5 Best Garage Door Insulation Kits for Winter
As the temperature starts to drop, it’s important to start thinking about how you can keep your home warm. One way to do this is by insulating your garage door. Garage door insulation kits can be a great way to do this, and there are a few different types that you can choose from.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the best garage door insulation kits for winter and give you some tips on how to choose the right one for your needs. Stay warm!
When it comes to preparing your garage for winter, insulation is key. Not only will it help keep the cold out, but it can also reduce your energy bills by keeping the heat in.
But with so many different garage door insulation kits on the market, how do you know which one is right for you?
Buying Guide for Garage door insulation kits for Winter
Keeping your garage warm during cold days is the most desired thing during December and January. You can easily make your wish true by using a Garage door insulation kit. It can easily help you to transform your garage into a workshop, exercise area, or rec room. And it will cost a lot less than your think.
Selecting a perfect insulation kit is not an easy job. But by keeping in mind the following criteria you can easily choose what is best for you.
R-Value
Every kit has an R-value. R-value is a scale to show the ability to resist heat flow. The higher the R-Value, the better the insulation. The R-Value for your garage insulation depends on what kind of garage you have.
If your have
| Garage Type | R-Value |
|---|---|
| Detached garage | 0-6 |
| Attached Garage | 7-10 |
| Heated Garage | 10-14 |
| Steel garage door | Simple insulation |
| Wooden Garage door | Foam board will work |
Installation
Some kits require professional insulation, while others can be easily installed by yourself (DIY kits). The product we’ve mentioned below are mostly DIY Products. As they come in cut pieces and with all the required tools. It may be a tough job for a single person but with two people it’s just work of an hour. The professional installation can cost you extra.
Price of the kit
A complete replacement of a garage door will cost you so much(around $700 to $2500). But if you want an extra layer on your garage door then it will cost you only around $100 to $500 or more(depending on the size of your garage and the quality of the materials). Compare prices and features to find the best value for your need. Usually, These kits have all the tools you need like fasteners, knives, hardware gloves, and HAVC tape.
Material
1. Fiberglass batting
Fiberglass battings are made from glass wool. These came in pre-cut panels or long sheets. While some battings come with vinyl or paper facing to prove the smooth Surface when pressed against the door. You may require retaining pins to keep these in their place.
2. Cellulose Fiber
Cellulose fiber is the best solution when it comes to eco-friendly insulation. These layers are made from recycled cardboard and paper. To keep them fires retardant, they mix them with chemicals along with borax. To keep them on your garage door and stop the inside material from falling you need to cover these with some other casing or sheets. Otherwise, it will blow around.
3. Rigid Foam panels
The board is meant to provide double-sided insulation. This type of insulation material is greatly useful for summer as better as winter. Made from polyisocyanurate insulation material, these foams provide continuous insulation.
With the help of the above Guide, you can choose the best garage door insulation kit for winter. To minimize your effort we have listed below some best product reviews suitable for winter.
Best Garage door insulation kits for Winter
NASA Tech is one of the top brands when it comes to manufacturing garage door insulation kits. These reflective foam kits are made to keep your garage warm during winter.
To put on the insulation, I had to first remove wind reinforcement bars. Then, starting at the top left corner of each panel, I attached the insulation strip flush with the left side and the top of the panel. I loosened each hinge/roller bracket so I could slip the insulation behind it.
That gave me a mechanical attachment in addition to the adhesive. Working from hinge to hinge moving right, I kept the insulation flush with the top of the panel. At the end of the panel, the edge of the garage door served as a guide for my razor knife to cut off the excess.
With the door slightly open, the bottom of the panel was also a straight edge. I opted not to precut the insulation, and that approach worked fine for me.
Installation took about 8 hours for a 16’ door. The perimeter has to be wiped down with denatured alcohol. If you miss a spot, the tape won’t grip very well.
This garage door insulation kit is very easy to install. It took less than 15 minutes for me to install it on a 2 car garage door. And the best part is that this stuff actually works as advertised. I could feel the difference in the heat transfer through the doors almost immediately.
