, you could walk under that portion of the space and feel the temp drop 20 degrees before insulation. After insulating it was tolerable with the widows open. My shop is in the same building and hasn't been insulated yet and its pretty awful. As soon as I can, I am going to add a ceiling and insulate it.

Trust me, do it.

My parent's garage is the one I'm turning into my working space. They've owned the house since 1988, and I was the first one to go into the garage attic a few months ago. Zero insulation in the ceiling. Ugh. Basically, in the summer it gets hot as hell in there. I know two of the walls are insulated as they face the house, but the door wall isn't (and the garage doors are solid wood) and the exterior wall, well I basically doubt it... I haven't experienced mold growth (and I'd assume after 31 years if it were happening it'd be on the outside garage wall side by now and musty) but basically it's extremely hot. A good bit warmer than outside. In winter, it's cold, however I've never made an effort to heat it.
i think I'll be insulating the 241 square feet of ceiling soon.

lilredex said:

As others have stated heat rises, but you will see a noticeable difference both in the winter and summer if you just do the walls. My ceiling was left open as I did not want to sacrifice the storage area up there.

I added fillers to the walls to bring them out to 2 X 6 dimensions, then insulated with F'glas and covered everything with 1 X 10" pine rough boards(freebies).

Would I do it again? Definitely..........makes a huge difference (and also contains much of the noise too)

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Heat doesn't rise, warm air does. Heat radiates evenly from the warmer surface on all exposed sides.

Bringing this back.... My attached garage has no insulation in the ceiling. It isn't heated or cooled. Should I insulate the attic above the garage?

MagicMarker said:

Bringing this back.... My attached garage has no insulation in the ceiling. It isn't heated or cooled. Should I insulate the attic above the garage?

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Size of your attached garage and what type of garage door?

I would start with the attic insulation you get your best return on that part