A damp and cold garage is not the best place to keep a car. The owner is provided with problems with the technical condition of all its units. Accumulating condensate will ruin not only the car body, but also the electrical wiring.

Through the doorway, the main percentage of heat is lost. The swing construction made of steel has a high thermal conductivity, so the insulation of the garage door will be a good solution. Coping with walls and roofs is a little easier than insulating garage doors. To do the work yourself, you will have to study the methods and materials.

Along with the direct purpose, the garage is used as a workshop. In the cold season, even a short stay in the garage will require great willpower. It is convenient to do minor repairs in the garage with your own hands, and good ventilation is so necessary here. Basement smell, fungus and mold on the walls are not all troubles. Staying in such a room is life-threatening. Often openings for forced ventilation are left at the gate. On the topic of how to insulate the gate in the garage, there is a useful video at the end of our article.

Important! Ventilation openings must be left in the thickness of the insulation.

Buying a finished product

If you decide to install a factory-made structure in your garage, then the problems of how to insulate the gate will end there. New lift-and-swivel and sectional devices already have a layer of polyurethane foam. Even roller shutter types of gates are sometimes insulated, but the possibility of using them for a garage is very doubtful. Narrow aluminum lamellas will not be reliable protection against burglary, and their high thermal conductivity makes them unsuitable for our climate.
When ordering a gate, a swing system with a gate would be a good option. It will significantly reduce the percentage of heat loss.

Choose your heater wisely

The range is wide enough. From what you can insulate garage doors, the most in demand:

• Various types of foams;
• Fibrous insulation (glass wool, stone wool, basalt wool).

To make a choice, it is necessary to take into account all the pros and cons of materials.

Styrofoam door insulation

Styrofoam is a very economical option. The class of foamed polymers is quite diverse. They have a gas-filled structure and differ in the type of polymer. Consider the types of foams:

1. Polystyrene - the most used. They have the designation PSB or PSB-S. Extruded polystyrene foam (EPS) - has a small hygroscopicity and good fire resistance. Do-it-yourself garage door insulation is one of the best options.
2. Polyvinylchloride or PVC panels. Similar in characteristics to EPSS. International PVC marking. High fire resistance.
3. Urea-formaldehyde foam (UFP). Used for voids and cavities. The liquid composition of CFP does not increase in volume after complete drying. It can also be used as a garage heater.
4. Polyurethane foam (PPU). It is produced in the form of elastic foam rubber and polyurethane foam. Rigid polyurethane foam perfectly binds to any surface. Good hydro and heat insulator. Fire resistant. Such insulation will have a small weight and will suit any finish. Polyurethane foam will perfectly cope with the thermal insulation of garage doors. A sprayer is used to apply the foam.

Fiber materials

Among fibrous heaters, we immediately exclude stone wool and slag wool. The first is extremely harmful to humans, slag will oxidize the metal surface. Glass wool is dangerous in work, but of all it has an average hygroscopicity. It is this quality that makes the use of cotton wool not successful for garages. The accumulation of condensate in a layer of material will reduce its thermal insulation properties. With a vapor barrier film, you can use basalt insulation.

The process of warming the garage from the inside

To insulate the garage door, you will need the following tools:

• Electric drill;
• Drills for wood and metal;
• Hacksaw or electric jigsaw for wood;
• Metal brush or nozzle on a drill (korshchetka);
• Screwdriver.

Also, do not forget about a tape measure, a paint brush, a hammer, a corner and a ruler, a sharp knife, a core, sandpaper and clamps.
Clamp - a tool for clamping parts. It will be convenient for them to attract the slats to the gate frame.

The order of work will depend on the insulation and type of construction.

We prepare the sashes

1. Cleaning

Delete old paint, rust and all contamination. Conveniently and quickly this is done with a power tool with a nozzle.

2. Priming

The applied primer will protect the metal from corrosion. To work, take a wide paint brush. Anti-corrosion primer is applied in two layers. One across and the other along the surface.

3. Elimination of gaps between the frame and the canvas

Use a rubber seal. It will not interfere with the operation of the mechanism and close the extra holes.
Next, we will consider how to insulate garage doors from the inside.

We isolate the swing gates with foam plastic.

Swing gates are durable, reliable and easy to use. The system consists of two steel sashes welded onto a frame from a profile pipe or angle. Sometimes corrugated board is used, but a steel sheet 2-3 mm thick is stronger.

It is good when the swing gates are insulated by their manufacturer. Otherwise, garage doors can be insulated on their own.
After choosing the material, you should calculate how much it is required. You also need to decide on the finish on top of the insulation. The final version with different types gate trim can be seen in the video. There are many options for sheathing garage doors.

Types of facing materials:

• Lining;
• Decking;
• Fiberboard or MDF panels;
• Waterproof plywood;
• OSB or OSB boards.

As experience has shown, the latter are more suitable for sheathing. OSB boards are boards made of glued and pressed sawdust and wood chips. If you look at the photo of the product, you can see its composition from several layers. The layers have a different arrangement, which gives the sheets special strength and flexibility. This finish is easy to process, has low vapor permeability and is very economical.

Advice! For rooms with a high degree of humidity, use OSB-3 or OSB-4 boards with a width of 10 mm.

The cladding will be fixed to wooden frame. The crate is mounted around the entire perimeter and on the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe canvas. For fastening wooden frame galvanized wood screws are used.
3.5*30 mm - for side surfaces
4.5 * 70 mm - for the end

Attention! If the gate frame is made of profile pipes, then the length of the screws increases by an amount equal to the cross section of the pipe.

