[pwalsh]

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

[Mrprez]

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.

[Dvorajk]

Originally Posted by Mrprez

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.

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

[GpaVader]

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.

[Babbs1957]

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.

[Road-Runner]

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.

[kingofbeer]

Originally Posted by GpaVader

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.

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.

[retiredguy123]

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.

[vintageogauge]

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.

[asianthree]

Originally Posted by kingofbeer

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.

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

[Mrprez]

Originally Posted by Dvorajk

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

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!

[CarlR33]

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.

[Mrprez]

Originally Posted by CarlR33

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.

[vintageogauge]

Originally Posted by Mrprez

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..

[Babbs1957]

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.