Hi;
I live in Canada where as you can probably imagine it can get extremely cold in winter. I have an attached garage (no rooms above it) and the side of the garage that's attached to the house is finished, however the two sides that aren't attached are not. I'm thinking of adding insulation to it (R12) and a vapour barrier, but not putting up drywall. Is that safe? Do I have to add drywall as well or am I ok with just the insulation and vapour barrier over it?
Thanks in advance.
If its a garage, you should put fire rated drywall on. In case of a fire, all that insulation and vapor barrier will catch on fire quickly. Drywall is cheap enough and easy to put on. You don't even have to paint it if you don't feel like.
You don't even have to tape the seams for that matter either. Many people do it that way.
I'm with you there. An additional reason to cover it with something is looks. My BIL in B.C. did his with just insulation+visqueen (clear plastic). Nice and warm but it looked very red-neckish. He covered it after a few years. The storage space bit alone is worth whatever cost the covering would be.
Harry K
I'd go with either covering it with drywall or not installing insulation at all. IMO, leaving it uncovered, it will be too easy to damage. I'd also consider if the whole thing is worth it from an energy standpoint. Apparently there is no living space above the unheated garage and the garage only shares one wall with the house? You can't insulate the overhead doors beyond what they already are, which likely isn't a lot. So, I doubt doing the other walls is going to gain you very much.
:"I've got a fully insulated (but not heated) garage, and I think it's definitely worth it. It gets to -30C around here in the middle of winter, and the coldest the garage drops to is -9C. "
The real question here is what would the temperature inside the garage be if there were no insulation. It might not be much different with or without the insulation. When you have one side already insulated and shared with the house, one wall mostly doors which we agree generally don't have much insulation, you're left with two walls that you can work with. I suppose one benefit could be that insulation would reduce drafts from the open walls, especially if drywalled over and that might even be the biggest factor.
Agreed - no point in having poly over the insulation if you know it'll get filled with holes in short order.
I've got a fully insulated (but not heated) garage, and I think it's definitely worth it. It gets to -30C around here in the middle of winter, and the coldest the garage drops to is -9C. At that temperature, it isn't necessary to plug in vehicle block heaters, which saves quite a bit of money. It's also a lot more comfortable in there.
Actually, it is possible to insulate an overhead garage door (I have a friend that has done it) but it'll look very 'ghetto'. My friend basically took some fiberglass batts, a couple of layers of heavy-duty poly, and some duct tape and strapped everything to the door.
You're forgetting the ceiling, which in my garage is also insulated to the same standard as the house (R-40). It makes a huge difference.
I use a garage as a shop. I insulated the walls and ceiling and put 4-year UV greenhouse polyethylene film over the outside of the south garage door, which makes for great light and heat when the door is open. I'd like it to open and close automatically to store solar heat in the slab floor, except when nobody's home.
Garage door openers are fairly inexpensive, and safe and powerful and versatile (some people use them to haul boats out of the water :-), and it's easy to add more foamboard insulation to the doors. It's odd we don't see more of them used for automatic "movable insulation" in solar heating systems. I've only heard of one application like that, for a homeless shelter in Washington state.
The film is attached to the frame with spring wire extrusions and taped to a PVC pipe so it can roll up for storage under the eave in summertime.
Nick
I'd do the same. Pegboard is preferred and I have seen pegboard that looks lile panelling (woodgrain). I want the garage walls to be useful, not easily damaged like drywall.
If you do use drywall and the garage is on a poured slab, dont waste your time taping the joints, they will only crack. Slabs move. They do sell drywall with built in wallpaper made to be installed without taping the joints and looks nice. The only reason I can see drywall as an advantage is fire protection. Of course you could put pegboard over it, but would have to fir it out, and double the cost.
What kind of insulation are you thinking about. Some kinds should be covered with fire resistant material, others need to be contained to protect the insulation itself.
If it were me, I would use the standard fiberglass insulation with craft paper on one side and then cover the walls with some quick and easy surface material such as cheap paneling or masonite.
Using an insulation and vapor barrier that does not require coverage is OK, but not all possibilities pass that test. I covered mine with peg board. While that does not provide the protection that might be needed for some materials, it does provide a lot of storage space.
Kind of depends on the insulation. I have yet to see fiberglass insulation catch fire. The problem with a vapor barrier is more likely to be the poisonous gases it may give off if it burns, but then then in a garage, if you have a fire, I doubt if that is going to be your concern. Few if any local codes require fire brakes on exterior walls of a garage.
Actually, the reason I was trying to avoid the drywall was simply that I have no experience in putting it up. I figured the insulation couldn't be too hard, but the drywall I could screw up.
or security reason to put up the drywall... Everyone seems to agree that I should, which I probably will, but is there a building code rule of some sort around it or does it make a difference in terms of temperature inside the garage with/without the drywall?
Sure you can. It adheres to the door.
I live in Winnipeg and have my attached garage insulated - door, walls & ceiling. I definately enjoy having insulated it but here are a couple of other thoughts on insulating garages.
Done all the time when people are short of funds. Safe? you expect the fiberglass to burn? But why not put up drywall which will protect the vapor barrier from being torn. It's not that expensive, and you don't have to tape if you don't want to.
If one uses fiberglass batts, it ain't going to catch on fire, and the fiberglass will protect the studs and outer walls from fire. But you have a point, there really isn't much reason to not put up drywall, unless you really have run out of money.
Whoa. Of course it would be much different unless your garage door has holes in it. Insulation of the two walls that are part of the house, reduce flow of heat to the garage. Insulating the two walls not against the house reduce heat flow from the garage.
My garage is insulated all around, but the door isn't insulated and it doesn't fit tight. Temperature in the garage is usually in the 50's when the outside temperature is in the low 30's. It has never frozen in my garage, but came real close when outside temperatures dropped further than -10F. I plugged inflow around the door with old socks and towels at that time. So figure
20-40 degrees higher with insulated walls. Oh, and an insulated ceiling.
The hardest part of putting up drywall is moving the sheet. So you screw up a sheet, you lost $5, or more likely you will be able to use at least half of that sheet elsewhere. Building codes require a specific thickness between the house and the garage. Doubt if any have requirements for an outside wall of an attached garage.
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