To fix the finishing plates to the crate, take screws with a press washer 4.2 * 32 mm.
Insulation plates are laid between the crate. The foam is attached to a special glue or professional mounting foam. If working with foam, after application, wait 5-10 minutes until the composition has increased in volume. The main thing is to avoid empty spaces. The slabs must be tightly packed between the grating slats. Treat the smallest cracks with sealant. Leave the places for mounting locks, latches and ventilation free.

Laying a waterproofing

We install waterproofing between the metal and the insulation. It could be bituminous mastic, foil, vapor barrier membrane. Extruded polystyrene foam does not require waterproofing.

After installing the insulation, proceed to the cladding. OSB is cut with a hacksaw or a power tool. The fastening step is 10-15 cm along the perimeter of the frame, and 20-25 cm along the horizontal bars and in the center. To prevent the wooden blocks from splitting, mark the holes with a thin drill. To achieve the best fit of the gate or gate, you can additionally seal these places with tape.
Finished in this way, the garage will have a very neat appearance.

We carry out thermal insulation with mineral wool

If you have chosen this material, then a vapor barrier layer will be required. The waterproofing can be a simple polyethylene film. A frame is also needed, between which the insulation fits tightly. Plates are fixed on the sides with dowels. As a lining of the gate, you can choose a lining. Fasten it to the crate of the structure.

Warming the garage from the inside with construction foam

Another method of insulating garage doors with your own hands is polyurethane foam. From what you can insulate garage doors with your own hands - this is the easiest way.

• Polyurethane foam in cylinders (consumption of 5 cylinders per 7m2).
• Spray foam evenly (cut off excess material after drying with a sharp knife)
• Decorative finish (the lining can be chipboard, lining or any other material).

The advantages of insulating garage doors with your own hands using foam is the penetration of the material even into small cracks. This will also strengthen the entire structure of the gate.

The safety of your premises and vehicle in proper condition depends on the quality of garage door insulation. And also safety depends on.

The condition of the vehicle largely depends on the temperature in the garage, but, above all, its rubber-technical elements. Moreover, the warmer it is in the room, the more comfortable it will be to use the car inside during the winter. Finally, the temperature here also affects the microclimatic conditions in the basement (if any) under the garage. And in order to keep the heat inside the garage, it is necessary to carefully insulate it. So, today we will talk about how to insulate garage doors with your own hands.

Do I need to insulate the gate at all?

To find out if the gate really needs to be insulated, you need to understand one extremely important thing for yourself. important point. So, even without taking into account the winter cold, the usual thermal fluctuation in the warm and daylight hours can lead to the formation of condensate in the garage. A permanently high level of humidity has a negative effect not only on the condition of the object, but also on the vehicle body: metal surfaces become rusty, electrical wiring begins to rot, and mold or fungus appears in the corners of the garage.

As soon as the condensate freezes, moisture will begin to crack finishing material. But there is great news - such, it would seem, serious problem quite hard to decide! It is only necessary to choose the insulating material, and then personally carry out the appropriate measures to insulate the gates and doors. As soon as the work is completed, the temperature in the garage will not fall below the 5 C mark. Let's find out how to do this.

What generally can be done? Getting ready for work

There are several options at once: for example, you can simply purchase and install modern high-quality garage doors that are already equipped with insulating material, or you can carry out thermal insulation work on existing doors on your own, which, of course, will cost much less. A lot of time for this will not be required, as well as special skills in construction.

Note! The garage doors themselves are thin, so they are unable to reliably protect from the cold in winter. It is generally unreasonable to heat a metal garage, since the only thing you will achieve in this case is the formation of condensate on the walls.

It is also worth noting that it is better to insulate the gate from the outside, although this is often impossible. At internal insulation condensate will appear in those areas where the insulation is in contact with metal surfaces, for this reason, all surfaces should be protected with an anti-corrosion agent, and the heat insulator itself should be fixed as tightly as possible in order to avoid air gaps. A wooden frame is built on top of the insulation, which will serve as the basis for future sheathing.

How to make heating in the garage with your own hands

Earlier we talked about how to choose the type of garage heating and make it yourself, in addition to this article, we advise you to read this information.

Now - directly to the workflow!

Instructions for insulating garage doors

The thermal insulation procedure consists of several stages, we will get acquainted with each of them in more detail. Traditionally, we will start with the selection of materials and the preparation of all the necessary equipment.

How to choose a heater?

In this case, the characteristics and quality of the heat insulator are extremely important. Of all the known heaters for our case, suitable:

• mineral wool;
• Styrofoam;
• polyurethane foam;
• extruded foam.

Each option has its own strengths and weaknesses. We also note that even before you insulate the garage door with your own hands, you should correctly determine the required number of materials. Move on.

If we talk specifically about polystyrene, then it does not have a high fire safety, but it has increased moisture resistance and low heat conductivity. Mineral wool is more refractory (so to speak), but its moisture resistance leaves much to be desired. Polyurethane foam spraying is a new method of thermal insulation - expensive, albeit effective. This method has several significant advantages.

• After installation, there are no seams.
• Polyurethane foam weighs quite a bit.
• It can be applied to any surface, even unprepared.
• The material is resistant to temperature changes, exposure to chemicals, it is durable and strong.

But due to the high cost, this method is not very popular - as a rule, foam is used to insulate the garage door. Therefore, we will focus on this material in this article.

