Insulation on your garage door has several benefits. It can keep your garage cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. In doing this, insulating your garage door can save you money in the long run. All the while you can feel more comfortable doing it as most likely, you will be spending time in your garage, whether it’s working on your car, working out, or doing home projects. That is why we are going to go over how to insulate your garage door.

A quick word first about insulating your garage door instead of replacing your garage door. If your garage door is new and in good condition, just not insulated, it’s not economical to replace your garage door with a new insulated garage door. Those garage doors could cost up to $1400, and based on energy saving calculations, you would be saving less than you would be spending. It makes more sense to buy the insulation and do the insulating yourself.

Now there are two types of garage door insulations we want to talk about. First is Batt insulation. It comes rolled up and can be cut to length. This can be the cheaper of the two options, but we want to stress this offers less protection.

The type of garage door insulation we suggest is foam board with vinyl sheets. An R-8 vinyl-faced fiberglass batting kit provides a relatively high R-value. According to energy.gov “An insulating material’s resistance to conductive heat flow is measured or rated in terms of its thermal resistance or R-value — the higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness.”

How to insulate your garage door using foam board.

• Measure the length and width of each panel or section forming your garage door. Many garage door panels have a metal lip; run your tape measure between these lips, edge to edge.
• Cut your foam sections to fit each section. Score partially through the insulation with a utility knife and snap the material in two at the break.
• Spread construction adhesive designed for use with foam insulation across one side of the insulation board. Outline the edges and run a few squiggly lines across the remainder of the piece.
• Place the insulation against the door in the appropriate section. Bend or flex the piece slightly if necessary, to fit it between the metal framing pieces.
• Smooth across the insulation, pressing firmly, to create a solid contact bond between the insulation and garage door.
• Pro Tip: Though you can seal the section edges with aluminum foil tape, what we recommend is Vinyl trim pieces that are cut to length and is used to hold the insulation in place.
• Lean something sturdy against the garage door to help hold the insulation in place and maintain good contact with the adhesive while it dries. Wait 12 to 24 hours before removing and using the garage door.

If your garage door is old, damaged, or needs replacing, Spectrum Overhead Door LLC has been replacing garage doors in the Houston area since 2006. We will give you the same award-winning services we have been giving our customers for over 14 years. Call us at 281-748-9542 or our East Houston office at 713-557-3407 for a free quote!