Another Option for Garage Door Insulation
 

We have an eastern exposure in the morning so our garage doors get VERY hot. My thermal gun would easily read 118 degrees when focused on the inside of the doors on sunny days. Thus the garage would be 90-100+ inside.
I thought I would thus insulate the doors to reduce the heat. I also plan on installing a garage temp sensor fan. I recently checked out numerous pricing options and scenarios for garage door insulation. I was deciding between the "soft insulation", or the styro-board insulation both with an R value of 4. They could be bought at either Home Depot or Lowes. Cost... doing it yourself for about $260.00. The backing would be white.
Having other contractors that provide this service would be at nearly TWICE that cost!
Than a young contractor stopped by when I was working outside. He asked if I needed insulation in my garage. He does it blown in for $1.00 per sf. I said not yet but was going to do my doors. He explained he does that "on the side" so I took his information. I am one who at least listens to people to keep an open mind although I too am not a huge fan of soliciting. However, I have got lots of work done by freelance people with outstanding results. I checked his credentials and decided to have him do the work. He wanted nothing up front until satisfied.
Here is the deal. He did BOTH doors on the garage with an R value of just under 6 by doubling up R-Tech styro-board with a foil backing. You can buy it at Home Depot also for about $11.00 per 4x8 sheet. It fits tight and looks GREAT after being cut, but could see it was not an easy job to cut and fit in. He took off the braces on the doors to get a better fit, than reinstalled them. (see picture). Cost...$200.00! He was very polite, accommodating, and worked very hard.
When I put the thermal gun on the door afterwords, it read ~93-98 degrees on a sunny day when the door used to read about 118 degrees! My garage is DEFINITELY cooler now. It was always about 90-100 degrees in the garage with a high of 102! My guess is about 7-10 degrees cooler in the garage without installing a fan yet.
His name is Stephen Tyler (no not the rock star of Aerosmith). His number is 352 361 5997. or 352 702 1521. He gives free estimates.

Solar Guys
 

Looks Good! For anyone else interested we also offer garage door insulation. Our insulation material is a triple layer with a foil front, double bubble center for air space, and a white backing to eliminate the "industrial shiny look". Great for garages that have direct sun exposure and blocks 95% of radiant heat. The light weight material doesn't add an unnecessary strain on the motor. You can read more on our website or give us a call for a free quote 866-669-5259.

unless I were living in the garage why would I care to reduce the temp by 7-10 degrees. I have a window in my garage. If for some reason I'm working in my garage I'll open both the garage doors & the window.

Looked at your website. What is your R value rated at? I agree with the statements since this also: Reduces outside noise, garage door is quieter, provides added strength to the door, very lightweight so no strain on the door or opener, fire rated, mold and mildew resistant, but I like the steel look. It matches the door braces and looks like a solid door. To each their own there. What is your pricing for a standard 7x16 door and a 7x6 golf cart door?

Insulating your garage is a good idea and it helps keep the house cooler as well. I don't know why they do not install factory insulated doors to begin with. The cost per door is not that much more. You would never even notice it in the price of the home and here in FL it just makes good sense.

Sent you a private message. Thanks

How & how ?

If you choose not to put in door insulation that is your prerogative. I chose to since I have a refrigerator, Harley, and other equipment that is more heat sensitive and the more I can reduce the air inside, the less the refrigerator has to work. The 7-10..or more degrees cooler I felt was worth it. Obviously it won't get it LESS than the temp outside, but the closer I can get to it the better in MY perspective. I too can open the garage door and window when I am working in there to eventually equalize the temperatures. But when you open the door going out to the garage and it is 100+ somehow that has to have a detrimental impact on cooling. How much? I am not the expert, I did it for comfort and heat reduction, not pay backs, energy savings, period. However, since 1/4 of the house walls touch the garage AND the open garage attic of 600 sf is part of the rest of the attic, it makes sense the added heat may cost something more to cool the house. Otherwise, go wrap your house in 100+ heat like some days in the summertime and tell me your cooling bill is not higher than at 90 degrees. In the winter, when it is 25-30s outside, keeping the garage a bit warmer is also nice.

My garage doors face to the southwest and in the afternoon they became so hot you could not keep your hand on the aluminum. They were essentially a large infrared radiator. I did insulate them and the garage is cooler but I don't have typical before and after temperatures to be able to report by how much. What I have measured is that the garage now heats up to essentially the outside temperature. That may be the best that can be hoped for. I feel it was worth the drop in temperature.

I've seriously considered doing this plus put in attic fans but after much consideration the drop in temp just wouldn't be sufficient enough!

I think the "industrial shiny look " is very cool, no pun intended. What is your opinion on it's insulating efficiency compared to what you offer ?

It does a great job for the application. A thin metal garage door is arguably one of the least efficient parts of your home. Of course that is not the only reason why the garage is hot. As mentioned generally the best you can cool a non air conditioned garage is to the outside air temperature. With that being said, the insulation will help the garage stay cooler longer and in combination with our garage fan will exhaust the heat and humidity faster. There are limitations on materials that can be used on the garage door due to space and weight issues. Our light weight insulation we have found to be very effective blocking 95% of radiant heat with a R value equivalent of around 11. The reason I say equivalent is because this type of insulation is not rated in the same way as traditional fiberglass or foam insulation.