Garage door insulation

[Carl Beckett]

My new shop is a two car garage. With neighbors.

I have seen garage door insulation kits for sale

Have seen a handful of DIY versions

I would like a combination of thermal insulation and noise suppression.

Anyone have experiences they would like to share?

[Bryan Hall]

I've looked into this a decent bit. There's a bunch of youtube videos debating whether it really works or not, and if it's worth the money. For me, the answer is yes. Even if there isn't a huge increase in insulation, I'll take what I can get.

For noise: I insulated the entire shop with rockwool. I found the noise coming through the doors was very minimal at that point. So little in fact that noone ever complained. To finish the doors, I would like to do rockwool again, but will have to decide on either 1/4" panels to hold it up, or possibly a fabric of some sort. I'm hesitant because: I threw a few old rigid foam panels up in it to test it out last summer. While it did reflect the heat nicely, it also added weight to the doors. My doors aren't powered, and it's an obvious difference in weight with just the panels. So, I have a mild concern about the doors becoming harder to open and easier to accidentally slam shut.

[Ron Selzer]

I've looked into this a decent bit. There's a bunch of youtube videos debating whether it really works or not, and if it's worth the money. For me, the answer is yes. Even if there isn't a huge increase in insulation, I'll take what I can get.

For noise: I insulated the entire shop with rockwool. I found the noise coming through the doors was very minimal at that point. So little in fact that noone ever complained. To finish the doors, I would like to do rockwool again, but will have to decide on either 1/4" panels to hold it up, or possibly a fabric of some sort. I'm hesitant because: I threw a few old rigid foam panels up in it to test it out last summer. While it did reflect the heat nicely, it also added weight to the doors. My doors aren't powered, and it's an obvious difference in weight with just the panels. So, I have a mild concern about the doors becoming harder to open and easier to accidentally slam shut.

Need to adjust spring tension after adding anything to garage door. Adjusted properly the door will go up and down easily and safely. Might be a good time to have the springs replaced and one added if only one there now.
Ron

[Edward Weber]

I did mine myself, not a kit.
I just bought the R-tech rigid foam the proper thickness and cut to fit. After I did what I could with the foam and some Tyvek tape to seal the joints, I used expanding foam in a can to fill the voids I could not reach. Where I live and the orientation of my door, it has helped a tremendous amount. I recommend doing it.
I also installed a door jamb weather seal all around the outside which helps quite a lot.

With my door, the spring tension wasn't an issue, also the entire added weight is probably just a couple of pounds at most, it's all foam.
468430

[Andrew More]

I've done it, it was a pretty quick and simple project, so why not.

Fair warning, a garage door can only be so good, because the stop molding around it is usually pretty leaking. So going from like R0 to R6-10 might be decent, but don't worry about much more than that.

[Jim Becker]

.

Fair warning, a garage door can only be so good, because the stop molding around it is usually pretty leaking.

This is something I'm paying attention to "as we speak", kinda, sorta. There is a very good, high quality insulated door on our gara...err...temporary shop. But the seals are aged and I need to replace them to eliminate a lot more of the infiltration that comes around the door. They do get less effective over time as they stiffen up and no longer stay in full contact with the door. I'm already looking at options.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I've insulated three metal garage doors with 3 different materials, not for sound deadening, but more for heat.

In Dallas, I had a 4 car garage with two double uninsulated metal doors that faced due south.

In the middle of summer, these doors would radiate the heat into the garage and raise the inside temperatures 10 to 25 degrees higher than the hot summer temps outside.

I could get surface temperature readings, off the inside of the doors, north of 140F.

After the insulation, the garage remained noticeably cooler and the temp readings, off the insulation, were more like 85F on a 100F degree day outside.

I used solid foam on one door, kind of of an aluminum foil bubble on another and now I have a rock wool fiber glass type on my current doors, this latest door I bought a kit from HD.

[Tom Jenson]

The biggest improvement on my doors, after insulation, has been a threshold seal along the bottom. It’s glued to the concrete and has done a really good job of keeping water and dirt from under the doors.

[Andrew More]

But the seals are aged and I need to replace them to eliminate a lot more of the infiltration that comes around the door. They do get less effective over time as they stiffen up and no longer stay in full contact with the door. I'm already looking at options.

Even with brand new seals I don't think you're going to get very good performance. In my case I've got so much play in the door in and out that a good seal is hard to achieve. I've done a lot of looking around, but I've come to the conclusion that the system is fundamentally flawed, and that you're only going to get so much performance from a sliding door.

I'd be curious to see what solutions you come up with.

[Kevin Jenness]

I did mine myself, not a kit.
I just bought the R-tech rigid foam the proper thickness and cut to fit. After I did what I could with the foam and some Tyvek tape to seal the joints, I used expanding foam in a can to fill the voids I could not reach. Where I live and the orientation of my door, it has helped a tremendous amount. I recommend doing it.

468430

I would be concerned about exposed foamboard in case of fire.
https://inspectapedia.com/Energy/Foam_Board_Fire_Covering.php#:~:text=Foam%20insula tion%20board%20should%20not%20be%20left%20exposed, it%20difficult%20to%20safely%20exit%20the%20burnin g%20building.

