Garage insulation

I had Dodd's do it :-) mostly because of hearing their ads on 680 News. They did a good job.

The original door (that the builder of the house installed about 14 years ago) was undoubtedly the cheapest one they could find. There were gaps all the way around, big enough for snow to blow in. The door panels were just pressboard ... a swift kick would be enough to go through. (I actually did punch through one panel with a trailer-hitch ball ... backed up a little too close to the door.) Security (lack thereof) was another concern. Dodd's re-did the frame around the door and installed new tracks ... they're clearly accustomed to replacing crappy installations from home builders ... start over from scratch.

The door that I had installed, has no windows in it (for security). It's sealed so well that when I open the door into the garage from the inside of the house, it's pitch black in there. I installed a motion-sensing light in the garage, which was easier than re-wiring to put another switch near the door to the house.

The door to the inside of the house is one that I installed myself ... originally there was no door to the inside at all. And yes, that one is an insulated steel door as per code requirement.
 
Awesome thanks for the info. Just spent some time on their website and they look like a good company to deal with. I think we will get them over to see what they can do and then I'll do the wall insulation stuff myself.
I love our house and we are here fore the long haul, but if there is one thing I could wish for, it's a double car garage.
 
I'm building my dream garage :D at just over 1000 square feet it's big enough to pop wheelies in it.
 
I lucked out on my garage ,bought the house five years ago and it had a nice big garage (about 750 sq.ft.), insulated, with a mechanics pit and a 60 amp service.The great thing about it was that the previous owner was my home room/auto shop teacher at RH King high school in Scarborough forty years ago.Just in the process of getting heat out there and painting or epoxying the floors. Will probably strap the walls and cover with plywood since the drywall is a little rough.
 
This is my dream garage.
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Trials: Your garage has a footprint almost the same size as my house!

Having never really inspected my garage door, I took a proper look to see what it is - turns out it was installed in 2006 - a Clopay steel door with 2" of polystyrene insulation with a R value of 9.0. I was in the garage for an hour and it was okay in there while outside it was -9. I don't have a thermometer in there, but it felt around 0deg. The floor was cold for sure.

Hopefully by insulating the walls I will be much better off. With the money saved on a garage door, I'll look into flooring. Any suggestions? I don't want black and would prefer something non-slip (no rubber - I am clumsy and spill a lot of stuff), with good insulation qualities to keep my feet from freezing. The space is only about 120sqft.
 
Nothing wrong with that garage door, your not going to get much better, just check that the weather stripping on the outside is tight against the door to stop the cold air from coming in. I believe the newer ones use that closed cell foam now, but since the doors are wrapped in that steel sheathing the cold transferres to the inside as well. My door was installed 5 years ago, got as good as I could it’s also 2 inch thick, but it’s still cold on the inside, not as much as the outside but cold, however I have no drafts it’s sealed well.
 
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I've been down this road three times (we kept moving)

My new go to rules are get off the bare concrete, it radiates cold, will ruin your knees and just sucks. Last time I bought 1" SM blue styrofoam and made a pad about 8x12, then put T&G osb over it and construction glued the OSB to the foam and glued the T&G seams, when it all cured it was a monolithic floor pad , you could go bigger or smaller. Then I suspend plastic poly to make a "room" . its clear so its not clostrophobic , light shines through and a small electric heater warms the space pretty fast. Its cheap and cheerful, can be assembled in a couple hrs.

If I have a finicky thing like a snowblower carb to rebuild I'll take it into the basement but most 'work' can happen at 60d in the poly hut.
 
shanekingsley said:
Trials: Your garage has a footprint almost the same size as my house!

Having never really inspected my garage door, I took a proper look to see what it is - turns out it was installed in 2006 - a Clopay steel door with 2" of polystyrene insulation with a R value of 9.0. I was in the garage for an hour and it was okay in there while outside it was -9. I don't have a thermometer in there, but it felt around 0deg. The floor was cold for sure.

Hopefully by insulating the walls I will be much better off. With the money saved on a garage door, I'll look into flooring. Any suggestions? I don't want black and would prefer something non-slip (no rubber - I am clumsy and spill a lot of stuff), with good insulation qualities to keep my feet from freezing. The space is only about 120sqft.
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FWIW I have a single car garage with a bedroom over. I put in an insulated door and put 2 X 2's and fiberglass on the outside walls. The fg is covered with a vapour barriers and cheap diagonal cedar cottage paneling. Looks cozy and works. It's easy to attach shelving to the 2 X 2's.

The garage never freezes even without heat and a 4800 watt / 240 volt plug in heater can make it too hot for a shop. BTW one of those heaters running full time will cost about $20.00 a day.

Heated floors are really nice but I have about 40 years experience with them (Sales, design and service) and didn't bother heating my own if that means anything. PM me if you want to discuss the pros and cons.
 
