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Over the past year I've been converting our integrated garage so that it's a usage space.

I've painted the walls, got lighting, power and water connected (To allow for a washing machine to be installed) plus floor is now carpeted using tiles. Also I've installed lots of shelving and storage.

It's become a really useful space in the house now, that we use for projects, storage and lots of other tasks.

However being early December the weather is quite cold, which means the garage gets pretty chilling. The garage door at one end of the garage takes up the entire end and is a large metal door. So basically one end of the garage is a giant heatsink!

In order to prevent so much heat loss I'm thinking of doing the following:

  • Attaching loft insulation to the inside of the door
  • Installing draft excluders at the bottom (and possibly) sides of the door

Thoughts, suggestions, feedback?

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I just finished our garage this past summer and here are a few things I did.

I insulated the garage door by cutting pieces of rigid insulation foam to fit into each piece of the garage door. You can glue them on and then seal the edges with expanding foam or caulk.

alt text

On the side of garage door I installed weather strips and also on the top/bottom of the door so that it is sealed when the door closes.

If you have any windows I would make sure to seal them (I boxed mine in with wood and then caulked). Also depending how you finished the bottom of the garage walls, I would seal the bottom (my drywall buts up right to the cement floor, so I sealed the space with expanding foam and cut the excess away).

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  • What type of glue was used for the panels?
    – Kermit
    Feb 5 '14 at 18:00
  • Just a quick note that this isn't IRC code compliant in the US. Foam insulation like this must be covered by an ignition barrier and cannot just be left exposed.
    – David Pfeffer
    Aug 13 '14 at 4:04
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You may consider just replacing your garage door with an insulated one. It's definitely more expensive than insulating it yourself, but it will do a better job insulating, and especially if your door is older it will update the look of your house.

alt text

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  • The garage door is 20+ years old, so at some point (if we remain in the house) we'll purchase a new door. For the moment I'd like the cheapest way to insulate what we have.
    – Peter Bridger
    Dec 10 '10 at 13:01
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They make garage door insulation kits. I have never tried one, but I have seen them in the stores. Owens Corning Insulation Kit:

enter image description here

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  • I never saw these before. Make sure you check how much area you need to cover as this reviewer on the website needed more than one kit: ....."It took two garage door insulation kits to cover my door as my garage is fairly large"
    – Milos Petrovic
    Dec 3 '10 at 17:08
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If you are no longer using the space as a garage, maybe you don't need a garage door. If a standard 36 inch exterior door would serve your purposes, consider removing the old door and frame in a 2X6 wall and insulate it properly and maybe add an electrical receptacle or two. Most older garage doors were never designed to be air tight, especially around the top and sides. Sealing these areas can be tricky and impede the smooth opening and closing of the door, especially if it is a multi panel hinged overhead door.

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Air sealing is more important than insulating. Stop the drafts first.

Actually in this case I might build a modestly insulated wall just inside of the existing door, after disabling the opener mechanism. Then you can really seal it, yet still give future owners the opportunity to reverse your decision and park cars.

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