[Jim Becker]

Even with brand new seals I don't think you're going to get very good performance. In my case I've got so much play in the door in and out that a good seal is hard to achieve. I've done a lot of looking around, but I've come to the conclusion that the system is fundamentally flawed, and that you're only going to get so much performance from a sliding door.

I'd be curious to see what solutions you come up with.

Fortunately, the insulated door on this new to us house is "high end" and I had it adjusted when the new opener was installed. It's really solid when down with pretty much zero play for movement. (and nearly silent when opening/closing) The seals, however, are old and stiff and don't engage the physical door as well as they need to which is why I intend to replacement. I need to do both the perimeter seals on the outside and put a new bottom seal on as that's degraded from age as well.

[Eugene Dixon]

Matt Risinger did a video on the Build Show channel and demo'd a rail system that included a small cant in the vertical run of the rails. The cant supposedly move the door closer to the frame forcing a tighter seal. Don't know about the longevity issues, etc. I don't remember the name. FWIW, Risinger is a high end GC in Texas in case you haven't heard of him. Does a lot of high efficiency stuff.

[Jim Becker]

I saw that video, Eugene. I'm betting what he showed will be top notch because it was ... at his personal home. :) (His family is moving in next week actually)

[Andrew More]

Matt Risinger did a video on the Build Show channel and demo'd a rail system that included a small cant in the vertical run of the rails. The cant supposedly move the door closer to the frame forcing a tighter seal. Don't know about the longevity issues, etc. I don't remember the name. FWIW, Risinger is a high end GC in Texas in case you haven't heard of him. Does a lot of high efficiency stuff.


I've seen that video, and yet my garage door came with specific instructions to not modify the tracks, or it would void the warranty, people would die, the sky would become like sackcloth, blood would flow in the streets. Probably be okay, I mean it's just a metal track, not nuclear launch codes, but even still I don't think it's a very good solution, since you've still got some "slop" in the door.

@Jim - Actually that was at another house, and he did not install them on the one he's been working on recently for his own personal use. Since he seems to go all out, and be very serious about air gaps I took it as a sign that the tracks might not be all they're cracked up to be.

[Jim Becker]

@Jim - Actually that was at another house, and he did not install them on the one he's been working on recently for his own personal use. Since he seems to go all out, and be very serious about air gaps I took it as a sign that the tracks might not be all they're cracked up to be.

Did he do it on the house before deciding to rip it down and build the new one on the same slab/footprint? The recent video snippets that were in the garage had the same finishing and so forth that I (seem) to remember from the garage door video. But I could be misremembering... No matter. It was still an interesting method.

[Andrew More]

Did he do it on the house before deciding to rip it down and build the new one on the same slab/footprint? The recent video snippets that were in the garage had the same finishing and so forth that I (seem) to remember from the garage door video. But I could be misremembering... No matter. It was still an interesting method.


Something like that, yes. I think you're getting maybe the old house and the under construction house confused?

Good shot of the rails at the house they're installed in, which you can see is a double garage.
https://youtu.be/h7pEGEyVBLI?t=147

Shot of the rails in the house under construction, which is a single bay, and has "normal" rails.
https://youtu.be/1V8H47yK9sk?t=174

Maybe he goes into the rationale for not installing "thermorails", which is the product under discussion, but it's pretty clear he has not used it in the home he's working on. It's stuck in my mind because I had also assumed that product was there, but when he does this installation it's not present, and I've been very concious of how to "fix" this problem, such that I've been taking note of what he does, and does not do very closely.

[Jerome Stanek]

Matt Risinger did a video on the Build Show channel and demo'd a rail system that included a small cant in the vertical run of the rails. The cant supposedly move the door closer to the frame forcing a tighter seal. Don't know about the longevity issues, etc. I don't remember the name. FWIW, Risinger is a high end GC in Texas in case you haven't heard of him. Does a lot of high efficiency stuff.

All the doors that I installed had that. I only installed about 500 doors though

[Andrew More]

All the doors that I installed had that. I only installed about 500 doors though


How effective is it? I looked up the ones Matt was promoting, and $200 is a bit outside of my buy and try range. Are there any other solutions to sealing the gap on a garage door that aren't standard like the typical PVC/flex strip stop molding?

[Tom M King]

I've never seen one around here, but a one piece door would solve a lot of the problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWi0iuSOXiM

[Jim Becker]

That kind of thing is very much of interest to me for whatever larger door I put on the shop building I hope to build. I don't want a "garage door" on it, but need something larger to be able to bring machinery, materials and completed projects in and out. So a carriage door or a flip up panel like the door in the video makes for a good accomodation and they can be insulated to suit as well. Weather sealing should be easier than a multi-panel door, too.

[Kevin Jenness]

I've never seen one around here, but a one piece door would solve a lot of the problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWi0iuSOXiM

You have to admire how they built that panel in only eight minutes even with all the distracting sirens and screeching car tires, and they didn't skimp on the nails or caulk either. Where can I get one of those time collapsers?

[Jim Becker]

Kevin, you forgot the good music that magically accompanied their effort, too. :) I think they could have condensed the caulking operation portion of the video, however...LOL