How do I insulate a standard Garage Door

[shanker]

I want to insulate my garage doors because in the afternoons from 3pm to 7pm the sun really beams down on my Garage causing it to get pretty darn hot, I have standard steel garage doors and have seed identical ones but they have insulation in them, is there a way to just add the insualtion?

 

[hell_fish_65]

I used styrofoam that was about 1" thick on mine. It seemed to work well.

 

[shanker]

that would work, but I want a bit more of a *finished* look, I wonder if I could put some of that sythentic paneling over that to give it a finished look, kind of like the same stuff they use for walls in trailer houses.

 

[hell_fish_65]

Why not? You can liquid nail to the foam.

 

[carcentric]

I want LOTS of insulation, so this is what I have (not yet installed) for my metal sectional door:
- enough 1/2" thick white styrofoam panels to glue three layers (1.5" total) inside each rectangle,
- a 4' x 50' roll of foil-polyethylene-foam-polyethylene-foil (R-14.5) I bought here.

The styrofoam panels were ridiculously cheap as they are used to keep asparagus cool from the fields to grocery distributors (and are considered "waste" at that point). The roll of f-p-fm-p-f was about $100 plus double stick tape.

By comparison, I had the option of buying the factory-upgraded door when the shop was built - the upgrade was over $300 and only had a R-value of 3.5!

 

[nova65ss]

that would work, but I want a bit more of a *finished* look, I wonder if I could put some of that sythentic paneling over that to give it a finished look, kind of like the same stuff they use for walls in trailer houses.

You can put the styrofoam in place the full 2" thick, then take some alum sheets or pvc and curl them in behind the rolled edges of the sections. No glue no mess never need to worry about it falling apart. That is exactly what the manuf does.

Jimmy

 

[camarojoe]

The problem with overhead doors is that regardless of how much insulation you put on the panels, there will still be energy loss, as the main leakage isn't through the face of the metal panels, it's BETWEEN the panels themselves and along the sides... It may help for the issue of the sun beating on the outside of the doors, but I've found its pretty much impossible to completely seal the outside edges, top and bottom , and areas between the door sections... if they were completely air tight the door would be so stiff it wouldn't open. Mine seal up pretty well, and I have insulated panels, but there is still some leakage along all edges. I'd have to say generally speaking, the overhead doors are the biggest source of energy loss in a garage, regardless of how well insulated the panels are.

 

[pescadito]

I want to insulate my garage doors because in the afternoons from 3pm to 7pm the sun really beams down on my Garage causing it to get pretty darn hot, I have standard steel garage doors and have seed identical ones but they have insulation in them, is there a way to just add the insualtion?

I used this same insulation kit and I got it at Lowes, I think it was $55 for a kit which has 8 panels. It has the nice "Finished look" you are after. I also put in the reflective foil before the foam. I know its overkill but the sun beats down hard on that door all day long. Its been really nice cool and quiet in the Garage now but this summer will be the true test.

http://www.texasgaragesdfw.com/insulation.htm

 

[nova65ss]

The problem with overhead doors is that regardless of how much insulation you put on the panels, there will still be energy loss, as the main leakage isn't through the face of the metal panels, it's BETWEEN the panels themselves and along the sides... It may help for the issue of the sun beating on the outside of the doors, but I've found its pretty much impossible to completely seal the outside edges, top and bottom , and areas between the door sections... if they were completely air tight the door would be so stiff it wouldn't open. Mine seal up pretty well, and I have insulated panels, but there is still some leakage along all edges. I'd have to say generally speaking, the overhead doors are the biggest source of energy loss in a garage, regardless of how well insulated the panels are.

You do loose alot with an OHD but there shouldn't be any leakage around the door if it has vinyl stop molding around the perimeter. When my door is shut and the lights are off it is pitch black in my garage I can only see several small spots near the lower corners where light comes in. Obviously the vinyl doesn't insulate but it certainly keeps the air from coming in and out. Most upper end insulated doors have a thermal break or a rubber gasket between each panel to keep them from loosing air between the panels.

There is a huge difference in garage temperatures going from an uninsulated door to an insulated door no question. You won't regret doing it or paying the extra money to buy insulayed doors.

Jimmy

 

[bobbyd]

I had an issue with the insulation in my attached garage door. My dog ripped it all up and tore a bunch of it out on the bottom two panels. I just replaced the insulation and covered the bottom two panels with aluminum diamond plate. Looks spectacular. Good enough that I'll probably do the same thing on the shop doors just for looks. I was a little concerned about the weight once I got started, but the door worked fine when I was done with absolutely no adjustments.

I'll try and get a couple pics posted tonight so you can see how it looks.

 

[bobbyd]

Here are a couple of pics of how I dressed up some insulation I had to replace on my attached garage door.

 

[Paradise Ridge]

I insulated my 16 footer w/ 2-1/2" Poly-Iso foam board with foil (R-7?) and screwed sheets of tempered hardboard over the top w/ self tappers into the frame. Cutting the foam to patch didn't matter because the tempered was 1 piece over each section. Seld adhesive fridge door seal took care of the gaps between door panels.

Quiet, cool to the touch, and the tempered matched my pegboards.

Scott

 

[nova65ss]

Here are a couple of pics of how I dressed up some insulation I had to replace on my attached garage door.

That looks good! Works good too especially if you have kids!

Jimmy

 

[krooser]

I used fiberglass ceiling tiles...2X4...worked perfect and they are cheap! Took maybe 20 minutes to install...