Here we are in the heat of the summer...high temperatures, high humidity, little breeze. And I am handling it just fine. Even playing golf three days a week.
In the afternoon, the hottest place in our house is the garage. The garage doors (a two-car door and a golf cart door) are non-insulated steel. The morning sun beats down on the steel doors and pumps up the temperature in the garage to nearly 100 degrees.
Our garage is multi-functioning...park the car and golf cart, trash station, freezer, hot water tank, water filter system, storage and more storage. Plus, Brian has an area for his motorcycles and ATV. And I have a craft area. It is unbearable to work in the garage in the summer.
My solution...insulate the garage doors. Or technically, install a radiant barrier. I did all my research for this project on YouTube. To my surprise, no one did it the same. In some videos, the foam was thicker, some double the pieces, some glued the foam to the metal, some put the foil side against the steel, some put the foil side out. All those options made the decisions more difficult. Finally I had a plan.
I used PERMA"R" 3/4 inch foam board. The sheets come in 4' x 8' sheets and cost $11.48 a sheet at Lowe's. Four sheets fit nicely in the back of Brian's truck.
First, cut the foam panels. My best advice...measure twice, cut once. You need to measure each panel. They could be different sizes. Because of the way the door is made, I cut each panel into two pieces to get it to fit in.
The hardest part was bending the foam panel to get the bottom edge in. You can create your own technique. The panels are remarkably bendable. It took a couple of hours for this project. Here is what is left over from the 4 pieces of foam board.
For less than $60, the garage is cooler.
The project was a big success.
