Melting Garage Journal Newbie (Insulation)

[Smilodon]

Hello all!

Been lurking around here a bit, and have found a bunch of information just reading and searching. I found this place from a link contained in a discussion on a motorcycle board I frequent. It's been an enjoyable read!

The site has given me inspiration, so I thought I'd jump in and get a little interaction going with the experts here.

One of the selling points of my current house was the existing stand-alone garage/workshop. It is an "L" shaped structure that is essentially three two-car garages.

The original owner of the house built it for himself, and was obviously a skilled carpenter/woodworker. The garage was built first and was the "shop/storage/temporary living quarters" while building the house.

Note: I am not a skilled carpenter/woodworker.

In some ways it's great and overbuilt. In others oddly lacking. I have been in the house for a few years, and have been using the structure as garage/workshop/storage, and loving the space upgrade. Now I feel the time has come to try and address some of the weaknesses.

The space as I am using it now is essentially broken up into equal parts garage, storage and shop. My "shop" is primary devoted to the care/feeding/storage of motorcycles. It is one "leg" of the "L" and has a single garage door of it's own. This is where I want to focus my efforts for now.

The biggest problem is insulation, or the lack thereof. The wood-framed structure is completely unfinished inside. the shop "section" has what I believe you would call a "salt box" style roof, with a very tall roof at one end. When I had the roof re-done when I moved in, I had a roof vent put into this section because it had no ridge-venting.

I am in Florida, so the biggest problem is heat. The place is a sweatbox most of the time I am trying to work in it, and the heat (typically 5-10 degrees above ambient) is harsh on the things stored inside the rest of the time.

I have looked into having the walls and ceiling "foamed", but for the time being, that deal has fallen through. I am hesitant to finish the inside like a house (wallboard and so forth), mostly because of the labor involved and that I just don't feel it is necessary for my purposes. I could be convinced otherwise, I suppose.

Also the roll-up metal garage doors are un-insulated. When rolled up, they essentially become "heat radiators" directly above where I am working.

I am getting ready to do some major re-arrangement (leaving some walls bare), and was wondering if some simple insulation on some areas (the garage door, walls) would be worth the effort. I was thinking of stapling that "chrome bubblepack" sort of stuff on the walls, and wasn't sure what to do with the garage door.

Is it pointless to try any of this in the short versus doing a major (probably professionally done) job to insulate the whole structure? I realize the "big" job would be most effective, but was wondering if something I could do myself in a weekend would at least help.

The "big" job keeps getting pushed out due to time constraints, and thought some less comprehensive thing might at least get the temps down a bit. I was planning on taking a shot at some of this over the Christmas holidays.

I've searched here and found some stuff, but just looking for some guidance/experiences/etc. for my particular case. I've found a bunch about heaters and freezing floors, but I usually lay on my concrete floor to try and cool off!

 

[Falcon67]

I have looked into having the walls and ceiling "foamed", but for the time being, that deal has fallen through. I am hesitant to finish the inside like a house (wallboard and so forth), mostly because of the labor involved and that I just don't feel it is necessary for my purposes. I could be convinced otherwise, I suppose.

IMHO -
In FL, like Houston (former living place) you will be convinced that the labor is required. Insulation bats in the walls and on the ceiling covered with something if you like is what you need. That's the only way to make environmental control (AC, etc) work.. It hits 110 around here without the humidity you have - full insulation is the only thing that works. You can staple it to the studs - no rocket science there. And you don't have to cover it, but it's a little better if you do. 1/2 sheet rock or thin OSB will work and you don't have to be skilled to put it up - just cut to fit and screw it to the studs. Finish is optional too. For the door, go look at some 1" foam board in the home stores. You score it with a knife and snap it, like sheetrock. Easy to install and if you cut it right it'll wedge in the door cavities and no glue or screws required. It's cheap so if you mess up, just go get another one.

