How to insulate a garage door. Gate insulation: step by step instructions. Garage door insulation

The garage can be used for its intended purpose - as a parking lot for a car, as well as a workshop or warehouse where you can store inventory and various things. If you often do car repairs, then it is best to insulate the building. The most effective data work will be in the gate area. However, before carrying out such manipulations, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the rules that state that it is better not to use porous heaters like mineral wool for the thermal insulation of the garage. This is due to the fact that it will shift towards the insulation, it will get wet, its density and thermal conductivity will increase.

Material selection

You should not try to save money by ordering a gate without a gate. Its presence allows you to keep warm inside the garage. It is better to immediately make gates not only with a separate door, but also with insulation. Among other things, the building must be equipped with a ventilation system, which can be exhaust and supply. The supply opening can be made in the gate. Insufficient ventilation can create life-threatening conditions.

Garage doors can be insulated with different materials, but one of the most effective is polystyrene. This material has a low density, so the insulation will not exert additional loads on the structure. Polyfoam has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity, it does not emit substances harmful to human health, which is true under normal operating conditions. This thermal insulation does not interact with air and water, and the formed layer will last more than 50 years. Processing canvases is quite simple, for this you can use the available tools. It should also be noted that the water absorption of polystyrene is quite low and does not exceed 3%, but if we are talking about extruded polystyrene foam, then this figure is even less, it is 0.4%.

Thermal insulation of the gate: preparation of tools

If you decide to insulate the garage door with foam, then at the first stage you need to prepare the tools. You will need:

  • electric drill;
  • screwdriwer set;
  • brush for metal;
  • screwdriver;
  • wood saw;
  • roller;
  • core;
  • clamps;
  • square;
  • sandpaper;
  • hammer;
  • meter tape measure;
  • metal ruler;
  • construction knife.

Preparation of materials

In order for the gate to look attractive from the inside, you can use a facing material, which is sometimes used as corrugated board, wooden lining, or OSB. As practice shows, it is best to prefer oriented strand boards, since they have many advantages, namely: the material is quite strong and reliable, easy to process, has low vapor permeability and eliminates the need for vapor barrier membranes to cover thermal insulation. Oriented strand boards can be purchased at a low cost, and after completion of the work, the door will have an attractive appearance. For cladding, it is recommended to use OSB-3 or OSB-4 boards, the thickness of which should be 10 mm. Such material is intended for rooms, the conditions of which are characterized by a high level of humidity.

After you determine the size of the gate, you should calculate the number of plates. Each of them has standard dimensions of 1250x2500 mm. As a rule, the master manages with two canvases, and after the work, there are trimmings that can be used for other purposes. Insulation of garage doors is accompanied by the installation of a crate, on which facing materials will be attached. For the frame system, it is recommended to use a square section with a side of 4 cm. They are fixed on the bearing part of the gate, which are metal corners, sometimes a profile pipe. Be that as it may, the crate must be installed around the perimeter and on the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe canvas. The distance between the elements of the crate should be 40 cm.

More about preparation

If the insulation of the garage door with polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene will be accompanied by a further installation of the finish, then before starting the installation of the frame system, the wooden bars must be treated with an antiseptic. Depending on the composition to be used, one or two coats may be required. It is necessary to produce these works with a regular brush. During the drying of the bars, you can do the preparation of the inner surface of the gate, for this, the rust is cleaned to the metal, it is more convenient to do this with a brush-nozzle on the drill. It is important to clean all loose paint, in hard-to-reach places it is more convenient to use a brush with metal bristles. Sometimes experts advise resorting to the use of sandpaper, which the master must walk over the entire surface, this will improve the quality of adhesion of the primer to the metal.

At the next stage, the surface is treated with an anti-corrosion primer, it is applied in 2 layers. The direction of the second should be perpendicular to the first. As soon as you have waited for the surface to dry completely, you should take care of waterproofing, which is relevant in tandem with ordinary foam. If applicable, this operation is not performed. Waterproofing can be done with bituminous mastic, sometimes vapor barrier membranes are glued to the surface.

When warming is carried out, it is recommended to consider the photo even before the start of work, which will allow you to eliminate many errors. At the next stage, the crate is installed, the bars of the required length are cut to the size of the gate, they must be solid. In those places where locks and bolts are located, as well as ventilation grilles, it is necessary to make a frame of bars, installing them around the perimeter. To fix these elements, several holes are drilled with an electric drill, the distance between which should be 25 cm. For this, a 4 mm drill is used. In those places where the bars will be installed in the end, the holes should be 5 mm. Before drilling, it is recommended to mark and punch places so that the drill does not heat up.