Necessary equipment

You will not need any specific tools - almost every car owner should have everything they need at hand. So, for work you should prepare:

How to insulate your front door

Earlier we talked about several ways to insulate the front door, what tools and materials are best used for this, in addition to this article, we advise you to read this information.

Calculations of the required number of consumables

First, measure the gate and determine what and how much you need. Various materials can be used for finishing cladding: plastic, plywood, lining, etc., but in practice, the best option in this case is OSB boards, which have a number of advantages:

• reliability;
• affordable cost;
• strength;
• ease of processing;
• excellent aesthetic data;
• low vapor permeability (you can not use additional vapor barrier).

For a garage, you will need material labeled OSB-3 or OSB-4 one centimeter thick. At the end of the measurements, calculate the required number of plates (for reference: the standard dimensions of one plate are 250x125 centimeters). Often a couple of plates are enough, and after work there are a lot of scraps that will also come in handy in the future.

OSB-plates will be fixed to the crate, made of wooden bars 40x40 millimeters. The crate will be created along the perimeter of the structure and along the area of ​​the door leaf, and attached to the supporting parts (profiled pipes or steel corners can act as such). When calculating the dimensions of the crate, you need to take into account several points (this is another important point regarding how to insulate garage doors with your own hands).

• Load-bearing dimensions.
• Styrofoam sheet dimensions.
• The step of fixing the future skin (at least 400 millimeters).

The bars will be fastened with self-tapping screws (their length depends on the thickness of the supporting elements), for OSB boards, the best option is screws equipped with a press washer.

Note! It may be necessary to treat the inner iron surface with a special anti-corrosion primer that can protect the material from rusting. The primer can be any, it is only important that it is intended for a fairly wide temperature range. Before applying the primer, the surface will need to be degreased with a solvent.

To mount the foam to the metal (as well as to fill the resulting gaps), you need to purchase mounting foam. It is desirable that it be professional, that is, a special gun is used for application. The expansion of such foam is smaller, and it is much more convenient to apply it with a gun.

Wooden blocks should be treated with an antiseptic so that they do not rot. An antiseptic can also be anything; moreover, it can even be a paint with antiseptic characteristics. Finally, ordinary foam (not extruded) must be protected from moisture, for which you can use bitumen-based mastic, a vapor barrier membrane, isolon, and so on.

Stage four. Preparatory activities

Step 1. First of all, treat all wooden elements with an antiseptic. Do this in one or two layers, depending on the specific product (if there are several layers, then each of them must be given time to dry). To apply, use a regular brush, but start working only in protective gloves- most of the antiseptics are made on the basis of aggressive chemicals.

Step 2. Next, proceed to the preparation of the inner surface of the garage door. Carefully inspect the surface, clean off any traces of rust found. Any paint that has already peeled off should also be cleaned. Further, in order to increase adhesion, the entire surface is carefully processed with sandpaper. Finally, the metal is coated with a degreasing solvent.

Step 3. Start applying an anti-corrosion primer, and apply it in two layers: the first - along the canvas, the second - across, after the previous one has completely dried.

Step 4. When the surface dries, proceed to waterproofing (as noted above, this is a prerequisite for ordinary foam). There are several ways to waterproof, let's get acquainted with each of them.

• By means of mastic based on bitumen.
• With the help of isolon.
• with a vapor barrier membrane.

It is necessary to cover the entire surface with waterproofing, which will later be covered with a heat insulator.

Stage five. Lathing installation

We continue to consider how to insulate garage doors with your own hands. According to the previously drawn up scheme, cut the bars of the desired size. To attach them, make holes in the frame with a diameter of 0.4 centimeters in increments of about 20 centimeters. To fix the bars themselves, you need to tighten them with clamps and, using a 0.25 cm drill, make holes in them along the depth of the screws.

Stage six. Styrofoam laying

The foam will be laid in the voids between the bars of the crate. To do this, first measure the dimensions of the cells and cut the insulation using a metal ruler and a mounting knife. It is important that you make each sheet of foam a few millimeters larger than the required dimensions, and on each side. So the insulation, being sufficiently elastic, will fit extremely tightly.

Video - Styrofoam cutting technology with a knife

There are several ways to fix the heat insulator between the bars of the crate, let's get acquainted with them.

Method number 1. The foam plastic can not be fixed at all, since the skin plates will already press it tightly against the gate.

Method number 2. The material can be glued using mounting foam. A great option, especially since foam is already required in the work.

Method number 3. Finally, you can use "liquid nails" glue, which, as far as is known, is intended specifically for this.

Note! The mounting foam has excellent adhesion, but it is still desirable to slightly moisten the surface before application. This is explained by the fact that the foam hardens exclusively when exposed to moisture.

Take a sheet of foam, apply foam on one surface around the entire perimeter (a little, in the center - in a zigzag pattern). After that, wait ten minutes for the material to increase slightly in volume, and press the sheet to the desired location on the gate. After another fifteen minutes, re-press the foam in order to make sure that its adhesion to the surface is as strong as possible.

After attaching the last sheet, blow out all the voids and cracks with the same mounting foam. When the foam dries (and this will take at least a day), the excess is cut off with a knife. Now proceed to the last stage of work!

Stage seven. sheathing

Measure the gate with a tape measure and determine exactly how the OSB boards should be cut. It is important that they completely cover the crate with insulation, but at the same time it is necessary to act on the principle of the ultimate integrity of the plates. If joints cannot be avoided, then they should be placed exclusively on the bars.

