Lanai ceiling insulation benefits ?
 

Hi .. I just closed and moved into Shady Brook a little over a week ago. I have decided to have a mini split installed to cool my garage, so I will be having insulation blown in to insulate the garage ceiling .. my question is - while I am having this done are there any advantages to having insulation installed over the Lanai ?

I apologise if this is posted in the wrong thread.

TIA .. Paul

It would be cheaper to have it done now rather than later. We had ours done in conjunction with a minisplit installation in the lanai.

Blown Insulation Recommendations
 

Who do you recommend for adding additional insulation? I am thinking on adding some myself.

If you are going to enclose your lanai, I would consider it. We insulated our garage doors and tinted the windows but no insulation in the garage ceiling. Guess I figured that heat rises, let it rise. The garage stays comfortable and allows me to do the painting and other things I need to do. Just my 2 cents worth. FWIW - I have an East facing garage.

You don't know what the future holds, a year from now, 5 years, what you would want for the lanai. It would also be a selling point if already insulated. The cost to add insulation would be a fraction of the cost now for a company to come back out and do it all again. Guessing: $300 now vs $1500 a month from now.

Exact same situation as yours and the wife said pass on the Lanai insulation since we had no plans to enclose it. Here a couple of years later I'm still trying to convince her we need to enclose the lanai and it would be great to have the insulation out of the way. Only downside would be it will be harder / messier to run A/C to the lanai after the insulation blown in, especially if you choose a ceiling entry split. Just my .02. We were very pleased with The Solar Guys who also put in our solar powered attic fans.

The garage is like a sauna here in my concrete courtyard villa. The temperature during the day was at 99 degrees this week in the garage. I would not spend a dime to try to make this garage cooler. If you touch the concrete walls, you can feel the heat. I owned 2 concrete block houses before in Florida and the garage was never this hot. The garage walls where insulated and the attic above was insulated. The Villages is just trying to make more profit when they build this way.

From a heat transfer standpoint, it doesn't make sense to insulate any unconditioned space, including the garage and the lanai ceilings. That is why the builder doesn't do it.

Our garage came with the foil sun barrier I think it's called. I had a thermostat controlled attic fan installed and insulated the doors it helped quite a bit and the insulation deadened some of the sound also. I could actually go up in the attic on hot days without having to run back down due to the heat.

OP closed on their house a week ago. Developer gets no profit off aftermarket improvements. Our other four TV homes garage faced north, so cooler. This garage faces south..it’s a ton hotter

I don’t remember who we had do the job. You can get everything you need at Home Depot tool rental. Pro tip: wait until January!

I am adding insulation to the garage doors because they are like heat radiators in the morning when the sun is hitting them. I have read it’s DIY only need to remove the hurricane bars to install.

Be sure you have a helper, a neighbor took his off and he said they were quite heavy. He has a single 2 car garage door.

There is no reason to take the rails off if you use fiberglass kits plus they have a higher R value and deaden sound too..

Easy with 1" foam board pink R-5( I think). Hurricane bars are about #30lbs for a 16' garage and I did it by myself. Took about 3 hours to complete. I have not gone back and added spray foam insulation into the areas the foam wouldn't go. Helped a lot, but it's still ass hot in there.

I hope you fellas are replacing the hurricane bars after you insulate. They are required by building code. Have to be there when you eventually sell.

Just taking them off to get the insulation behind them but thanks for your concern.

If you enclose your lanai, you definitely want to insulate your attic. If the lanai is just screened in, don’t waste your money on insulation, what good will insulation give you in the attic when your open space is 140 degrees because of all the cement, floor and house block wall.

Having to remove the bars to insulate depends on the type of insulation installed.
I used thin white styrofoam sheets that came as cushioning from many mail order furnishings we purchased. Which requires the bars to be removed.
If I had used the foil bubble sheets, they are totally flexible and do not require the bar removal, much easier to install than my styrofoam sheets.
The 24”x10’ rolls of foil radiant barrier are $10+ at Home Cheapo. A ballpark estimate I would have needed to buy at least 7+ rolls of them. Verse my free thin white styrofoam sheets and a roll of white duct tape.

We insulated the garage doors with a kit from Lowes, had insulation blown in over the Garage and lanai. Then purchased a portable AC unit for the garage. We have a West facing garage and it stays very comfortable, saving thousands vrs a mini split. Utility bill is always very reasonable.

Yes! Do it.

If you don't have your lanai enclosed I'm not sure how much of a benefit you would get now. My garage is not cooled so (IMO) it would not be much of a benefit to insulate it now.

Keep in mind--if you decide to run a split down the road *they* will insulate for you after they run the lines and install the split.

Having it "pre-insulated" before you install the split might be a very slim cost benefit (pay today's prices?) but I'm not sure that it would not be more of an hassle installing the split. The split installers are already up there running wires and pipes--the hose to blow the insulation into the space after they finish is the fun part of the job.

Last month we had our lanai enclosed with a split and the cost to add the insulation was built into the price. But I also like the idea of one-stop contractor so there is no issue down the road with Contractor A blaming Contractor B for any problems that come up.

We are very happy with All Season Rooms. The windows, raising the concrete pad, electric, insulation and split were all meticulously installed and if we have any problems down the road there is only one phone number to call to fix anything. No Peter blaming Paul...

My 2¢ is wait and have the insulation put in with the split..

We used a company out of Spring Hill/Ocala, Thermal Solutions, they do blow in, spray, and batt. What I found in the sunroom above the vinyl ceiling was "nothing", so I decked above the trusses with OSB, then foam board, then the company put batt insulation above that. Blow in above the garage ceiling, and topped off the rest of the house. Wasn't cheap but hopefully it will pay off in the long run. I also installed solar attic fans with the solar guys. You will definitely want to do the garage door. This has all happened in the last week and a half or two so cannot tell you end results! Hopefully it helps my situation.

Yes insulate the lanai ceiling they are already up there so less expensive.

If you are going to cool your garage insulate the door and walls also or else will never be able to cool down.

What about the garage walls?

A portable AC unit. wow!

In other words, you wasted your time and money. Thanks!

I would not insulate an unheated or cooled space until needed. What would you be insulating? I did use insulation for the garage doors and did it in an hour without adhesives or removing hurricane bars. Dropped the temp about 20 to 25 degrees. I would not use any adhesive on garage doors. The adhesive will fail with time and leave a mess.

Congratulations on the new home. We have a N facing home and recently insulated our garage and Lanai ceilings. We also finally enclosed our lanai with screen sliders and double pane sliders. Absolutely love the new enclosed lanai (Fullview). We are glad we paid extra for double pane because it is quieter and we don't worry as much about high winds. Our neighbor used to mow before 7am, thus the sound control. New neighbors now.

Our lanai is very quiet, except for the new TV. We did not need a mini split. We will probably increase our AC capacity when the time comes to handle increasing temperatures.
It cost us very little to insulate both areas, compared to fuel costs. I would do it now. Prices are going up. Your home value will go up too.