scudderfish
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 posted on 1/12/12 at 02:42 PM |
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Insulating my garage doors
My garage has two single up and over doors. They are a single skin of wood with a metal frame on the back. I'm thinking of getting some sheets
of expanded polystyrene and sticking them to the back side of the doors. Is this worthwhile? What thickness of foam should I go for? Is there a
better way of doing it?
Regards,
Dave
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 02:51 PM |
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I think you should man the bleep up and put another jumper on....  
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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scudderfish
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 02:53 PM |
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But then I'd look as fat as you!
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balidey
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 02:56 PM |
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Just done something similar.
Metal single skin up and over.
My sons new bedroom is over the garage and is not as warm as the new room behind it, so I have used 25mm thick slabs of styrofoam with builders
adhesive (Pink grip) holding it on. I got the foam free from work so its only cost me £5 in adhesive and there is a slight difference in room temp
now.
I also have some brush seal to go round the edges to seal off draught gaps.
Only problem is the door is much heavier, despite the very low density of foam. Perhaps expanded polystyrene would have been a touch lighter.
Dutch bears have terrible skin due to their clogged paws
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designer
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 02:58 PM |
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The main problem with up-and-over doors are the gaps around the sides.
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 03:07 PM |
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Try This;
Underfloor Heating Floor Insulation Boards 10mm 5 pack 
I screwed draft excluders around the edges of mine, which work ok. Keeps the leaves out too.
[Edited on 1-12-12, by MakeEverything]
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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40inches
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 03:25 PM |
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Foil backed insulation is best, apparently the foil gives the equivalent of 25mm polystyrene (facing inwards).
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snapper
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 03:42 PM |
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I used my garage as a darkroom in the days when photographers used chemicals and photo paper
I used thick velvet black out curtains, this also kept the draft out
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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steve m
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 03:42 PM |
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I had polystyrene cut into pieces to fill the voids on my metal up and over door, but they were a real PITA to keep there!
so ive now covered it aluminiun foil (radiator reflective stuff) and with the alui tape, cant say its made any difference with warmth, but the nice
shiney alui foil does reflect the light well, so it is brighter
To seal the gaps around the door, i bought some rubber strip of ebay , something like 50mm x 5mm, and just self tappered it to the wooden frame, and
pop riveted it to the bottom of the door,
Must say i dont get any draughts now,
Steve
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hobbsy
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 04:05 PM |
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50mm kingspan or equivalent with ally tape to join gaps and hold in place. Then rubber to seal worst of the frame gaps and keep leaves out. I think it
made a difference and maybe stops my compressor noises etc from echoing around the street.
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renetom
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 04:39 PM |
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insulation
Hi
As 40 inches said foiled insulation panels are much better & more durable, 1" panels are fine.
Polystyrene is a terrible fire hazard , years ago they used to make tiles in polystyrene
Which you could stick to the ceiling , the reason they stopped was because they actually
increased the ferocity of the fires , similar to napalm, it drips down & sticks to anything and still burning.
One thing I did many moons ago when restoring an old MG , was to fit a curtain rail above the
up & over mechanism & bought some cheap but heavy curtains let them drape on the floor a bit worked
a treat. for droughts & insulation.
But only if you have another door to the garage & no overhead rails on the up & over.
Good luck
René
If you cannot get 1" behind the door mech
Jewson do an Insulation board 1/2" thick
(Pinboard stuff) also good for sound proofing.
[Edited on 1/12/12 by renetom]
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 05:36 PM |
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If it is for when you are working, the biggest issue will always be draughts. stopping those will have far more effect than insulation.. Wood is
actually a good insulator compared to metal, so don't bother. Draughtproofing kits available easily enough, or the DIY route may save a few
bob.
But remember that sealing a garage too efficiently may cause other issues as it is (probably) a single skin construction. Good ventilation is
essential to keep the place free from dampness.
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 05:36 PM |
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All polystyrene insulation made (for building) these days comes with a fire retarding additive in it. It still turns to goo when exposed to
petrols/VOCs though.
