Insulate detached garage?

[JohnnyHockey]

Looking for advice...how much difference in warmth will insulating and drywalling our detached garage make? Is it worth it?

[gretz]

Is it heated? Plans to be heated?
If Yes, answer is yes

[Ca_Silvia13]

I did this in my old place in Auburn. I spend a lot of time in the garage working on stuff so yes it was a massive difference even before i put the heater in.

Be sure to insulate the ceiling, don't just slap drywall up. More insulation the better.

[90_Shelby]

Originally posted by Ca_Silvia13
I did this in my old place in Auburn. I spend a lot of time in the garage working on stuff so yes it was a massive difference even before i put the heater in.

Be sure to insulate the ceiling, don't just slap drywall up. More insulation the better.

This.

[killramos]

There is a HUGE difference, summer and winter, to just insulating even if not heated. If you bring cars in and out of there daily it hardly even dips below freezing except on the coldest days. Mines insulated and VB'd no drywall yet and it was a great investment.

Mines attached to neighbors and in the winter my half stays covered in snow while theirs is bare (uninsulated with all the warmth form cars escaping and melting the snow). It definitely makes a difference.

I wouldn't even consider heating if not insulated though.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[JohnnyHockey]

Thanks guys. ..I'll look into the spray foam...no plans for heating so that's why I was wondering, I just assumed it would be pointless without it being heated. ..I'm looking to go the cheapest route, this is a small starter home. ..

[suntan]

Old next door neighbour insulated it, he said sometimes it got so warm in winter (chinooks) he had to open it for a few minutes to let the heat out.

[FraserB]

In the middle of doing mine right now, just normal batting and vapor barrier. I compared the cost of spray vs. batts and couldn't justify the difference for a garage.

I'll wind up with batting, poly and then drywall with a 21,000btu heater. Should keep it nice and toasty in the winter.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by JohnnyHockey
Thanks guys. ..I'll look into the spray foam...no plans for heating so that's why I was wondering, I just assumed it would be pointless without it being heated. ..I'm looking to go the cheapest route, this is a small starter home. ..

Do it. You may not have a heater but the residual heat from engine is another source.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by JohnnyHockey
Thanks guys. ..I'll look into the spray foam...no plans for heating so that's why I was wondering, I just assumed it would be pointless without it being heated. ..I'm looking to go the cheapest route, this is a small starter home. ..

This is your starter home, and you state the garage doesn't need to be heated.

As such, insulating your garage (I almost wrote "insulting you're garage") lol, would be a waste of your money.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by Seth1968


This is your starter home, and you state the garage doesn't need to be heated.

As such, insulating your garage (I almost wrote "insulting you're garage") lol, would be a waste of your money.

Depends on what he wants to do. I ripped out all the electrical in my starter home and rewired all the way from the house. Doing drywall, paint and some other stuff too.

[JohnnyHockey]

No, I absolutely will not spend the money to have heat hooked up to the garage, especially if we may be moving soon...I just want to do a quick weekend project to make the garage not so cold if we are still in this house come winter time, but if it really doesn't do much to warm it up, then I won't bother wasting the $$...

[03ozwhip]

at minimum insulate it. actually as far as code goes, I think it's code to insulate and drywall. unless it's just for attached garages...don't quote me.

[bjstare]

Originally posted by JohnnyHockey
No, I absolutely will not spend the money to have heat hooked up to the garage, especially if we may be moving soon...I just want to do a quick weekend project to make the garage not so cold if we are still in this house come winter time, but if it really doesn't do much to warm it up, then I won't bother wasting the $$...

If this is your plan, don't bother with spray foam. It'll be too cost intensive.

[Buster]

Insulating and drywalling your garage might be one of the best cost: benefit things you can do to your house. It makes an enormous difference.

From resale, I think it also helps, as it looks much nicer, and if you are showing in the winter ever the comfortable temperature in there vs "freezing garage" feeling will help a sale.

[JohnnyHockey]

Damn, good point Buster...guess I'll get off my ass and do it this long weekend...

FYI...Reno Depot in Creekside, everything is 15% off this weekend.

[timdog]

in the future when you have some more money you can easily put an infrared heater in, or some other options with not too much effort, so i would insulate it now if there is any chance you'll heat it in the future.
when I bought my house, the detached garage had a furnace and the walls were insulated but the ceiling was not insulated, the heat just escaped immediately and was a total waste. i got the ceiling insulated for about $500 and it made a massive difference in the winter. I keep the furnace at like 10 degrees or something like that all winter (4 degrees overnight), which costs me very little in energy but makes a huge difference in terms of comfort when you get in your vehicle in the morning.

[StreetRacerX]

Fully insulating and then heating the garage was probably the best thing I've done with it so far.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by JohnnyHockey
FYI...Reno Depot in Creekside, everything is 15% off this weekend.

Still do comparison shop. Reno Depot tends to be 10% more expensive than competitors when they have 15% off weekend. So deal isn't very hot on some items.

Lowes also have 15% off over $500 and it has free shipping so you don't have to do multiple trips to the store if you don't have a truck.