Garage Door Insulation

[Steve Lande]

New House in FL, & a two car garage door is facing South. Garage door is not insulated, garage & garage door is very hot & room above also hot. The manufacturer of this garage door told me I can only use Up to 10 pounds Insulation & they do not have a kit for this model door that the builder installed.
I can't figure out what to use that would really make a difference in the heat transfer due to weight?
The door is Actually Hot. I went to big box stores & could not figure this out due to weight of insulation & also R value was to low to really help this situation?
Any suggestion would be great. I can't even store some tools in this garage, wait I did add some tools in a tote but have not been here long & probably have to remove them from the garage.
Would really like to insulate the garage door (to make a difference in heat transfer) and be able to open and close this garage door correctly.
Thanks for your input greatly appreciated.

 

[dcg9381]

I see quite a few people put foam panels on their garage doors, they cut them out and adhere them to the aluminum.
Even stuff with an R value of 5, it's going to be a big improvement over a metal skinned door that just transfers heat.

 

[CombatNinja]

Is getting a new, properly insulated door not an option?

 

[pattenp]

I have a metal garage door that gets many hours of direct sun and gets really hot to the touch. I purchased the foil faced 1/2" foam board and cut it to fit the door panels and it really made a big difference in the heat coming off the door.

 

[jstroede]

Pics of the door?

 

[Pontiac787]

Depending on the door, you can buy a kit of foam panels. They are $50-$70 at Lowes, HD, etc. so not a huge investment to see if they work for you.

 

[CraigStu]

I have a metal garage door that gets many hours of direct sun and gets really hot to the touch. I purchased the foil faced 1/2" foam board and cut it to fit the door panels and it really made a big difference in the heat coming off the door.

Which way did you install the foil? Against the door or toward the inside of the garage?

 

[Notgrownup]

I bought the styrofoam door insulation kit and it works great here in Eastern NC , specially in my shop that is climate controlled. Very light and didn’t affect the door opener function. Got mine from Home Depot several years ago and still works great.

 

[Brent T]

I bought 4' x 8' sheets of foil backed styrofoam for my sheetmetal doors. Made a huge difference in heat transfer and also helped with noise. I didn't weigh it, but I'd be surprised if it weighed over 10 lbs per door.

 

[dcg9381]

Is getting a new, properly insulated door not an option?

Probably a $3500+ option last I checked. Makes foil backed foam an attractive alternative that is very effective over zero insulation.

 

[pattenp]

Which way did you install the foil? Against the door or toward the inside of the garage?

I installed with foil facing inside simply for light reflection and I didn't like the looks of the printing on the other side. Technically for heat reflection I believe the foil should face to the door and I could have painted the other side white.

 

[rayra]

I bought 4' x 8' sheets of foil backed styrofoam for my sheetmetal doors. Made a huge difference in heat transfer and also helped with noise. I didn't weigh it, but I'd be surprised if it weighed over 10 lbs per door.

This is the way. If you want to get fancy, get the thinner sheets and double layer and have the mylar layer on both sides of the sandwich.

A serrated carving knife glides right thru, used as a draw knife / motion.

Cut the panels the right size and you can even tuck them up then down and have the c-channel of the door panel frameworks hold them in, no glues or tapes needed.

 

[rayra]

"I can't even store some tools in this garage," From the heat? LMFAO.

 

[InDaRed2]

I used these kits on my garage doors. Used 3 kits to do my 2 garage doors in my attached 3 car garage. Helped tremendously.

The come with slits on one side to make inserting easier. I just had to trim the width down on most panels.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cellofo...es-Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-pcs/203630159

 

[thammel]

I put light foam panels on my doors. They were somewhere between 1 and 2 inches in thickness - probably 1.25 or 1.5 inches thick. I also used some spray foam to fill in gaps and caulk to hold the panels in place. I guarantee the weight I added was less than 10 lbs and the doors operate just fine.

 

[globalmax]

Foam insulation is a great choice. If you need to upgrade from lower R rate doors to higher the price point I have seen is $3K to $4K
Good comparison video

 

[Homewrecker]

I have the opposite problem where I'm trying to keep heat in lol. I was going to switch to an insulated door but the prices have gotten stupid lately. When I had the door converted to high lift I asked the guy about adding insulation panels to the door and he recommended against it as the extra weight would need a new spring etc. Not sure if that would really be an issue since styrofoam adds negligible weight depending on what product you end up using.

