Insulate Your Garage Door

Here's an easy project that I tackled in October: insulating my garage door.

The obvious advantage is improved insulation of the garage, making it cooler in summer and warmer in winter. I have found it also helps deaden some of the street noise of passing vehicles.

I went to Lowe's for my supplies for this project. I decided NOT to buy the pre-packaged garage door kit(s). Not only was that kit more expensive, but it would have made a less precise finished product. Instead I bought 1.5" thick Insulfoam R-Tech Expanded Polystyrene in 2' x 4' sheets for about $3.50/sheet. I measured each panel and the polystrene was cut with a JIGSAW (not a utility knife) for a crisp, tidy cut. This is key for a no muss, no fuss job. The thickness was a purrrrfect snug fit for my garage door frame. With some of the scraps I was even able to frame around the windows. The center panels between windows were held in place with some scraps of industrial-strength Velcro that I had available, and some "T" (sewing) pins attached at an angle to the base panels (see close-up picture).


From the Insulfoam website:

"Insulfoam provides you with one of today's most recognized exterior wall insulation underlayments, Expanded Polystyrene R-Tech. R-Tech is a film-faced product designed to be a durable, lightweight, rigid foam panel that adds significant long term R-value insulation to your walls. The Film facing front and back minimizes waste caused by accidental board damage and helps to keep the board intact despite minor breaks. R-Tech is easy to handle, cut and install without the difficulties of foil or paper facings and glue. Excellent resistance to moisture for lasting retention of insulating performance."

This project was just $45 for a two-car garage door, and took an afternoon to complete.