You can use an electric jigsaw or a hacksaw to cut the boards. Next, the plates in place, if necessary, make cutouts for ventilation holes or locks. For fastening, use screws - it will not only be reliable, but also look beautiful. The vertical fastening step should be 150 millimeters, but the center and horizontal - 250 millimeters. Drive screws into pre-drilled holes.

Note! If there are difficulties with the tightness of the doors or gates, then you can paste over the problem areas with a sealant tape or a tube (these are sold in a large assortment, and you can choose for yourself optimal dimensions and form). Thus, you will significantly reduce the heat loss of the garage room.

Gates sheathed with OSB boards already look great on their own, but if you wish, you can paint them with paint of any color you like. Of course, all this depends solely on personal preferences, since the main thing is already ready - the gates in the garage are insulated. For a more detailed acquaintance with how to insulate garage doors with your own hands, we recommend watching the thematic video below.

Video - Thermal insulation of the garage door

As a conclusion

As a result, we recall once again how important it is to insulate the gate and the garage itself as a whole. Even the usual (not taking into account winter) temperature fluctuations during warm and daylight hours can lead to condensation in the garage. A permanently elevated level of humidity negatively affects not only the condition of the room, but also the body of the vehicle: metal surfaces become rusty, electrical wiring begins to rot, and mold or fungus appears in the corners of the garage. As soon as the condensate freezes, the finishing material will begin to crack due to moisture. But high-quality insulation will allow you to get rid of all these troubles!

Each owner can perform the insulation of the garage door on their own. It is enough just to have on hand the right insulation and a set practical advice, which you can read later in the article.

Answers to some general questions

Before proceeding directly to the description of the process of insulating the garage door with my own hands, I want to answer some questions that you will definitely have as the planned date of the finishing work itself approaches:

Why insulate garage doors at all?

Many motorists may object to the proposal to increase the thermal insulation properties of the “home” of their own car by saying that, they say, the main thing is a roof over their heads, and everything else is already an unnecessary luxury.

But let's deal with this statement and consider the problems that arise in the case of such a negligent attitude:

• Your stay in the garage is not always limited to walking from the gate to the car in the morning and back in the evening. Sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and fix your own vehicle. So in winter, in the absence of insulation, this will be more than problematic. I do not recommend to anyone to sort out steel parts in the cold. Therefore, it is first of all necessary to strengthen the thermal insulation of the room in question for a person, and not a machine;

• Temperature fluctuations, which are inevitable in the absence of insulation, lead to condensation inside the garage, including hard-to-reach car fragments. Such an abundance of moisture accelerates corrosion processes, which can eventually result in a very expensive repair of your vehicle.

As you can see, the reasons are significant enough to proceed with the thermal insulation of the room. But why are we talking about gates? Perhaps it is more correct to do the global insulation of the garage from the inside with your own hands?

It all depends on what material the walls of your building are made of:

• If from brick, cinder block, foam block or, then it is possible to confine ourselves to strengthening the thermal insulation properties of only the entrance part which is usually made of steel. The fact is that the metal has excellent anti-vandal properties and does an excellent job of preventing intruders from accessing your car, but it also has a very high thermal conductivity, due to which it releases all the accumulated heat to the outside;

• If from the same iron as the gates themselves, then, of course, the walls and even the ceiling of the garage should be insulated. Otherwise, in winter it will be incredibly cold in it, and regularly falling condensate will cause significant damage to the car.

Do all types of gates need insulation and can be insulated?

The entrance, or rather the entrance, to your garage may have various design solutions that affect the choice of approach to the process of thermal insulation work.

Here are some variations found in our area:

• Swing. This is a classic, which consists of a frame and two gate leaves made of sheet steel. Such a design, of course, needs to be insulated, otherwise the metal will release all the heat in the winter and all the coolness in the summer from the room;

I recommend equipping the gate with an additional gate. Then, in order to get inside, you do not have to open the entire structure, letting in a large amount of cold, it will be enough to slip into a relatively small hole, saving precious heat.

• Custom lifting and turning. In this case, the working part of the structure is a sandwich panel, inside of which there is foamed polyurethane, which is an excellent heat insulator. So you can just enjoy the fashionable gate and not take any additional action;

• Homemade swivel-lift. Here everything is similar with swing structures, since again we are dealing with a steel sheet blocking the entrance to the building. It can and should be insulated;
• Roller shutters. Not subject to insulation due to their design features. Even more than that, I would not install them on the garage at all because of the very low protective characteristics.

Why should you insulate from the inside?

Why? After all, when it comes to a residential building, all the masters unanimously advise to carry out insulation from the outside in order to avoid transferring the “dew point” to the inside of the building. But here we should not forget that when it comes to gates, their primary functions are protective and anti-vandal. That is, placing the insulation on the street, you run the risk of losing it in the near future.

The choice of insulation

To be honest, I don't see any problems at all. this stage taking into account the amazing abundance of insulating materials in any hardware store. But, nevertheless, general ideas about what you need to have better.

Cotton wool of mineral origin

The excellent heater created from natural raw materials.

It can be represented by the following subspecies:

• glass wool. Technical specifications:

Be sure to wear a respirator when working with glass wool and protective glasses. The fibers of this material, as you can see from the table, are incredibly thin and at the same time very brittle. As a result, the air around is filled with an armada of tiny, sharp particles that can damage the respiratory and vision organs.

• slag wool. Technical specifications:

• stone wool. Technical specifications:

Mineral wool in each of its interpretations has a fairly high hygroscopicity. This means that moisture will accumulate in it, which in turn will provoke the appearance of rust on the metal gates.