None of this work requires any special experience or skill, other than using screws, an electric screwdriver (or hammer and nails), tape measure and a knife. Just go get a bundle of kraft faced insulation in the width and depth that matches the on center measure of your studs and get after it. One bundle at a time, a few hours on a Sunday afternoon and in a few weeks, hey lookie there. On the ceiling, you can hold the bats up with some strips of 1x2 and the staples. That's what holds my insulation in place. Never got around to putting rock or board up there. Do the ceiling first, then do one wall at a time. Goes quick. I can insulate 20' of wall on our house in under a day and that includes ripping off the outside siding.

 

[sofob0909]

could you post some pictures of your L shape garage. I am looking at these designs for my future build and cant find many L styles.

thanks

 

[Smilodon]

Thanks for the info. As will most things here, your practical experience helps to put things in perspective a lot. I will definitely be doing the "one wall at a time" thing, and will start with the garage doors first. They radiate so much heat, I can feel it when working under them (when I first roll them up in the morning). So, some immediate pay off there.

The ceiling will be tough because of the "salt box" style of the roof (one side is very tall about two stories).

I have some mechanical skills (automotive/motorcycle), so should be able to do the basic "carpentry" work involved, I just didn't want a solution that started off with finishing drywall, miter boxes and dovetailing!

So the bubble-pack stuff really isn't worth messing with, then?

Oh, as far as the pictures, I'll give it a try. It is dark in the rafters, so it is tough to show any detail there. What kind of shots were you interested in?

Oh yeah, and it ain't as purdy as most of the ones I see on here!

 

[dps]

There's a lot of conflicting info about using radiant heat barriers, so if you're talking about the silvered bubble wrap, maybe there is some benefit. Regular stuff like used for packing wouldn't do much.

I would start your cooling down process by painting the exterior white. Metallic silver would also be a help, but not as good as white. White roofing (you can paint asphalt shingles) will make a huge difference. Easy and fast to do, too, though the paint can add up.

 

[z28snksknr]

Welcome to the board!!

I agree with Falcon67 in that you should start with the ceiling / roof first. The roof is going to pick up more radiant heat than the walls.

I also agree that using fiberglass batts in the stud cavities is extremely easy (just wear long sleeves and a mask or you'll itch like crazy), as is the garage foam board insulation. There are even garage door kits that have the stuff already precut for standard width doors.

Just don't get discouraged when you do a section and don't see results. You won't see much benefit from just doing one wall, etc.

Good luck. Looking forward to seeing some pics (exterior / interior / whatever). Don't worry about how it looks. Just read through my garage thread and see how ugly a garage can be!!!

 

[Falcon67]

I looked up "saltbox" - I see now. If it was me, just me - I'd pick the parts where an 8' ceiling would be OK and run joists there. If that ate most of the budget for a ceiling cover, use 1x2s or landscape fabric (might be on sale now that it's cold) to run under the joists to help hold up the batts. I picked the ceiling first because you do the PITA part first, then the rest seems like cake You could have a section of the shop with a higher ceiling (lift, taller vehicles, etc) by using collar ties spaced higher up the rafters. Lumber dimension depends on the span (width) and potential load, and still you can go a section at a time as the budget allows. Took me about 4 months to do this shop - get paid once a month, bought 2-3 rolls of insulation every month and just put it up. Eventually, you get there. It's always nicer to "shotgun" it all at once, but you do what you can.

 

[Smilodon]

Thanks for all the info. Yes, I was talking about the specific radiant heat silvered plastic stuff. Don't get enough UPS stuff to cover the walls in regular bubble-pack!

Time is really my biggest enemy. What little free time I get, I like to work on the toys or use them. But, after suffering a few days in the heat working on the toys, I think "I really need to insulate this place".

What has kicked things off is a planned re-organization (to make room for some long-term projects) and finding and reading this forum!

In the short-term, I will be doing the re-arranging and this will cause a few walls to be (temporarily) cleared. Thought I might stick something there while the walls were clear.

Long term, I should probably consider dividing up the workspace and insulating the "shop" section. Doing the whole structure would be a pretty big job.

As far as the outside color, that is a no-go. This structure was built to match the house (and with the same materials), and both the roof and exterior are painted/colored to match. If it were a metal barn, I would probably go for light color to help out, but "stuck" (I like the colors to be honest) with what I have in this case.

Hmmm... Maybe I'll talk to the foam guys again...