[Edited on 1/12/12 by coyoteboy]
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Bare
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 06:58 PM |
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Did that ~25 years ago to both the foldup doors in my garage.. 1" of styrofoam with 1/8" ply on the garage interior faces. Stryo is both
fragile and flammable, Ply does a passable job of protection on both counts
Works 'fine'. Trapping a lot of the warmth in winter and preventing a bake oven in summer (doors face south)
No not perfect, given the myriad of air cracks along all door edges, but a helluvalot better than sans insulation.
[Edited on 1/12/12 by Bare]
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 1/12/12 at 11:00 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by renetom
Polystyrene is a terrible fire hazard , years ago they used to make tiles in polystyrene
Which you could stick to the ceiling , the reason they stopped was because they actually
increased the ferocity of the fires , similar to napalm, it drips down & sticks to anything and still burning.
So I should really get that stuff taken off?
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renetom
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| posted on 2/12/12 at 09:36 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ninehigh
quote:
Originally posted by renetom
Polystyrene is a terrible fire hazard , years ago they used to make tiles in polystyrene
Which you could stick to the ceiling , the reason they stopped was because they actually
increased the ferocity of the fires , similar to napalm, it drips down & sticks to anything and still burning.
So I should really get that stuff taken off?
Not sure, as someone posted that the modern polystyrene has a fire retardant
So It may be Ok.
I was talking of many moons ago.
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 2/12/12 at 11:46 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by renetom
quote:
Originally posted by Ninehigh
quote:
Originally posted by renetom
Polystyrene is a terrible fire hazard , years ago they used to make tiles in polystyrene
Which you could stick to the ceiling , the reason they stopped was because they actually
increased the ferocity of the fires , similar to napalm, it drips down & sticks to anything and still burning.
So I should really get that stuff taken off?
Not sure, as someone posted that the modern polystyrene has a fire retardant
So It may be Ok.
I was talking of many moons ago.
It got put up in the late 80's early 90's...
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DIY Si
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| posted on 2/12/12 at 12:04 PM |
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When I had a metal up and over door, I used the offcuts of underlay from our lounge to insulate the door. It was held in place with old bits of
pallet, so it did make the door quite a lot heavier, but it did do a good job of keeping warmth and sound in. I did the same when I swapped over to
wooden doors, which were even warmer again.
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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scudderfish
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| posted on 2/12/12 at 02:58 PM |
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I went to B&Q and they were doing 3 for 2 on rolls of what is effectively foil backed bubble wrap, so a £15 experiment.
I've only done one door as my car is in the way of the other until I get the clutch slave fitted (another story). I also sealed up a number of
gaps around the door. No idea of how effective it is, but whilst I was fitting it, I could feel the heat of my face being reflected back so I'm
hopeful for some effect (even if it is just a placebo)
If this doesn't work well, I'll put expanded polystyrene behind it.
Thanks for the advice so far.
Regards,
Dave
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kj
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| posted on 24/6/13 at 08:17 AM |
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Cheap option, brush strip along the bottom then bubble wrap accross the door leaving the 25mm gap and then foil tape or vapour barrier small brush
strip around the top and the edges reducing the gap.
Done this with mine only cost £4 for the tape and £3.50 for the brush strip worked in the garage in winter no heater and my daughter says her bed room
above is now a lot warmer.
Always leave a gap between the outer skin and the insulation.
Think about it, think about it again and then do it.
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Not Anumber
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| posted on 24/6/13 at 10:53 AM |
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Use the proper sheets of high performance closed cell insulation used for insulating walls and floors in new builds and extensions such as Recticel.
I have used this extensively in conservatory walls and also to improve the insulation on 1920's solid house walls, walls under bay windows etc.
The difference it makes is incredible. You could insulate the walls of a single skin plywood shack with this and it would retain heat as well as a
modern house.
A friend used it to insulate the inside of all his outside walls in a 400 year old grade 2 listed building in Norfolk. It went from impossible to keep
warm to as warm as toast.
Many builders merchants such as Jewsons stock it but shop around for the best price. 25mm or 30mm would make a massive difference, 50mm or thicker
even better if you have room for it. It is more costly than polysyrene but performs far, far better, it isnt inflamable and it's proper
housebuilding stuff.
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DarrenW
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| posted on 24/6/13 at 11:46 AM |
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Its interesting that a couple of old posts on garage doors have been resurrected in the last 2 days by noob members.
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