If you still decide to use basalt wool, then be sure to additionally cover it with a vapor barrier film to prevent the accumulation of condensate between the fibers.

Styrofoam

Foam plastics include all foamed gas-filled polymers.

For us, they all look the same, but in fact there are differences:

• polystyrene. This is the most common representative of this type of insulation. It is an accumulation of sintered balls, has minimal hygroscopicity, low thermal conductivity and low cost. But it crumbles due to low strength indicators, which should also be taken into account;

I recommend purchasing extruded polystyrene foam. Unlike conventional polystyrene foam, it has increased strength, so you will have much less waste during installation work.

• PVC. It boasts increased soundproofing properties and fire resistance. Although due to a slightly higher price compared to cheap polystyrene, it is less popular;

• Urea-formaldehyde. This option is used in liquid form in order to fill all kinds of cavities and crevices, which is possible due to its peculiarity not to change its volume during solidification;

• polyurethane foam. And this is what we used to call mounting foam, if we are talking about a hard variety, and foam rubber in cases where we are talking about an elastic variation of this material. Construction foam has excellent adhesion to metal, high waterproofing and low thermal conductivity.

How to insulate the gate of your garage is up to you. I recommend using either basalt wool in combination with a vapor barrier, or extruded polystyrene foam.

Warming

Before insulating the garage door, it is necessary to check the effectiveness of its ventilation system.

If in your case it does not concern the area affected during the finishing work, then you can skip this step, but in the following situations you need to pay enough attention to it:

• Supply air vents are located at the bottom of the gate itself. In this case, in no case can they be covered with heat-insulating material during its installation. Be sure to take this into account, otherwise dampness will begin to accumulate in the room, negatively affecting your car;

• Air enters through the gaps formed by the loose fit of the flaps. This option will not allow full insulation, so it is necessary to implement the flow of fresh air in a different way. Either follow the path described above, cutting a hole in the gate itself, or make it to the wall.

After effective ventilation adjusted, you can proceed to work with the gates themselves:

Surface preparation

The metal sheet is far from always in perfect condition, or rather, it very rarely has it. Therefore, it must be properly processed before moving forward in the implementation of the plan. For this you will need:

Instructions for further actions:

1. Available power tools, drill or grinder, carefully clean the metal surface;

1. We degrease the gate with white spirit. Any other suitable degreaser may also be used;

1. Apply two coats of anti-corrosion primer. In this case, the second should be applied perpendicular to the first.

Arrangement of the crate

Whatever material you are going to insulate the garage door with, in any case, you first need to build a crate.

It performs two functions:

• Allows you to conveniently fix the heat-insulating material itself;
• It is a kind of "skeleton" for the subsequent installation of facing material.

For this:

1. We prepare the number of bars necessary for the leaf of your gate with a section of 40 by 40 or 50 by 50 mm;

1. We make the marking of the crate on the gate so that its wooden parts coincide with the power elements of the metal doors;
2. Bars are cut into the desired segments by using electric jigsaw or a simple hacksaw;

1. Drill drilling holes in the gate for screws;

1. We process wood with an antiseptic;

1. We fasten all wooden blanks to the power elements of the gate, forming a solid framework. At the same time, the ventilation hole, locks and other movable elements must be trimmed with frames made of bars so as not to close them in the future with thermal insulation and decoration;

Installation of thermal insulation material

Now, finally, it's time to insulate the gate.

1. When choosing mineral wool, we proceed as follows:

• First on steel glue the self-adhesive waterproofing film "Izolon" or we process it with bitumen-polymer mastic;

• Cutting mineral wool boards into pieces slightly larger than the cells of the crate. Consider what this material will become, the better, as it tends to cake, losing its original volume;
• Paste the resulting fragments;
• Cover everything on top polyethylene film, fixing it with a construction stapler on the frame elements;

1. If you have chosen foam for the insulation of the gate, then further actions are performed somewhat differently:

• In the case of purchasing extruded polystyrene foam, waterproofing can be completely abandoned;
• We cut the foam with an ordinary clerical knife into segments, the dimensions of which should be a couple of millimeters larger than the cells of the frame;

• We apply mounting foam to the edges of the back side of the first resulting fragment, after which we fix it in the chosen place;

• By this method install all foam pieces, after which we also process the resulting cracks with mounting foam;
• After the foamy substance has solidified, we cut off its protruding excess.

After completing the described work, you can safely proceed with the installation decorative finishes, which is very convenient to make plastic clapboard or oriented strand board.

How to insulate the walls of the garage from the inside if you have it all made of metal? Absolutely the same, just the amount of work will be, respectively, more. And in the same way, the steel is first cleaned, then the crate is attached, the heat insulator is laid and the cladding is applied.

Conclusion

From what you read, you learned how with my own hands insulate garage doors. The video in this article contains Additional information, which will allow you to become more familiar with this topic. However, if you have any questions, you can leave them in the comments.

Through the gate, the garage room loses the lion's share of heat. In the vast majority of cases, opening sashes are made of metal with zero thermal insulation ability. In this guide, we will tell you how to insulate garage doors and significantly reduce heat loss.

The better to sheathe door panels

At the end of the last century, it was customary to insulate garage doors from the inside with thick plywood, boards and similar timber. Fastening was carried out in the simplest way: bolts were welded to the metal panel, a plywood sheet was mounted on them and screwed with nuts.

