Garage door insulation?

[sharpshooter]

Hey fellas, My garage door is in need of some insulation. I planned on just getting foam panels and gluing them to it, However the door is 16 ft wide. Will this be to much weight for the opener? If so what are my options to remedy this ? The door also is in need of some sensors, Not sure why the previous owner didnt put them in but I would prefer to have them, Is that something that any body could do or do you have to really know what your doing? Thanks for any insight...

 

[WintersZ71]

i put the foam panels in my 16ft door about 6 months ago and have no problems.

 

[mjeff87]

same here....

Jeff

 

[Macgyver_ga]

I used the 3/4" foam board (with one shiny side) on my 16' door with no problems. 3 pieces per "panel" fit perfectly. Also, if you cut them right, you don't need to use glue. I cut mine the height of the opening and bent them to slide them under the lips, then when they straightened out, they fit perfectly and won't pop out.

Here's some pics

 

[sharpshooter]

Awesome...was really hoping that weight wouldnt be an issue... Doesnt look like it will be..

 

[kspwski]

I did a similar thing. On my door the top lip was taller then the bottom lip, so i cut it to the right size slide it up into the opening and then it would drop in and be held on three sides. I used blue foam board, really happy with the results. I did adjust my garage door spring to account for the extra weight.

 

[sharpshooter]

KSP, that looks real good... What does adjusting the spring entail? How big of a deal is that...

 

[Root]

Here's another thread on the same topic. Has a few more pics and ideas.


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131040

 

[kspwski]

Adjusting the spring was easy, but needs to be done with care!!! There is a lot of potential energy, and danger, in those springs. There was a great post on this a couple weeks ago. I used two people to do it, basic method was this. Placed bar in the spring retainer holes at the end of the spring (there are holes to accommodate this) and loosened the set screws. I tightened the spring a turn and a half on both sides. With the door disconnected from the track I wanted the door to stay in place when half open. On my first test the door would not stay in the middle of the opening and wanted to open due to the spring tension so I backed a half turn off both sides and then it was set perfectly.

 

[russlaferrera]

The foam boards do not weigh that much. The added insulation helps a lot.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I used 1" EPS panels. Cheap and light. I painted them to make it look nicer.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

My ancient, crappy homemade door was (further!) damaged in the Pasadena wind storm of last month -a couple tree branchs punctured it!

I got a quote today on a door I'm happy with but the insulated door is about $100 more than the un-insulated one. $100 is no issue but the insulated door is 27 gauge and the un-insulated one is 24 gauge! Sounds bass-ackwards to me. I'd rather have the heavier gauge door; <<< you can see I have a 100lb dog. Insulation doesn't matter because it's a detached garage, BUT it looks so much more finished.

Jack, Where did you find a good price on the "EPS" board?

 

[PassnThru]

$100 is no issue but the insulated door is 27 gauge and the un-insulated one is 24 gauge! Sounds bass-ackwards to me. I'd rather have the heavier gauge door;

I believe the preinsulated doors have foam in them. I know my detached garage has a foam core and steel on the front and the back. Seems like the foam would more than make up for the lighter gauge steel by supporting it. Of course, if their idea of insulated is a regular door with some panels in it and no back then all bets are off.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

This is a Mesa Garage Door I'm talking about - Anyone have an opinion pro or con, I'd like to hear?

Their +$100 door has a fairly hard foam panel bonded behind the 24 gauge face. In their +$400 door the foam is backed by metal. I'd be willing to pay the $400 but frankly, I don't need it in a detached 80 year old garage. I really don't need insulation at all but as I said it looks so much more finished with it so I'll likely install it myself. I'm not even putting in windows nor an opener. Most of the time the door stays open.