For reference

When the garage doors are insulated with their own hands, the crate is sometimes required without installing the facing material. At the same time, the installation of the lower row of horizontal bars may be accompanied by some difficulties, which consist in the fact that it is not possible to get the tool to hard-to-reach places. If you remove the gate, then these works can be carried out without problems, if not, then you need to attach the bar to the end, because the rest of the crate will take on most of the load from the facing material.

The nuances of installing insulation

Insulation of metal garage doors is usually carried out with foam, it should be cut only after measuring the space between the bars. About 3 mm of material is left on each side so that the foam is placed tightly between the bars. When cutting, it is necessary to ensure that the blade enters the thermal insulation vertically, if the blade is flexible, then it can lead to the side, which will certainly break the cut line.

Sometimes the insulation of garage doors with foam plastic is not at all accompanied by mechanical fixation of the material, because the cladding will press it to the base. You can use liquid nails, sometimes a mounting foam is used, which will come in handy later when sealing joints.

When insulating garage doors with polystyrene foam, it is recommended to use 40 mm slabs, which can be of different sizes. When buying material, it is necessary to take into account the location of the crate so that cutting the foam is not accompanied by the formation of a large number of scraps. If possible, try to strengthen solid sheets of material. Experts recommend purchasing extruded polystyrene foam, since its water absorption rate is minimal, there is almost no need to protect such material from moisture, but such thermal insulation is more expensive. As practice shows, it is much easier to work with extruded polystyrene foam, it does not crumble when cutting.

for insulation

For mounting the bars, you should use galvanized self-tapping screws for working with wood, their size should be equal to 3.5x30 mm, as for fastening the side surfaces, they are fixed using self-tapping screws with dimensions of 4.5x70 mm, they are installed at the end. If the gate frame is made of a profile pipe, then the length of the self-tapping screws must be increased by adding the pipe section. Fasteners should enter the bar to a depth of 1/2 section; when installing the facing material, it is better to use screws with a press washer with dimensions of 4.2x32 mm.

Padding

Insulation of garage doors is usually carried out only after applying a primer to the metal surface. To do this, use an anti-corrosion agent that prevents the formation of rust in high humidity. The primer can be any, based on alkyd or synthetic resins. It should be designed for use over a wide temperature range. In order to degrease the surface, together with a primer, it is necessary to purchase a solvent.

Foam insulation

Insulation of garage doors with mounting foam is accompanied by the use of polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene. As soon as the insulation plates are installed to the metal surface, all joints must be filled with mounting foam. It is better to purchase its professional variety, which involves the use of a pistol. Such a composition expands less in volume, and the gun allows you to conveniently apply the mixture to the right place and in any quantity. In order to prevent rotting of the bars, an antiseptic should be used, it can be made on an oil or water basis, sometimes such mixtures are paint with antiseptic properties. If you decide to use ordinary foam, then it should be protected from moisture. This can be done using a vapor barrier membrane, Izolon self-adhesive insulation or bituminous mastic.

Warming of sectional works

Insulation of sectional garage doors is carried out using almost the same technology that was described above. Before starting, you need to choose a material, which can be foam, its installation is carried out using plastic dowels. This material is resistant to mold and mildew. If you want to ensure fire safety, then you should choose a foam that was made using flame retardants, in the event of a fire, the material will exhibit properties like self-extinguishing.

If it is possible to use special equipment, then polyurethane foam can be used for insulation. The work will cost more if they are carried out by a team of professional builders, but the efficiency will be on top. At the first stage, the gate is measured, as well as individual sections. This will cut the material according to the parameters. The insulation is glued to the surface, and mounting foam is applied to the joints.

When the insulation of the garage door joints has been completed, you can proceed to waterproofing. To do this, use Isolon, which sometimes becomes an additional means of thermal insulation. In some cases, this material is used as the main layer of insulation.

Conclusion

Insulating the gaps of the garage door is no less important than the thermal insulation of the leaf itself. To do this, you should use mounting foam, which has excellent adhesion with a huge amount of materials. However, before installation, the surface is moistened, because hardening occurs upon contact with moisture.

All motorists know how important it is to maintain a certain temperature in the garage. A stable temperature has a beneficial effect on the safety of the car and its technical system. In an insulated room, there is no need for a long warm-up of the engine before the upcoming trip.