Plain plywood sheathing

The gates insulated in this way weakly retained heat, but they strongly added weight - it became harder to open the doors. Often the canvases sagged and jammed in the lower porch. Now, instead of inefficient wooden cladding, modern heat-insulating materials are used:

• mineral wool based on basalt or glass fibers;
• polymer products in the form of plates - polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam;
• foamed polyethylene with a layer of foil, produced in rolls;
• polyurethane foam.

Note. We deliberately do not mention other modern insulators, such as ecowool. Insulating a garage with these materials is too expensive and not economically feasible.

Any mineral wool is of little use for thermal insulation of garage doors for the following reasons:

Best of all, polymers are “friends” with metal - polystyrene foam and extruded polystyrene foam (aka Penoplex). The insulators are lightweight, practically do not let steam through and are easily attached to the gate. Polyfoam is the cheapest insulation, the price of Penoplex is comparable to the cost of slab basalt wool.

Foiled polyethylene foam is too thin (thickness up to 12 mm) to serve as thermal insulation for iron gates. Building material is recommended to be used as an additional layer to the main insulation. Let's give an example of such a combination: foam plastic 25 kg / m³ 40 mm thick plus rolled "Penofol" 6-8 mm.

Efficient polyurethane foam thermal insulation is the best solution for insulating walls, ceilings and gates of iron garages. The material in the form of foam is applied by spraying using highly specialized equipment. If you are interested this method We recommend watching the introductory video:

Surface preparation

brick and concrete walls capital buildings, including garages, should be insulated from the outside. Doors, pitched roofs and gates are sheathed with insulation from the inside, it is difficult to implement external insulation of these structures. Before starting thermal insulation work, protect the steel sheets from corrosion, following the instructions:

Rust protection is required. Whatever material you use to insulate the garage door and no matter how carefully you seal the seams, condensation forms on the metal surface from temperature changes. In addition, a small fraction of moisture from inside the garage will let the foam itself through. Unpainted metal surfaces will rust under a layer of insulation.

We insulate the sashes with foam

If you later plan to decorative cladding insulated garage doors, you will initially have to make a wooden frame. Otherwise, there will be nothing to attach the finishing material, except to stick it to foam boards, but this is ugly and unreliable. The essence of the method is as follows: to the elements metal frame bars are attached, and interior trim is attached to them.

Scheme of mounting the frame and the location of the insulation

We offer a proven technology for insulating iron doors, which is done by hand:

An important point. When cutting wood and heat-insulating boards, provide a place for free movement of lock bolts and gate locks. How such insulation is done correctly is shown in the video.

The second method of thermal insulation is simpler, since it does not provide interior decoration. In this case, expanded polystyrene is glued to the gate with a special polyurethane foam that does not allow the material to fall off when the leaf strikes (for example, from strong wind). Joints and cracks are sealed with ordinary mounting foam.

Interior cladding options

Decorative finishing of garage doors from the inside is made from the following materials to choose from:

• moisture resistant plywood OSB;
• any plastic panels or siding;
• wooden lining;
• galvanized or painted corrugated board;
• upholstery with polyethylene foam type "Penofol".

If the garage is used as a workshop, then it is not advisable to use plastic or profiled sheet cladding - the material will be scratched and quickly dirty. Usually, garage craftsmen sheathe the canvases with OSB boards, screwing them with self-tapping screws to a wooden frame, as shown in the photo.

When using a garage only for storing a car, the gate should be lined with decorative panels or sheathed with foil "Penofol". The latter will play the role of additional thermal insulation and a reflector infrared heat back to the room.

The most budgetary way of interior decoration is spray foam painting. Then a wooden frame is not needed. If, when insulating the gate with your own hands, you used extruded polystyrene foam, then light plastic panels can be attached directly to the insulation using self-tapping screws.

How to close gaps in porches

The thermal insulation of the wicket and gate will not produce the desired effect when there are gaps between the wings and the frame, blown by the wind. To seal them, you can use various seals - self-adhesive tapes or car rubber. The problem is that the gaps are quite large and vary along the entire length of the porch.

The layer of polyurethane foam repeats the relief of the porch

There is a simple compaction technology used in practice:

1. Wipe both surfaces of the porch with a rag - the frame of the gate and the frame.
2. Lubricate the corners of the frame, where the frame element adjoins, liberally grease with grease or used oil.
3. Moisten the mating surfaces with water and apply a layer of mounting foam (preferably with a gun).
4. Close the sash for constipation and wait 1-2 hours. Then cut off the excess hardened foam and open the gate.

Thanks to the lubrication, the polyurethane will not stick to the corners of the frame, but will remain on the sash frame. The gap will fill regardless of the width and thus close along the entire length. Details of sealing garage doors with polyurethane foam are shown in the next video:

Thermal insulation with curtains

The curtain in front of the gate is a controversial method of insulation and here's why:

1. To sew curtains, you need a tarpaulin or a dense rubberized fabric, comparable in cost to foam.
2. The curtain prevents you from entering through the gate, and making a special cutout means worsening the thermal insulation.
3. The curtain contributes to the abundant release of condensate on the internal metal surfaces during frosts. As a result, the castles are covered with ice inside and out, it can be very difficult to warm up.

The curtain is useful when the owner of the garage needs to constantly go outside by opening one leaf of the gate. Such insulation is implemented by hanging a tarpaulin on a cable threaded through sewn steel rings. There is one way to prevent freezing of locks - do not leave the curtain closed at night.

