insulation in garage ceiling in NM

[70datsun]

Hi all,

Hoping to get some advice from you garage gurus. My in-laws have a house with an uninsulated attached garage with exposed 2x4 trusses in the ceiling. The washer and dryer are in the garage and my elderly mother-in-law has been getting overheated doing laundry in the summertime.

We're considering insulating it and there a few options I've thought about: 1) Insulate against the roof with R-15, staple it in place and call it a day. 2) Sheet rock the ceiling and insulate with R-15 or spray-in insulation.

A contractor who looked at the garage didn't think insulating would help with the heat much, but I don't buy it. Any opinions, suggestions? Thanks!

 

[fury9]

don't staple the insulation directly against the roof you will get mold. I would sheetrock and insulate with AT least an R-30. You also need to be sure uou have adequate ventilation once you sheetrock it. I know dumb suggestion but make sure the dryer vent is venting outside also. You will see once you sheetrock and insluate the lower area will be cooler and if you pop your head into the attic space it will be much hotter,hence the need for good ventilation. Others should chime in but this should get you going in the right direction.

 

[redneckcharlie]

Hey neighbor. I'm just north in bern/plac. I'm a gc as well and the contractor u spoke to is incorrect. Look at a product called green fibre. Most homeowners can install it themselves. It's much cheaper then bats and works much better. The machine is free from lowest or depot with a twenty bag purchase. The only tools you really need are a utility knife, stapegun, and some duct tape. And you'll need some 6mm plastic as well.

 

[70datsun]

don't staple the insulation directly against the roof you will get mold. I would sheetrock and insulate with AT least an R-30. You also need to be sure uou have adequate ventilation once you sheetrock it. I know dumb suggestion but make sure the dryer vent is venting outside also. You will see once you sheetrock and insluate the lower area will be cooler and if you pop your head into the attic space it will be much hotter,hence the need for good ventilation. Others should chime in but this should get you going in the right direction.

Thanks. I thought the easy way out wouldn't fly! And I'll check the venting just to be sure.

Hey neighbor. I'm just north in bern/plac. I'm a gc as well and the contractor u spoke to is incorrect. Look at a product called green fibre. Most homeowners can install it themselves. It's much cheaper then bats and works much better. The machine is free from lowest or depot with a twenty bag purchase. The only tools you really need are a utility knife, stapegun, and some duct tape. And you'll need some 6mm plastic as well.

Hi back to you, neighbor! Looking forward to some July rain. Sounds like the right approach. . . Yay, love hanging sheet rock on ceilings!

 

[PECVD2]

70DATSUN,

Welcome to GJ neighbor.

My attached garage (wife's garage) is insulated and rocked (5/8").
I stapled R19 into ceilings and walls. I could add more R to ceiling but...
Garage door is insulated.
The garage will typically stay 10F warmer in winter and 10F cooler in summer than ambient if garage is kept closed.
In winter:
If door is opened multiple times or wind blowing it will typically stabilize at 4 to 6F above ambient temp.
If warm car(s) are parked in it, garage will typically not drop out of the 40s

In summer:
If door is opened multiple times a day temp will be about 4F below ambient temp.
If you pull a hot car or two into the garage all bets are off and temp will raise well above ambient and stay there all night (insulation will do its job and keep that heat in).

Options I am considering:
Cut a hole in wall between studs and install a small refrigerated air unit.
Install a small mini split unit (AC + furnace) like this one.
http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

Continue to open window and crack garage door daily (summer) once ambient temp drops below garage temp (this is getting old).

Good luck and welcome again.

 

[Angelfire]

In abq myself. Insulation will definitely help with the heat/cold. I'm currently building a detached garage and while it will be uninsulated when done, I do plan to insulate when funds allow. I will use mineral wool batts as they seem to offer more r value than the pink stuff, have pretty good sound deadening properties, and is not itchy! I would recommend not going with a plastic vapor retarder but instead look at something with a bit more permeability to allow the space to dry out when needed.
Cheers!

 

[camarotoolman]

I wouldn't bother with the garage. Get a stacked washer and dryer and put then inside. Soon she might not be able to get out to the garage. My aunt went out to the garage to turn out a light, fell, and almost died.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Is there trusses in the ceiling or just rafters ?