This reduces fuel costs and your time. In such a garage, it is more convenient not only to maintain, but also to repair the car. However, many motorists have no idea where to start arranging the premises, do not take into account some important aspects. For example, often users try to heat an uninsulated or poorly insulated garage.

In this case, a lot of energy resources are lost without obtaining the required amount of heat in return. Therefore, you must first solve the problem with the thermal insulation of the garage, and only then plan the heating system. How to insulate the garage door - this will be discussed below.

Garage door insulation

Causes and features of insulation of gates and doors in the garage

Sometimes car owners who have a garage do not always pay due attention to car storage. For many users, having a garage puts all worries aside, as they find it warmer in winter than outside. So does it need to be insulated?

The reason is that there are noticeable temperature differences in the garage, especially during the off-season. Such phenomena can be a source of condensation. The body of the car under these conditions quickly begins to rust, there are failures in the electronic system, which is fraught with safe driving.

A constant increase in humidity affects not only the car, but also the condition of the garage itself (mold forms, fungus appears, etc.).

Especially the problem of insulating gates and doors arises in the case of car maintenance and repair, as well as when setting up a workshop in the garage in winter. At the same time, it should be noted that most of the heat from the room leaves through the swing gates.

There are several reasons why heat loss occurs:

  1. Basically, the gates are made of metal, which is significantly inferior in terms of heat saving to concrete, from which the ceiling and walls are erected.
  2. Due to the large area, the gap between the leaves has a significant length, and even with the smallest gap in the gate joint, the total heat loss will be large.
  3. Additional doors are often installed in one of the gate leaves, which also significantly affects heat loss. When installing them, you need to imagine in advance how to insulate the doors in the garage.

It is desirable to install insulation from the inside, as this will protect against vandals and reduce the requirements for its aesthetics.


Built-in garage door

Material selection

For the correct calculation of the necessary materials, you need to know the exact dimensions of the garage doors, doors and the characteristics of the insulation used.

Attention! To exclude marriage and other unforeseen nuances that have arisen, it is recommended to purchase consumables with a margin.

There are no special restrictions on the choice of insulation for garage doors. With any possibility of fixing it on the inside of the sashes and at the same time without significant weighting, such a material can be considered suitable for use. In order to know how to insulate a garage door and what kind of insulating material to use, you need to take into account some of its features.

Consider the most common heat-insulating products suitable for insulating garage doors:

  1. Fiberglass, felt, mineral wool. These products have the same parameters of vapor permeability and thermal conductivity, as well as the same specific gravity. But it is very undesirable to use them as a heater for garage doors.

This is due to the fact that the dew point will be located inside the insulation due to its small thickness, which leads to constant moisture during the off-season. This phenomenon is inevitable when cold air seeps into a warm room.

  1. Reed and peat slabs. Such a heater is suitable for use in a garage, but it has poor mechanical strength and, moreover, the cost is quite high.
  2. Polymer insulation. It is cheap, effective in application, but quite sensitive to external influences.
  3. Different types of synthetic material. With low thermal conductivity, foam plastic and expanded polystyrene are lightweight, easy to process and easily fixed on any surface.

Such heat insulators are the most convenient heaters for installation on garage doors. Apply foam or extruded polystyrene foam, there is no significant difference for this coating: they have the same characteristic properties.


Different types of insulation for garage doors

Tool and additional material

In addition to choosing a heater, before installing it, it is also necessary to prepare other materials and tools:

  • Wooden bars with a face equal to the thickness of the insulation.
  • Screwdriver and screws.
  • Drill.
  • Cladding boards.
  • Metal brush.
  • Primer.
  • Antiseptic.
  • Mounting foam.

Decorative finishing materials will be required, which can additionally be used as a heat insulator around the entire perimeter of the gate.


Panel mounting tool

Self-insulated garage doors

After the insulation has been selected (polystyrene in our case), additional materials have been purchased and tools have been prepared, work on thermal insulation can begin. At the same time, one should not forget about security measures and personal protection.