Works great and exactly as advertised, just don’t buy this thinking your garage will drop 50 degrees. There are still many other places heat will enter your garage and this only covers most of the door.
It doesn’t cover the full door like the metal between sections, but it absolutely works and dropped the temp in my garage around what I was looking for.
Easy to install and definitely improves the brightness of the garage with the white backing. Just be sure to measure your door before purchase to ensure you get the correct size.
The downsides? Compared to a DIY install using spray foam and foam board this product will be significantly lower in R value. Not shocking since it is a loose slip fit and has an air gap between it and the door (for ease of installation).
The upside? Unlike some DIY install techniques, you CAN easily remove this product, which is very nice when working on your garage door.
I might recommend putting these panels where you might need to access the door, like at the bottom… and installing something a little greater in R-value on the rest of the door. Not ideal, but a good compromise if you can stand the aesthetic.
It’s really nice product, very easy to install since the width of these panels is fitted to the standard with of garage door. Just need to trim the length.
The manufacturer needs improvement for panel attachment or just take those clips out and reduce the price, these clips can’t hold the panel in place especially when the garage is fully only.
The panel is 22″x54″ with a weight of over 3lbs and can’t hold by those 2 little 1.5″ Dia. clips. I used the White Gorilla duct Tape to tape around each panel so they can stay in place and nicely, this is the longest time of the installation, however, it turned out really nice afterward (FYI, 1 roll is not enough).
As I mentioned the weight earlier, you going to add 52 lbs to your garage door (if you have 2 cars garage door) so you should check the motor of your garage prior purchase this product, for my garage, it runs smoother and quiet after the installation complete, really happy with the result. I recommended this product to anyone like to insulate the garage door
First, let me say it significantly reduces the heat buildup in my garage. My aluminum door faces straight South and starts collecting heat early. I don’t have a way to measure the difference but just putting your hand on an insulated panel vs a non-insulated panel must be 10-15° different.
I didn’t expect it, but you can also feel about the. The same difference on the outside of the door so it certainly must be reflecting a lot of radiation out.
Installation would be easy except the supplied tape I received is somewhat defective. Seems that when it was cut to size one edge is ragged and so it leaves little pieces of the backing. They are a bear to get off and have more than doubled my install time.
Btw it’s also pretty lightweight – my guess is less than 5 pounds. The weight is important because if you add a lot of extra weight to your garage door because of new insulation, you may need to upgrade your garage door opener motor to handle the heavier door better.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the benefit of insulating a garage door?
An insulated garage door keeps your garage warmer than a non-insulated one. It keeps the temperature inside well maintained. The tools and opening mechanisms remain completely unexposed even in extreme conditions. You can do your work, rest, exercise, etc. Comfortably and increase the lifespan of the garage.
What does an insulated garage door look like?
An insulated garage door make you feel so much more comfortable even in extreme weather conditions. It keeps your garage cold in Summer and warm in winter. An insulation layer looks like a white styrofoam covered with layers of foil or paper, attached to the garage door. These layers keep the cold outside during the cold day and vice versa.
Which material is cheaper for a garage door?
EPS(Expanded polystyrene) is considered the most affordable and reliable insulating material. With a low R-value between 3 to 4, it works fine on thick garage doors.
Other than this, you can also use Extruded polystyrene (EXS) which has an R-value of 5 to 6. It is sturdy and a little more pricy than EPS.
Conclusion
Who doesn’t want their garage air-conditioned? Everyone needs a warm, cozy, and comfortable place to work, rest, exercise, and do other activities. Except for keeping the cars, garages are more eligible for this kind of work. Maintenance of the garage door is necessary.
Your garage door should be well-insulated from heat during summer and cold during winter. And to keep them insulated from the cold of winter it’s important to cover their door with insulation kits.
In this blog post, we’ve discussed, what kind of garage door insulation kit is best for your garage door. We have also provided you with a buying guide to choose the most suitable Insulation kit for your garage area. With our 5 above-mentioned suggestions, you can pick one to keep your garage well-insulated. But remember always choose what is best for you. What is your suggestion about these products, tell me in the comment section below.