Conclusion

Sheathing the entrance gate with heat-insulating material is the first measure for warming the garage room. Walls, roofs and floors do not allow as much heat to pass outside as it leaves through an opening closed with bare metal. Solving the problem is not particularly difficult and will take a maximum of half a day of your time.

Reading time ≈ 12 minutes

Most of the happy owners of a private space for their car are wondering how to insulate the garage door from the inside with their own hands, and there are reasons for this. Now it is very rare to find wooden sashes - a steel sheet is much more reliable and durable, but it's no secret to anyone that when you enter, on metal with inside you can see frost, and sometimes even frost. This is understandable, because the metal has a very high thermal conductivity - 50 W / (m K), and different wood from 0.18 to 0.25 W / (m K), that is, two times less.

The choice of insulation

Before undertaking the insulation of the garage door, you need to choose the right insulating material, since in this case not all of them can be used. Certainly this interior work, but in most cases, garages are classified as rooms with high humidity. Perhaps this will surprise someone, but the humidity there is the same as outside, with the exception of precipitation.

Mineral wool

Mineral wool is produced in mats and rolls, with and without foil coating.

The term "mineral wool" refers to three different, albeit similar in structure, insulators. But they are made from different raw materials, therefore, they have different characteristics, so we will consider them in more detail.

glass wool

This is what glass looks like

For the manufacture of such insulation, a melt of broken glass is usually used, or the materials from which it is obtained, but the technology here is somewhat changing. The substance (liquid glass) melted to 1400°C is placed in a centrifuge and blown under pressure with steam, turning into the thinnest threads. Then they are treated with a phenol-aldehyde polymer and then the alignment process takes place on the conveyor. In fact, it is highly resistant to humid air and has a thermal conductivity of 0.03 to 0.052 W/m K.

Having learned about such characteristics, the car owner may decide to use it for his garage, but it would be wrong not to mention other aspects of such a material. Any glass, not to mention fluffed glass, belongs to fragile instances and glass wool fibers, despite the addition of a polymer, are extremely brittle and the laying of the material is accompanied by glass dust. Getting on skin tissues, it causes irritation and itching, affects the eyes and respiratory organs (not fatal, but terribly unpleasant). Therefore, installation work with it can only be carried out in overalls with long sleeves, a hat, gloves, a respirator and goggles.

slag wool

Slag tends to have the dirty color of blast-furnace slag

It is obtained from blast-furnace slag melts, where, as you understand, metal is smelted and the fibers that make up the mat or roll are also saturated with residual iron particles. If we talk about thermal conductivity, then this indicator is approximately the same as that of glass wool and ranges from 0.046 to 0.048 W / m K, and if it comes only from these parameters, then such insulation can be used, but ... Its hygroscopicity has a coefficient of 1.9, that is, 1.9%/hour of the total mass. This is a lot, in addition, small particles of iron corrode from which the insulation sags and loses its protective qualities. Currently, it is used very rarely, and even then, only in dry rooms.

Stonewool

Basalt wool in mats and rolls with foil

Stone wool is very often called basalt wool, as it is produced from melts of hardened volcanic rocks, that is, basalt. It is worth paying attention to this material right away. First, for self-styling of protective equipment only gloves are needed, and even then some neglect them (everyone's skin is different). Secondly, it practically does not react to moisture (does not lose its qualities). Thirdly, the thermal conductivity of basalt wool, depending on the density and manufacturer, ranges from 0.031 to 0.041 W / m K. In fact, this is the most the best option of the three products.

Testing mineral wool from different manufacturers

Styrofoam

Material such as polystyrene is known to most people.

This is expanded polystyrene, known in the same way as, and most often, as foam. Its marking may differ in the abbreviation, it is PSB or PSB-S, where the letter "C" indicates that the PSB is treated with a flame retardant and is a self-extinguishing or non-combustible material. It differs in bulk density (kg / m 3), these are PSB-S-15, PSB-S-25 and PSB-S-35, where the thermal conductivity is 0.045 W / m K, 0.041 W / m K and 0.038 W / m K, respectively. In the domestic sphere, they are limited to 15th and 25th panels, of which the first are somewhat cheaper, but when cutting from the bottom, there is a lot of debris in the form of crumbling electrified granules that stick to hands, a brush or a broom. If we talk about garage doors, then the 25th foam is great material for insulation, especially since it can simply be glued with mounting foam.

Extruded polystyrene foam

Extruded polystyrene foam, also known as EPPS, PENOPLEX and TECHNONICOL

Visually, in structure, it is very similar to polystyrene, but it is produced by extrusion, that is, the plastic is passed through an extruder with the addition of a blowing agent and molded into panels of the desired thickness, where, as a rule, there is a one-sided chamfer around the perimeter. I want to answer right away to people who either do not understand or deliberately denigrate this insulation, arguing that it absorbs moisture faster than polystyrene foam and mineral wool, and so, its vapor permeability is only 0.011-0.0128 mg / (m * h * Pa), and when completely immersed in water, 0.2-0.4% of the total specific gravity.

The density of the same TECHNONICOL (although other brands practically do not differ) ranges from 25 to 45 kg/m for fear of technical damage. On average, the thermal conductivity of EPPS is 0.029-0.034 W / m K, and this is the most best indicator of all materials used in construction. The only drawback is the higher cost than other heaters, but this is fully offset by its advantages. So there is no better option for garage doors and doors!