First of all, you need to do the preparatory work:

  • First, it is necessary to cover all wooden elements with an antiseptic. This will protect the bars from the appearance of mold and fungus on them. The inner surface of metal gates and built-in doors must also be prepared for better adhesion: remove rust and dirt from the surface of the gate with a brush.
  • Then carefully primed the treated canvas. When applying an antiseptic and a priming solution, it is recommended to apply them in two layers: along and across.
  • Saw the bars in such a way that they can be placed over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe wings with a gap equal to the width of the foam.
  • Install a crate, which, in addition to fixing foam sheets, will serve as additional protection against mechanical stress.
  • Make markings and cut the insulation blanks so that they are slightly smaller than the crate cells on each side (for better fastening).
  • Moisten the surface of the sashes with a spray bottle or sponge.
  • Apply mounting foam as glue and waterproofing on the surfaces of individual cells of the crate.
  • Install the prepared foam boards in the crate niche and hold for some time until the insulation is fixed to the sash surface.

On a note! For the installation of the crate and various accessories in the case of a large thickness of the metal, it is necessary to pre-drill holes for self-tapping screws.

After installing the insulation, it is necessary to fill all voids and cracks with mounting foam, and the excess that protrudes along the edges can only be removed if it has completely hardened.


Styrofoam garage door insulation

Final finishing work

When the main area of ​​the gate is insulated, it remains to install insulation around the entire perimeter of the outer contour of the gate frame and doors.

Clarification! Swing gates, in fact, are two boxes welded from a corner and sheathed on top with sheet iron with an overlap to overlap the wings between them. The doors are similarly constructed, only they are smaller and built into one of the halves of the gate.

Procedure:

  • It is effective to use heaters made of elastic or porous material with a large cross-sectional size. Strengthening it to the edge of the gate and built-in doors can be done either by gluing or by means of a metal plate.
  • If entrance doors are built into the garage doors, then a locking mechanism must be inserted into them. And in order to find out how to properly insulate the internal lock in the garage, you need to take into account the extension of the striker plate (bolt). For thermal insulation of the lock, a fabric or rubber strip is used, which is pressed with a decorative metal plate around the entire perimeter of the locking mechanism.
  • As a protection and aesthetic appearance, the entire inner part of the gates and doors is sheathed with facing material. For this purpose, sheets of plywood, chipboard, plastic are suitable, and planed boards can also be used. Here it is necessary to cut the blanks so that the joints of the plates are located on the beams of the crate and, when installing them, maintain minimal gaps.

It is most convenient to fasten sheets of such facing material with the help of self-tapping screws. After finishing the work, it is desirable to process the skin for the most attractive appearance: cover with stain or paint.


Garage doors sheathed with clapboard

On this, the insulation can be considered complete. In the case of high-quality and accurate work, garage doors will serve you for a long period without additional insulation. Now your car is not particularly afraid of sub-zero winter conditions and temperature changes during the off-season. Cold air will not penetrate from the outside through the metal gate. As a result of the insulation made in the garage, a comfortable temperature regime will remain, which means that you no longer have to worry about the condition of your car.

Often, car owners' concern for their four-wheeled pet is even stronger than for themselves. And the construction of a well-equipped and high-quality insulated garage is one of the manifestations of such reverent care. The issue of warming the garage from the inside comes first here. And since the garage door leaf is the main source of leakage of such precious heat, it becomes necessary to decide how to properly insulate the garage door.

It doesn’t matter what needs the garage space is used for: parking a car, a warehouse for things, a workshop, or something else. It is important that it always remains warm. It is about how to keep warm in the garage by insulating its gates, we will tell in the framework of this publication. And let's start, perhaps, with a description of the main mistakes that many motorists make when they acquire a garage and equip it.

  • Ventilation. Having a good ventilation system is essential in any space, and the garage is no exception. Alas, not everyone realizes this. Many people think as follows: vents are an extra source of heat leaving the garage. In fact, it is so. However, the presence of such is necessary to avoid excessive dampness in this room.
  • Construction of metal gates. Many owners of a car house (which, in fact, is a garage), when equipping a garage, install door leafs of a one-piece design, without a gate. Meanwhile, the gate will allow you to achieve less heat loss in the cold season. Whether it's a matter of wanting to get into the garage in winter, we open a small gate for a few seconds, or for this we have to open large gates. The difference, as you can see, is obvious. True, these doors will also have to be insulated. Their insulation is carried out similarly to the insulation of the door leaf.
  • Insulation. When deciding how to insulate the garage door, many owners, in an effort to save on insulation, use porous heaters. An example of such an insulating material is mineral wool. The reason why such materials should not be used is the following: most often garage doors are an iron frame with the same canvas. Moreover, the thickness of the latter does not exceed a few millimeters. Because of this, during the cold season, condensation may form on the inner surface of the web due to temperature differences. Porous heaters absorb this condensate quite well, from which they lose their main qualities.

