Keeping the Sun Out

[BleedingBlue]

Hey guys, just joined and have a question for you!

My garage faces directly West so as the sun sets my garage is full of sun and gets incredible hot. I am looking for a non-permanent way to keep the sun out, has anyone tackled this problem in their garage?

 

[FJ 432]

Closing the garage door not an option?

Help us out.

 

[BleedingBlue]

Well I guess that would be, but I prefer to have the door open. I took a small sheet and put some hooks on it so it hangs from the door for now, but was curious if anyone else has a better alternative.

 

[smedly]

Same problem here. I close the door halfway.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Previous shop I worked in faced west and had the same sun trouble in warmer weather. Closing the door made the place like an oven during the summer - even in spring / fall it would heat the place up too much. So I learned to roll the door down to about 5 feet off the ground to block most of the sun while still getting air circulation and allowing me to walk in / out and also see outside.

 

[BleedingBlue]

Previous shop I worked in faced west and had the same sun trouble in warmer weather. Closing the door made the place like an oven during the summer - even in spring / fall it would heat the place up too much. So I learned to roll the door down to about 5 feet off the ground to block most of the sun while still getting air circulation and allowing me to walk in / out and also see outside.

Thats what I have been doing as well, I think the solution may be to get a new house!

 

[FJ 432]

What part of the country are you located?

Here in Denver facing west is nice(how mine faces BTW) because it warms the garage. Can you get some cross breeze by opening another door and using a wall mounted fan to create some circulation?

 

[Steevo]

One place I lived had this same issue, and when it was already 105ºF outside, you didn't want that late afternoon sun beating on you in the garage.
Mine had the old style big flat garage door that tilted on pivot hinges at the sides.
I put a chair under it and lowered it 3/4 closed, so it rested on the seat of the chair.

 

[bdamico]

They have garage screens--elegant solutions down to what you're doing now basically. There aint much else you can do other than putting an awning on the outside

 

[Zeke]

Shade screen. Get it at the nursery.

 

[GarageEnvy]

My garage is in a hot climate (100-110 in the summer) and faces west also. I have 3 doors and generally open the 2 that I'm not working behind. On my old garage in the same location I hung one of those roll up reed screens to block off about half the door. It was ugly but somewhat effective. There's no reason any type of solar screen material wouldn't work as well.

 

[SGKent]

We have a West facing garage door. Use an insulated garage door. Raise it 2". Open the side door and put a fan blowing to keep the air circulating. Otherwise build a shop or get a room AC for the garage. Kinda late in the season to deal with heat. Here we get mosquitoes after the winter rains so open doors invite bites and maybe WNV too.

 

[nit2wn]

Solar control screen as others have stated. The tighter the mesh the darker it is. They make a 20x20 and 20x30 along with a few colors depending on the manufacturer. Those numbers represent how threads of coated yarn in a square inch depending on direction. 20X20 is 20 threads in each direction per an inch, the 30 rating means 20 in one direction, 30 in the other. Beware that the stuff gets heavier than you'd expect it to be. Some of it is pretty tough to boot. Used to work for one of the manufacturers running and tying in their looms.

 

[grumpygator]

Sounds like a job for one of those roll out awnings that they put on RV's.
Roll out when needed roll up when you don't.
********Just Saying*************Gator***********

 

[AMCguy]

Another problem I have noticed with a westerly exposure is, just a quick glance out the door is so bright that it takes a couple of minutes to see what I was working on again.

 

[BleedingBlue]

What part of the country are you located?

Here in Denver facing west is nice(how mine faces BTW) because it warms the garage. Can you get some cross breeze by opening another door and using a wall mounted fan to create some circulation?

I live in Indianapolis, so it gets pretty hot in the Summers..90's. I dont have a side door so it gets steamy in there with the door shut. I will definitely look into the solar screens that many have mentioned, my sheet looks crazy white trash haha

 

[nit2wn]

I remember gray and black were the main colors back then [7 years ago] I also know they made patterns of the stuff too. Anything from your favorite sec team logo, favorite automaker, camo, etc. Those would be very expensive on my best guess. My brother in laws both still work there. You could just layer some window screen and create the same effect. just offset the mesh on each layer a little as you layer them up.

 

[BleedingBlue]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it. if anyone has purchased one of these solar screen recently with good results please let me know where you got it, thanks!

 

[power wagon]

i wish it was hot in my garage its cold right now,i have plenty of trees to help in the summer tho

 

[Matt M PA]

Maybe of little help....but a friend of mine looked into one of those motorized awnings for over his garage door. Sunsetter?

 

[PhantomEB]

I only can wish my next shop big doors face south or West.... my current one faces North and I live in Canada.... mighty depressing!

And I know my girlfriend would hang out in the shop more if she gets sun just lazyin there in the big door while its open.

 

[Cryptic1911]

We didn't put any windows in ours when we built it.. no problems with sun coming through, or crackheads window shopping

 

[niget2002]

Solar Screens!

Typically they're used on windows to cut down on sun coming through them, but I don't see why the material couldn't be turned into something you could roll up/down in front of the garage door. Not sure how expensive it would be, but it would let the breeze through and some of the sun light. 10% of a setting sun is still a LOT of sun. They dropped the temperature in our front office nearly 10 degrees on the west facing windows we put them on.

 

[camarotoolman]

Some times I set up my canopy tent up in front of my garage. The posts get in the way, but I can work around that. I have a high pitch roof so I'm thinking of hanging the canopy from the top of the roof and side wall.

 

[Herb]

Previous shop I worked in faced west and had the same sun trouble in warmer weather. Closing the door made the place like an oven during the summer - even in spring / fall it would heat the place up too much. So I learned to roll the door down to about 5 feet off the ground to block most of the sun while still getting air circulation and allowing me to walk in / out and also see outside.

I used to do that until my wife forgot the door wasn't up all the way and walked into it-nose level.