 

[38Chevy454]

I am in the mountains east of ABQ. My detached garage has R-38 in ceiling and then sheetrocked. It was actually cheaper to pay to have the insulation installed than for me to buy it. Shows the mark-up on the product. I also have R-19 in walls, and insulated garage doors.

Agree to have some ventilation in the attic space once completed. Passive ridge vent would be nice, but if not possible, a powered fan works wonders to exhaust the heated air out.

My garage stays low 40's without any heat in winter with typical temps low teens at night and high 30's daytime. Summer I am typically 10-20 degrees below the hot temp of the day if I keep the big agrage doors closed.

Insulation helps both ways, keep heat in during winter and heat out during the summer. It moderates the outside temp changes.

 

[Weekend_warrior]

If you can't get an inside laundry room then the insulation would be the next best option.

Sheet rock the ceiling. While up are up there install some light. Not hard and most garages from the builders have insufficent lighting. Can lights or multiple floresents. Blow in stuff can be pretty cheap and if you buy the insulation at a home center they will likely give you the machine for the day. Mud tape and hose it down with paint. Insulate the garage doors and back with masionite if they are uninsulated metal. Use some rubber seals around the garage doors to help keep the dust down on windy days. At a minimum install some wall mount fans or ceiling fans to circuilate some air. If the budget allows install a split AC heating unit. It will make life much easier!

The layout of my house won't allow for a indoor laundry room. I'd like to meet the guy that thought it would be a good idea to stick the laundry room on the garage and smack him in the mouth! For a few more bucks it would not have cost much to loose a few feet of back yard to set the house farther back and extend the garage a few more feet to get a indoor laundry room. A few more roof trusses is the largest cost in it!

 

[Sykon]

I live in the inland area of San Diego county where its usually in the 80's and 90's during the summer. I had the same problem as your in-laws - a swelter box of a garage.

I recently installed radiant barrier to the roof and that has helped a great deal already. I chose barrier because I could install it myself without help and I was done with it in two days. Plus, it cost me only about $225 to do the whole roof.

The barrier panels are 2ft x 4ft with three spring rods built in that you flex to mount the panel between the rafters. They bow out a bit and funnel the radiated heat from the roof to the peak of garage roof where the heat is vented by two of those spinning wind turbines you see on the tops of homes and garages. You need some way to vent the trapped heat, either wind turbines atop the garage like I have or a gable soffit.

Just another idea that may or may not work for you. This is much easier than insulation. And the thing with insulation is that it eventually picks up enough heat that it starts radiating that heat through to the garage. Made more sense to me to reflect the heat away from the garage interior. Insulated garage door (with radiant barrier installed between the foam and door panels) also helps.

 

[5lima30]

+1 on at least R-30 AND radiant barrier! The radiant barrier is fairly inexpensive and very east to install as well. Good luck!

 

[70datsun]

Thank you all for the great suggestions. This has really given me some things to think about and to suggest to my in-laws. Now if only I were talking about insulating my yet-to-be-built garage instead of theirs. Oh well, some day!

 

[sxk122]

We just blew in the cellulose insuation above our attached 480 sqf garage. Ceiling was drywalled already. Last summer interior temps were 10+ degrees ABOVE exterior temps at dusk. When it is 100 outside, that is painfull. We bought 20 bags of the insulation which got us the free machine rental. Cost about $160 with tax. We are seeing temps 10+ degrees BELOW exterior temp at dusk, and we have yet to insulate the door. You can feel heat radiating of it at the moment. We were having company over for the 4th and we have a small house. For parties we normally set up the food and drinks in the garage space. We opened the door from the house to the garage at about noon. House ac was set to 76. Just from flow through air, the garage was at 83 degrees at 7 pm when guest arrived. Outside temp was 102..... so far one of the best 'bang for buck' projects, and also one of the most miserable projects. We did it in mid may. Started in the morning by picking up everything and getting ready, started blowing at about 11, took 4 hours to get the insulation blown, a few pieces of decking installed and the decor back up there. Temps in the attic at 11 were closing in on 100. When we finished, my thermometer was maxed out at 120, and I was soaking wet and covered in ****.....

 

[sxk122]

Not sure why it replaced x m a s with a smiley.....