materials

Now let's consider the question of how to insulate garage doors so that maximum thermal insulation is ensured. Actually, 4 materials are most often used for these purposes:

  1. Mineral wool;
  2. extruded foam;
  3. polyurethane foam;
  4. Styrofoam.

Each of these 4 materials has its pros and cons. As for mineral wool, then, as we already wrote above, it is not particularly suitable for warming the garage door. Polyurethane foam is quite expensive, and not everyone wants to spend big money on a garage. Extruded foam, although it costs less than polyurethane foam, is still not affordable for everyone.



Based on this, consider the insulation of garage doors with foam. Although he is quite afraid of fire, given the ratio of the garage door area to the area of ​​​​the rest of the garage surface, it is quite acceptable to insulate the garage door with polystyrene foam.

Preparing for insulation

To insulate the garage door with polystyrene foam, you must perform the following steps:

Before insulating garage doors, their inner surface must be cleaned. This is done with an iron brush. Particularly large and deep foci of metal damage by corrosion on garage doors can be cleaned with a brush attachment on a drill. After that, you need to repair, and if necessary, weld all cracks and holes on the surface of the gate.

To prevent further formation of corrosion pockets, it is necessary to treat the cleaned door surface with some kind of anti-corrosion agent or antiseptic. For these purposes, heated drying oil is quite suitable, and even better bituminous mastic. It is applied with an ordinary wide paint brush in two layers, perpendicular to one another.

After the anti-corrosion coating dries, it is necessary to create a paving crate. It will become the basis for laying and fixing the foam insulation boards. Such a crate is made of bars with a section of 40x40 or 50x50 millimeters. The cross section of the lathing bars depends on the width of the end corners of the gate.

It is desirable that the bars are solid. The dimensions of the cells of the crate should be chosen in such a way that they correspond as much as possible. You need to fasten the crate to the end corners of the gate. To do this, holes of 4 mm diameter are pre-drilled in the latter. The step between such holes should not exceed 200-250 millimeters. Further, the crate bars are fastened through the drilled holes with self-tapping screws.

If the design of the garage door is such that it does not imply the possibility of removing the gate from the hinges, there may be a slight problem with fastening the batten to the lower end corner due to the inability to get there with a screwdriver or even an ordinary screwdriver. In this case, the bar must be fixed exclusively at the end. By the way, it is better to treat the bars with some kind of antiseptic before fixing. If there are locks, bolts or an air vent on the gate or gate, the crate must bypass these elements.

When the inner surface of the gate is cleaned, treated with anti-corrosion and antiseptic agents, and the crate is securely fixed, you can start insulating the garage door with your own hands using foam. What does it mean to insulate garage doors with foam plastic? This means to cover the maximum possible surface area of ​​the gate with foam. If the cells of the crate do not correspond in size to the dimensions of the foam plates, then these same plates must be adjusted to the dimensions of the cells, with a pen or ordinary, but thoroughly sharpened knife along the ruler.

The plates are cut into pieces based on the width of the cell plus 2-3 millimeters. The same goes for height. This is done so that the foam boards fit into the cells of the crate as tightly as possible.

This stacking system will help solve two problems:

  1. The foam insulation will be securely clamped between the bars of the crate, which will eliminate the likelihood of it sagging and falling out. In this case, no additional garage door seal is needed.
  2. Thanks to such a dense laying of foam, the warming effect is increased at times. In this case, no additional sealing is also required.

For additional fixation of foam boards, mounting foam can be used as an adhesive. However, insulating the gate with mounting foam is a very risky business. Why is that? We explain: the mounting foam tends to expand when it dries, creating pressure on the foam plate and pushing it out of the crate cell. Therefore, for a more convenient and comfortable fixation, we recommend using specially designed for such purposes.

As for the mounting foam, then you can’t do without it either. This tool is the best suited for filling gaps between the crate and insulation, if any. This is where its expansion properties will come in handy. In this case, the foam, expanding, not only presses the insulation against the frame of the crate, but this also achieves better sealing of the insulated surface, for example, swing gates. After drying, the excess foam must be cut flush (level) with the frame of the crate.

As an additional measure for insulation, you can lay a seal for garage doors. This, in fact, rubber or silicone gasket is attached to the ends between the gate leaves. This achieves a tighter fit of the ends of the garage doors to each other, which prevents the penetration of cold air masses into the garage. Such seals are fastened with a perforated metal strip and self-tapping screws.