Insulation of metal garage doors

We turn to the instructions, do-it-yourself garage doors from the inside, and in order not to dwell on the description of each detail separately, which is more necessary for teenagers than for car owners, we will dwell on the main points of insulation. This will include:

• what other materials will be needed;
• selection necessary tools for work;
• how to prepare sashes;
• installation of the crate;
• installation of a heater;
• black trim on the inside.

What other materials will be needed

With a heater, everything is clear - choose it yourself, but in addition to this, you will need other materials:

• bars 50 × 50 mm, but you can change the section along the thickness of the insulation:
• rough sheathing: plywood, OSB (optional);
• dye;
• wood screws;
• mounting foam;
• reinforcing adhesive if mineral wool is used.

Tools

In fact, tools can be selected even for a non-electrified garage, but if there is ̴220 V, then some can be replaced:

• screwdriver with nozzles and drills;
• wood saw;
• metal brush;
• paint knife;
• paint brush;
• tape measure, pencil.

How to prepare sashes

In this case, everything is simple - you need to get rid of everything that can interfere with adhesion during the installation of insulation, and the most difficult thing is to remove the swelling paint on the metal. This is best done with a metal brush (if you use sandpaper, then spend a lot of extra time). Remove only the paint that does not hold well - or is swollen or cracked. After that, clean the canvas from oil stains - gasoline or diesel fuel, which no doubt can be found in any garage, is quite suitable for this.

Now about the slats, and here you can go in two ways - to strengthen the bars unpainted or paint and the second option is better than the first in any case. It doesn’t matter what the paint will be, as long as it is on wood - even an antiseptic or glyphthalium paint will do (GF is usually used as a primer). But it is better to do this a day or two before the start of work, so that the paint dries out - this measure is needed to protect the wood.

Lathing installation

Installing wood framing from the inside

Any garage door has stiffeners and most often these are corners 40 × 40 or 50 × 50 mm, but tubular profiles of rectangular or square section can also be used. But in this case, on the part of technology, this does not change anything, except that the second option will slightly complicate the task in technical terms. In order to fix the bars on a metal sheet, holes must be drilled in these ribs, the diameter of which depends on the diameter of the self-tapping screws. The distance between the holes is 40-50 cm, but they are required along the edges of the profile. Mounting holes are not needed on the diagonal ribs, as there will be no rails.

Try to adjust and screw the bars so that there are no gaps at the joints (they are usually at the corners), but if this happens, then do not be too upset - you can always blow them out with mounting foam. In the case when the stiffeners are made of a very wide profile, for example, 40 × 60 mm, welded flat, then it will be more difficult to cope with the task, and if this confuses you, go the other way.

Mounting holes can be drilled through the sheet and the rails can be screwed on from the outside, but for this you will definitely need self-tapping screws for wood with a stainless coating - they are either white or yellow.

Note. This applies to those who intend to work not with an electric drill, but with a screwdriver. You will have to drill about 80-100 holes, and if the batteries are weak, then in cold weather, even without frost, even 2 pieces will not be enough for you. If the work will be done with cordless drills such as Bosch or Makinfa, then one battery is enough for such a load.

Insulation installation

Now the most important thing is to accurately cut the insulation, especially when there is a diagonal stiffener on the sash, but for this you have a paint knife and a tape measure. It doesn’t matter which side to start the installation from, right or left, bottom or top - the most important thing is to start from a larger panel or even from a whole one, for example, from 1000 × 1000 mm foam or 1200 × 600 mm EPS, but here already, “ how the card will fall. It is best to cut foam, polystyrene or mineral wool under a ruler - an even object of this length is usually found in every garage if it is used not only for storing potatoes, but also for cars and various home repairs.

Glue well replaces mounting foam

Try on the desired fragment at the installation site and make sure that you cut it to size - if it turned out to be larger, then you can cut it, and if it is smaller, you can blow out a gap of up to 15 or even 20 mm with mounting foam. If the gap is even larger, then it is better to close it with strips of the same material. Lay the fragment on the floor and apply several strips of foam on it at a distance of no more than 10 cm, although even smaller and around the perimeter is better. Then put it in the right place and hold for 20-30 seconds (usually this is enough).

When you make sure that it does not fall off, start measuring the next fragment, and after cutting it, again apply foam and glue it to the right place and so on until the very end, until you completely close the sash. The stiffening ribs will remain open, and these are effective cold bridges, therefore, blow out these gaps, as well as all remaining gaps, with mounting foam.

Note. In the event that insulation will be done mineral wool, you will need a special reinforcing glue. But when the mineral wool is foiled, then you can go the other way - stick it on the foil with mounting foam.

Rough skin

Sheathing the gate in the garage from the inside of the OSB

The simplest part of the work remains - sheathing the inside on top of the insulation with some kind of sheet material. Most likely, it will be grade 3 oriented strand board or laminated or moisture resistant plywood. To cut such large panels, you will need at least two stools, although if there is a pit in the garage, then this is the best option in any case. Mark the sheet, lay it so that the part to be cut is above the pit and saw. Then screw it with wood screws to the crate, making sure that all joints adjoin as tightly as possible. Everything.

Note. If desired, instead of sheet material, you can use wooden lining, and if you are interested in the aesthetic side of the issue, then this is the best option.

Video with insulation of old garage doors

Conclusion

Well, what do you think, is it difficult or easy to insulate the garage door from the inside with your own hands? Most likely the latter, but this will require at least a whole day, not counting the purchase of materials. Nevertheless, special skill is not needed here, and even when a person has not been engaged in similar work, he can do it!