Choosing The Best DIY Garage Insulation Materials

Choosing the best insu­la­tion mate­rial for your do-it-yourself garage insu­la­tion project.

As you know, one of the least energy effi­cient areas of our homes is the garage, specif­i­cally the garage door. Most garage doors are made of aluminum, steel or wood and are usually installed unin­su­lated. The typical double garage door is 7 ft. x 16 ft. That’s over 100 sq. ft. of unin­su­lated space. Whether you have a single or double car garage, your unin­su­lated garage door is allowing heat in during the summer and letting heat escape during the winter.

I’ll bet you’ve prob­ably felt how hot your garage door gets in the summer and how cold it is in the winter. Well this is the sign that it’s time to correct the problem and start reducing your energy bills.

And if your water heater is in the garage, it’s effi­ciency is affected too. The colder it is in the garage the longer the water heater has to stay on to keep the water temper­a­ture constant — which means a higher energy bill.

Since there are several different insu­lating mate­rials to choose from, it’s not surprising that this is one of the most often asked ques­tions I receive;

“Which insu­la­tion mate­rial should I use to insu­late my garage and water heater?”

Fortu­nately I have a simple and inex­pen­sive answer as well as a couple of tips to help make your do-it-yourself insu­la­tion project a breeze.

So here we go.

Types of Insu­la­tion Materials

First let me explain the different kinds of insu­la­tion mate­rials avail­able to you.

Spray Foam Insulation

Two part spray foam is very effec­tive but you’ll have to buy a kit (about $350 for a double garage door) or hire a profes­sional to perform the work. That makes this mate­rial the most expen­sive choice.

Rigid Foam Insulation

Although Rigid foam is less expen­sive than spray foam, it’s also a bit less effec­tive due to a lower the R-value–which leads me to what I believe is the best mate­rial choice for this do it your­self home insu­la­tion project.

Prodex Insu­la­tion

Prodex insu­la­tion, commonly known as a radiant barrier, is the DIYers best choice for these types of insu­la­tion projects because it’s inex­pen­sive, easy to install, and very effec­tive. It also has a built-in bonus I’ll tell you about later.

Prodex insu­la­tion is only 1/4 inch thick and made of a closed cell foam core covered on both sides with tear resis­tant foil. This amazing radiant barrier reflects 97% of the heat. It also offers an excel­lent R-value and is about half the cost of rigid insulation

For about $120 you can easily and simply insu­late your garage door and water heater, and imme­di­ately begin saving energy.

Tools and Materials

Prodex is easy to install with these simple tools;

Garage Door Insulation

Cut the insu­la­tion to size and apply it to each garage door section with sili­cone adhe­sive. Use foil tape to repair any tears or to cover seams.

Garage Door with NO Insulation

DIY Tip: Cut the insu­la­tion on a piece of plywood to keep from dulling the blade of your utility knife.

Garage Door with Applied Insulation

DIY Tip: Be sure to posi­tion the insu­la­tion quickly as the sili­cone will set fairly fast.

You may have noticed the extra bonus I was talking about from the photos — the highly reflec­tive quality of the insu­la­tion will instantly brighten your garage. Nice.

Insu­lating the Water Heater

Since you’re insu­lating your garage door, go ahead and insu­late your water heater too. Remember, even if your water heater is in the house, you can save money by insu­lating the tank. Use the same radiant barrier insu­la­tion to insu­late your water heater.

Insulated Water Heater

DIY Tip: Make cut-outs for the pilot and ther­mo­stat access. Use a bit of duct tape to secure those pieces so you can easily access them later.

PLEASE be sure to read, under­stand and follow all safety precau­tions and proce­dures when working with, near, or around any gas or elec­tric water heater, or for that matter any appli­ance. You can also refer to my Insu­la­tion Do’s and Don’ts article for more tips.

So, when you’re ready to under­take your do-it-yourself garage insu­la­tion project and you’re faced with multiple insu­la­tion mate­rials to choose from, I highly recom­mend Prodex Insu­la­tion. It’s a great radiant barrier and can be easily purchased from Insulation4less.com. They’ll even deliver it to your (garage) door for about $107 + ship­ping (4 ft. x 50 ft. roll).

If you have ques­tions about your DIY projects, just ask your personal DIY consul­tant. I’m here to help you succeed with speed.

Garage Door Openers
LiftMaster 3275 3 4Hp Garage Door Opener w out Rail Lift­Master 3275 3 4Hp Garage Door Opener w out Rail 373.95
Garage Door Holmes 100 x 16 00 wide 7 00 high Garage Door Holmes 100 x 16 00 wide 7 00 high 60,000.00
Garage Door Clopay Holmes 16 00 wide 7 00 high Garage Door Clopay Holmes 16 00 wide 7 00 high 600.00
LiftMaster Garage Door Opener 3275 3 4Hp with Rail Lift­Master Garage Door Opener 3275 3 4Hp with Rail 399.00
LiftMaster Garage Door Opener 3275 3 4Hp w out Rail Lift­Master Garage Door Opener 3275 3 4Hp w out Rail 373.95
Liftmaster MODEL MJ5011 Jackshaft Garage Door Opener Lift­master MODEL MJ5011 Jack­shaft Garage Door Opener 420.00
RAISED PANEL 16 X 7 DALTON OVERHEAD GARAGE DOOR UNUSED RAISED PANEL 16 X 7 DALTON OVERHEAD GARAGE DOOR UNUSED 325.00
Liftmaster MJ 5011 Jackshaft Operator NEW list $79900 Lift­master MJ 5011 Jack­shaft Oper­ator NEW list $79900 539.00
Garage Door Clopay Holmes 16 00 wide 7 00 high Garage Door Clopay Holmes 16 00 wide 7 00 high 600.00
Chamberlain Liftmaster Jackshaft Operator Garage Opener Cham­ber­lain Lift­master Jack­shaft Oper­ator Garage Opener 549.00
WAYNE DALTON GARAGE DOOR OPENER MODEL J5043L3 WAYNE DALTON GARAGE DOOR OPENER MODEL J5043L3 1,250.00
Garage Door Holmes 16 00 wide 7 00 high Garage Door Holmes 16 00 wide 7 00 high 600.00
Overhead Door Commercial Garage Door Opener Operator Over­head Door Commer­cial Garage Door Opener Operator 435.00
Zap 8855 Turbo Drive High Speed Garage Door Opener Zap 8855 Turbo Drive High Speed Garage Door Opener 1,600.00
Zap 8855 Turbo Drive High Speed Garage Door Opener Zap 8855 Turbo Drive High Speed Garage Door Opener 1,600.00
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DIY ANSWER GUY

Thanks again.
Larry
Your DIY Answer Guy. Follow me on twitter here.

DIY Help Category Heating & Air
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  1. 001 prodex insu­la­tion

    Larry
    How is your garage door insu­la­tion with Prodex instal­la­tion method better without creation the air space?

    January 3rd, 2009
  2. 002 DIY Answer Guy

    Thanks for pointing that out about using 1–1/2 inch strips to create an air space. That is the recom­mended instal­la­tion tech­nique for Prodex and does increase R-value.
    The reason I opted to not use the recom­mended strips to create an air space was that we were using scraps from an attic project and didn’t have the extra mate­rial. But you will still realize a signif­i­cant improve­ment and energy saving installing the Prodex without the airspace.
    Thanks for taking an interest and your ques­tion. By the way, are you insu­lating your garage door?

    January 5th, 2009
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