The final stage of work on the insulation of garage doors with your own hands is their surface sheathing.

To sheathe the gate, you can use OSB sheets, plastic or wooden lining or profiled sheet as a sheathing material. Each of these facing materials has both its pluses and minuses. Let's briefly get acquainted with them, and at the same time decide how to sheathe garage doors better.

  • Wooden lining. It is one of the most beautiful and practical solutions for facing the door leaf. However, they require pre-treatment with some fire retardant and antiseptic.
  • Oriented Strand Board (OSB). Nice looking, durable and non-corrosive material. Can be painted or glued.
  • Plastic lining. Easy to install, looks attractive. But the strength of this sheathing material leaves much to be desired.
  • Profile iron sheet. Durable, practical and durable material. However, as experienced owners of garage premises assure, it is better not to sheathe the door leaf with a profile sheet. The reason for this is a rather high probability of condensation on the side where the insulation is located.

As you can see, OSB is the most optimal of the above facing materials. Therefore, if you decide how and how to insulate garage doors from the inside with your own hands and how to sheathe them, oriented strand boards are the best material for this.

Optimum for sheathing gates is OSB board.

In conclusion of all of the above, we want to once again point out the importance of the fact that it is necessary to approach the question of how to insulate garage doors with your own hands with full responsibility. Qualitatively and reliably insulated gates in the garage with your own hands are a guarantee of a constant acceptable temperature, and hence the longevity of your vehicle.

The garage, in our reality, often serves its owner as a car service station and a workshop. And sometimes - a cellar, a pantry, a warehouse, and God knows what else. Therefore, the creation of a certain microclimate in it, and hence the need for insulation, is not a whim of the car owner, but a vital necessity.

The main heat exchanger, of course, is the garage door, made of metal. In summer, they serve as a huge battery that actively heats the air inside the garage, and in winter as a refrigerator. Their warming will radically improve the situation. And if with protection from the summer heat everything is more or less clear - almost any insulation system is suitable here, then protection from the cold will require more deliberate approaches. It's about the choice of heater.

The physics of heat transfer in a garage

Even if your garage is not heated in winter, a car with a warm engine put into it after a trip serves as a kind of heating device for some time. So, first of all, on the gate, there are 2 air flows: warm from the inside, cold from the outside, which is why condensation forms on the inner wall of the garage door leaf. If the frost is large enough, then it turns into frost - the water freezes.

If insulation is laid from the inside of the garage door, then warm air will not flow to the canvas. That's right, but the insulation to the insulation is different. If you lay mineral or any other wool, then it will inevitably get wet in a garage, because the car itself is a source of excess moisture, especially in winter. At the same time, not only will it lose its thermal performance to a large extent, but it will also provoke accelerated corrosion of the gate metal.

If you heat your garage in the winter, this process will only get worse.

This method of garage door insulation can only be used when you do not operate the car in winter or this happens extremely rarely. And even then, before closing the gate, insulated with mineral wool, you need to let the car cool down enough. But the products in the cellar will not freeze and in the summer such insulation will save. But we will not consider this option of warming in this article because of its unsuitability, especially since there are more effective ways.

Simple ways to insulate garage doors from the inside

Since cotton wool is not quite suitable, it is necessary to find effective heaters that do not absorb moisture. The simplest, but, unfortunately, not the most economical way will be the method of pasting garage doors with thick polyethylene foam, such as is used for soundproofing bodies, but thicker. It has an adhesive layer on one side. You just need to degrease the canvas, let it dry, and stick the material cut to size. Its thickness can reach 35 mm.

There is a thick polyethylene foam without an adhesive layer. It can be glued to permanent sticky glue (such is used on adhesive tape), which is purchased via the Internet.

Or use several layers of underlay under a laminate of the same material. It is better to fix such a substrate using a wooden crate and slats. And it is better to protect this whole cake from the inside with some kind of sheet material, protecting it from mechanical damage: plywood, OSB, plastic panels, etc.

But this will not be enough if there are gaps around the gate, as in the photo. To eliminate them, various seals or even metal seals with a seal should be used if the gaps are very large.

The second option for a simple solution to the thermal insulation of the gate opening would be to install a thick curtain.

This solution is as simple as it is effective. The only inconvenience is the need to constantly raise or extend such a curtain when entering and leaving the car.