 

[senlow]

I suggest that you use the thickest polyisocyanurate insulation that will fit. If that requires you to buy stiffer springs for the door, it's a small price to pay for having good insulation.

 

[nadogail]

My most recent garage door purchased was insulated and metal faced on the inside. The door is much quieter than the old one.
At this point I am leaning towards spending the money for metal clad insulated doors for the rentals when they eventually get replaced.

The fully insulated door will make the property both a more attractive rental and increase the resale value.

With the positive cash flow I would rather improve the property than pay more taxes.

 

[472scout]

New House in FL, & a two car garage door is facing South. Garage door is not insulated, garage & garage door is very hot & room above also hot. The manufacturer of this garage door told me I can only use Up to 10 pounds Insulation & they do not have a kit for this model door that the builder installed.
I can't figure out what to use that would really make a difference in the heat transfer due to weight?
The door is Actually Hot. I went to big box stores & could not figure this out due to weight of insulation & also R value was to low to really help this situation?
Any suggestion would be great. I can't even store some tools in this garage, wait I did add some tools in a tote but have not been here long & probably have to remove them from the garage.
Would really like to insulate the garage door (to make a difference in heat transfer) and be able to open and close this garage door correctly.
Thanks for your input greatly appreciated.

Yes, be careful not to overload the torsion spring it can snap and hurt you.

I installed foam boards (just like in the video) and they were great for blocking heating coming through the panels, but of course they did nothing for the metal framing. The framing still heated up over 100F and that's a hell of a lot of surface area radiating heat in the garage.

You probably already know that door insulation alone won't do much. The ceiling and ideally the walls need insulation as well. Home Depot has a DIY blown in insulation machine in the rental department.

If you don't have a ceiling, just trusses, you first need to determine how much weight they can support before screwing on drywall and dumping insulation on them.

 

[JunkBonds]

I replaced my old garage door last spring with a new one that is R18 insulation. Cost me $2,100 CDN installed.

 

[tarmy]

I did the foam panels and then overlaid each entire door panel with another layer of roll insulation…works great.

 

[globalmax]

I did the foam panels and then overlaid each entire door panel with another layer of roll insulation…works great.

Thanks. Looks great. What kind of form panels did you use? Approximate weight added due to panels?

 

[tarmy]

1 1/4” foil covered panels from Lowe’s.

The weight was negligible. I knew I was putting in a new opener as part of this remodel so I adjusted the opener per instructions for the new opener after I did the insulation. I did add about a 1/2 turn to the coil springs to offset any weight issues.

 

[Homewrecker]

I replaced my old garage door last spring with a new one that is R18 insulation. Cost me $2,100 CDN installed.

I got a quote for over $3500 CDN for basic 16' wide insulated door last year. I was floored at how much it was compared to previous quotes I had gotten before the world imploded lol

 

[JunkBonds]

I got a quote for over $3500 CDN for basic 16' wide insulated door last year. I was floored at how much it was compared to previous quotes I had gotten before the world imploded lol

Try Leo. He owns LTA Garage Doors. Great guy and reasonably priced. He actually makes the doors. He is in Burlington but came to London to do my door.

LTA Garage Doors | 24/7 Garage Door Service, Repair, Installation

 

[MileHighRover]

I think most of y'all would be surprised how much weight even foam boards add to a garage door. Almost all insulation options will require upgraded springs. Most garage door companies will say anything more than 10 pounds added will require new springs.

 

[IRQVET]

I bought 4' x 8' sheets of foil backed styrofoam for my sheetmetal doors. Made a huge difference in heat transfer and also helped with noise. I didn't weigh it, but I'd be surprised if it weighed over 10 lbs per door.

Okay maybe a stupid question, as like the OP I'm in the same position (and location). But isn't the foil side suppose to be against the door side to radiate heat the away from the space and back against the door itself?

 

[72Anthony]

Okay maybe a stupid question, as like the OP I'm in the same position (and location). But isn't the foil side suppose to be against the door side to radiate heat the away from the space and back against the door itself?

A radiant barrier needs an air gap to work, so the fork should face the interior of the garage.

 

[Brent T]

Okay maybe a stupid question, as like the OP I'm in the same position (and location). But isn't the foil side suppose to be against the door side to radiate heat the away from the space and back against the door itself?

Honestly, I don't know. It made a big difference as is though, and I didn't want the styrofoam side with all the logos and other lettering to be exposed. This way looks nice and clean. If I'd turned it around, it would look like **** IMO.