RE; heated floor, lovely to have. Then the reality, expensive to retrofit, your still paying to heat what ever solution is pumped through the tubing and if anything ever fails , oy vey. And the return on investment for a garage is about 0 , you need to find a buyer that cares about an expensive garage floor.
 
Thanks for the offer nobbie48.
I was actually thinking of just laying some sort of interlocking tile like the garage mats. I was looking at what Home Depot and Costco had to offer. It has to be able to tolerate my centre stand without chipping. My floor has had minor flaws all over it, so something cheap and simple is best to cover it and get off the cold concrete.

The only heat I'll use is a small heater - either 800w radiant or 1500w blower.
Once I build/buy a garden shed, my garage will feel much more spacious too, because I have a lot of garden stuff in there.
 
nobbie48 said:
FWIW I have a single car garage with a bedroom over. I put in an insulated door and put 2 X 2's and fiberglass on the outside walls. The fg is covered with a vapour barriers and cheap diagonal cedar cottage paneling. Looks cozy and works. It's easy to attach shelving to the 2 X 2's.

The garage never freezes even without heat and a 4800 watt / 240 volt plug in heater can make it too hot for a shop. BTW one of those heaters running full time will cost about $20.00 a day.

Heated floors are really nice but I have about 40 years experience with them (Sales, design and service) and didn't bother heating my own if that means anything. PM me if you want to discuss the pros and cons.
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Nobbie,I think you are probably right about the 4800w heater costing $20 a day to run full time at current rates.Dont let that scare anyone away from electric heat.A heater half that size would easily heat a single car garage and even then it might run 15 minutes every hour(at the most)That $20 now becomes $2.50 a day to heat your garage 24 hours a day.I think you could even get that cost down by lowering the thermostat when you’re not actually working in there.I think it’s the way to go in a small well insulated garage
 
Mine is heated with water, one water heater system provides all my hot water needs and it all runs on propane. The backup generator runs on propane too. Kinda hope the 1000 pound propane tank I put in will last me for about a year and I'll know for sure in a few months time because the heat is already on.
 
These are the things I would be comfortable doing myself.
Check all the walls and ceiling for framing. If it exists, great. If not install your own.
Place insulation in the walls including those that are connected to the house. These walls are already insulated to keep heat in the house.
The pink fiberglass is adequate. Spray foam is nice, but expensive in comparison. How much should you install. As much as it will hold.
I used rec room panelling to close the walls (on sale). I hung it wrong side out then painted it with white ceiling paint for increased light.
The door can be insulated using any of the suggested methods.
I'm not happy about propane in an enclosed area like a garage. I picked up two used electric baseboard heaters. Turn them on for 45 minutes before starting work.
If there's enough space to drop the ceiling a foot or two, do so and insulate the space above it.
Don't forget to turn the heat off when finished.
 
matt365 said:
I take it the outside walls are currently drywall for gas proofing? Pull it down to see what you are working with. 2x4 walls or 2x6. Pink insulation and a 6 mil. vapour barrier.

I'd just get an insulated door.

And buy a 50,000 btu propane heater (salamander). We use those to heat framed houses for winter construction. Use it for 20 min. before you go out there to wrench.

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Salamander....BAD IDEA
Also i believe it is against code to have the fuel and heater in the same room... i had one..got rid of it and bought a modine hot dawg garage heater...one of the best investments i made for the garage
 
Trials said:
Heated floor = fast room temperature recovery and fast evaporation of a wet floor ;)

These things seem to work pretty good and probably won't cost you the arm and a leg that an insulated garage door does:
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Heated floor is absolutely the best way to go if you have the means, and are either building new or ripping out the existing slab anyways, only problem is if you dont run it all the time it takes a little longer to heat up than an electric heater would, but its the cats *** when it comes to heating a work space.

OP - make a small hole in the ceiling and see what type of insulation is in it, for the exterior walls your best bet is Roxul, its fire resistant and moisture resistant so mold wont grow on it, your only option for the door is rigid insulation panels glued on to the back of the existing door, not perfect but better than anything
 
basmn said:
Salamander....BAD IDEA
Also i believe it is against code to have the fuel and heater in the same room... i had one..got rid of it and bought a modine hot dawg garage heater...one of the best investments i made for the garage
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If you say so bud.

Its only to take the chill out of the garage when you work on the bike, and thats if you don't have another heat source.

Its temporary heat. Its not permanently installed in the garage.

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For this project and size of the garage I would solely focus on just adding some kind heat source and weather stripping the garage door. This may be just fine for the space and the few times you might be out there. This avoids any potential moisture issues you might be trapping by adding in layers of insulation for a temporary heated and cooled space.
 
He's only concerned about your asphyxiation or possible spontaneous combustion ;)
 
My garage was so cold this morning that when my ex-wife stopped by to see me she had her hands in her own pockets.
 
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