The main requirement: a snug fit of the curtains to the walls and floor, especially from below, so that cold air is not blown, which, as you know, is below. The air gap between the door leaf and the curtain will serve as a door insulation, and air circulation will actively dry the resulting condensate.

Curtain material can be any, but dense: tarpaulin, awning fabric, dense polyethylene. The most commonly used type of garage door insulation will be their insulation with polystyrene foam.

How to insulate garage doors with styrofoam

The choice of polystyrene foam for insulating garage doors from the inside with your own hands is simply explained:

  • relative cheapness of the material;
  • ease of cutting;
  • insulation efficiency (one and a half times more effective than mineral wool);
  • the possibility of operation without additional protection.

Styrofoam, unlike cotton wool, is absolutely hydrophobic, a fungus does not start in it and it does not release small particles of fibers into the air.

Consider the process of insulating garage doors with polystyrene foam in more detail. There are 2 types of it:

  1. from foamed granules (otherwise called ball);
  2. extruded.

The second is denser, but quite expensive and, unlike PSB-S, quite flammable. It is only slightly “warmer” than ordinary white, so thickness plays a role in warming. For garage doors, a layer of 50 mm will suffice.

Step-by-step instructions for insulating garage doors:

1 . We clean the gate from dust, dirt and oil stains.

2. We fix wooden slats 50 mm thick. You can do this with self-tapping screws to the shelf of the corners, you can through the outside through the door leaf, or you can glue it with polyurethane glue - a balloon for polyurethane foam, applied with a foam mounting gun, is also suitable.

3. With its help, we glue polystyrene, filling the cavities between the slats.

Glue on sheets of expanded polystyrene should be applied quite thickly, ideally - continuous.

4. We also foam the joints of foam sheets and the places where it adjoins the rails with mounting foam (you can use the same foam glue). After polymerization, excess foam is removed with a sharp knife flush with the foam.

5. We close the entire surface of the gate with foil foam insulation (it is better to take it with aluminum foil, and not spraying) with a shiny layer inside the garage. We use self-tapping screws with a cone-shaped hat, deepening them into the rail.

6. We close the insulation with sheets of plywood or OSB, screwing them to the frame rails.

7. We glue the sealant in a quarter of the openings, we foam the cracks around the box.

It is desirable to paint over the inner lining or open it with varnish.

do-it-yourself insulation of garage doors from the inside with polyurethane foam

And yet, the best way to insulate garage doors from the inside is to spray polyurethane foam on them. Firstly, it is by far the most effective insulation: it is one and a half times better than expanded polystyrene and three times better than mineral wool, and secondly, having excellent adhesion, it fills all the cavities of the garage door, leaving not the slightest void.

Ideally, a high-density polyurethane foam should be used and applied with a special machine. Only it is unlikely that you have one in the corner of your garage, and hiring a team with the necessary equipment is quite expensive, and the raw materials themselves are not very cheap. But there are 2 options in which you can do the work yourself:

1. One of them is described in our self-made SIP panels:

Mounting foam in cylinders is the same polyurethane foam, though of low density, but it will do its job no worse than sprayed through high-pressure installations. The spray gun for this method of application can be used old, but with a large nozzle, and the compressor is sure to be found, if not with you, then in one of the neighboring garages. The foam must be applied continuously, so that the result is a layer of 30 mm. You can do this in several steps.

2. The second is somewhat more expensive, but less troublesome. For this, you will need to purchase a PU Foam Kit, consisting of two containers with components A and B (polyol and isocyanate), when mixed to form polyurethane foam, a hose and a spray gun.

These kits come in different capacities, with a fairly accurately calculated foam output by volume. It is not so difficult to calculate it.

There are kits from other companies, and the spraying process itself will become clear to you after watching the demo video. After polymerization, the foam can be painted or closed with an inner lining in a convenient way.

Dear readers, if you still have questions, ask them using the form below. We will be glad to communicate with you;)

Condensation forms when the room temperature changes, which contributes to the formation of corrosion. High humidity is also undesirable for electrical wiring, as well as car interior trim. Warming the garage, including the gate, will help keep the car in good condition for as long as possible.

Moisture does not affect the building itself in the best way: fungus can start in its corners, plaster can crack and collapse. Condensation is especially dangerous for wooden sheathing or beams that are prone to rotting. In the cold season, it can accumulate on the walls and ceiling, which is why in the spring the humidity of the room rises sharply.

