Garage door Insulation

[tallen84]

I am looking to insulate my west facing garage door since in the evening the sun makes the temperature in my shop almost unbearable. I was wondering what suggestions you guys have for getting the best possible insulation on the door. I was thinking a combination of foam board followed by a radiant barrier but honestly I do not know much about insulation. Any suggestions?

[br928]

I tried the same thing in my warehouse. I had some leftover polyiso from a roofing job and used that. Polyiso is much denser than polystyrene and the weight was a problem. The additional weight made the doors almost inoperable. It turns out the springs are closely matched to the weight of the door. Just making the springs tighter didn't work and is a scary and dangerous task. I was told new springs needed to be installed for the extra weight. I decided to replace my doors with factory insulated doors.

Calculate the additional weight the insulation would add and attach an equal amount to the door to see if it will operate. If your door/spring can handle the extra weight I would go for it. I would put the radiant barrier closest to the door and then the insulation on top of that. That would reflect as much heat as possible before it gets to the insulation. Painting the outside of the door white helps too if it is not already.

[harryball]

http://www.radiantbarrier.com/bubble-foil-insulation.htm

I've used this in several places. It does well stopping radiant heat. Not as well stopping thermal transfer (i.e. it's 40 below outside).

/RB

[tallen84]

In this case I am only looking to stop the high heat from the sun cooking the door so the radiant barrier might work. Is it sufficient by itself or do I also need to add foam or fiberglass to make a real difference.

[harryball]

I have a metal roof on my home. In 90% of the places I was able to install 3/4" foam under the panels. In the sections where that was not possible there is a 3/4" air gap but it was EXTREMELY hotter on the inside. The plywood was about 100+ degrees radiating into the attic on a sunny day. The insulated sections in the attic were the same temp as the attic itself but you could feel mild heat coming from it. Like a radiant heater I don't think the room was warming the wood but the wood was warming the room.

I used some of this 3/8" foil bubble wrap very skeptically on the non-foam areas, I just stapled to the wood on the inside. I was surprised, the temp of the foil was the same as the attic but you could not feel any radiant heat from the area. I since added it to the other areas. The attic still feels like an attic but the temperature is much closer to the actual outside in the shade temps now.

For me it worked. I don't see why using some 3M spray adhesives sticking it directly to the door wouldn't do the trick.

HOWEVER... I'd use some dbl back tape and do a panel or two just to see the difference first.

I bought mine from Lowe's or Home Depot, don't remember which.

/RB

[taylor]

drop ceiling tiles 2 by 4 work great. also they are already white on one side and easy to clean

[jerry_stanek]

Ceiling tile are heave the pink or blue foam would be a better choice you could attach with a little great stuff. What ever you do you will have to readjust the springs.

[taylor]

the one i use were about 3/4 inch deep, they have fiberglass insulation with a white gloss paper material on one side, each tile weighs about one pound or less, they have been on the doors for 17 years. i cut them with scissors to size. good luck in you project