The choice of thermal insulation material

For the insulation of garage doors, a combination of materials is most often selected, one of which serves as a heat insulator, and the second prevents the penetration of cold air.
Important! Garage door insulators are subject to special requirements. Due to the increased fire hazard of the premises, they must have a sufficiently high degree of fire resistance. An undesirable factor is also water permeability, as well as the ability of the material to accumulate moisture, which can lead to the appearance of fungus.

As a heater can be used:
stone wool;
fiberglass materials;
non-combustible polymers (having the letter “C” in the marking, self-extinguishing).

For cladding cement-bonded particle boards, glass-magnesium boards or fire-resistant wood boards with a special impregnation that reduces their combustibility can be used. If a waterproofing layer is not provided in the insulation, it is better to lay a non-combustible reinforced film or building foil between the insulation layer and the cladding.

Stone (basalt) wool
This is a fibrous fire-resistant material with sufficiently high sound and heat insulation properties and high wear resistance. It has a low degree of water absorption and is not able to absorb moisture. The high environmental friendliness of the material allows it to be used for finishing any kind of premises.

Basalt (stone) wool with foil waterproofing

Styrofoam
Styrofoam is a fairly strong and lightweight insulation with a low degree of vapor absorption, and when fire retardant additives are introduced into it, its ability to burn becomes minimal. It can be operated in a wide temperature range: from +60 to -50°C.


Styrofoam as a heater

Styrofoam
The material, in fact, is one of the types of foam and has a similar composition, but its density is higher, and the thermal conductivity is much lower. The degree of flammability of expanded polystyrene is indicated on the marking: for finishing the garage, it is advisable to choose material grades NG (non-flammable) or G1 (moderately flammable). The disadvantages of expanded polystyrene include a low degree of protection from ultraviolet radiation, so it must be reliably protected from sunlight.


Styrofoam

Liquid penoizol (carbamide foam)
Outwardly similar to expanded polystyrene, it belongs to the combustibility groups G-2 and G-1 and is made from thermosetting resins that do not support combustion. Manufacturers claim that its thermal insulation properties are 1.5 times higher than expanded polystyrene. The foam coming out of the cylinder sleeve is able to fill all the air gaps. After 10-15 min. it seizes, then hardens for about 3-4 hours. This material acquires its final strength only after 2-3 days.


Penoizol

Important! To insulate metal gates that quickly heat up in the sun, do not use self-igniting heaters made from natural fabrics and cotton wool, cheap types of foam, etc.

Dew point
The dew point is the temperature at which water vapor becomes most saturated and condenses.. It appears only at the border of hot-cold. When insulating, the position of the dew point shifts: if the thickness of the heat-insulating material is sufficient, then it will be inside it. The wall remains dry.
If it is heated, and the thickness of the walls is insufficient to retain heat, then it must also be insulated from the outside: in this case, the dew point moves to the outer insulation. Naturally, with the interior decoration of the garage second dew point will also appear indoors. However, with such an additional restriction of access to moisture and cold, the temperature difference will already be insignificant, therefore, if there is sufficient ventilation, the amount of condensate in the room will already be minimal.


Dew point in a heated room
The temperature difference will not be too large when finishing an unheated room: the insulation becomes a barrier that prevents the penetration of excess moisture into the room in the warm season and protects it from cold winds in winter.

Manufacturing of crates

For reliable fixation of the insulation and subsequent fastening of the skin, it is necessary to first make a crate. It is mounted to the power elements: stiffeners and the edge of the gate using self-tapping screws or screws. Can be used as a frame wooden blocks impregnated with flame retardant solution, or thin metal profiles.


Lathing installation

Insulation installation

To prevent condensation on the gate, it is better to work in dry and sunny weather. Before starting installation, clean and cover all cracks and treat the metal surface with an anti-corrosion primer. The gates, on which a layer of bituminous insulation is applied, will be ideally sealed.

insulation cut into so that its parts fit as tightly as possible between the bars of the crate. He fastened using liquid nails or special mounting adhesive. To exclude the possibility of condensation, the seal must be pressed as tightly as possible to the base and not have cavities. All joints between it are carefully filled with mounting foam, which, when expanded, will burst the insulation and give the structure additional strength.

Basalt wool is laid overlap. Laying of waterproofing materials (reinforced film or foil) is also carried out with a 2 cm approach to the adjacent strip. To ensure ventilation in several places, a small air gap is left between it.