[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by tbone

Has anyone had mildew in their garage? I have had mildew show up on a car steering wheel and on various tools with rubber handles. This is after returning from a three month absence during which the garage doors were not opened at all.

Have investigated a fan that fits in between joists to pull air into the attic (create air movement) as well as split air conditioners and dehumidifiers. No decision made yet.

One a/c guy said the problem is lack air movement and suggested running a pedestal fan and to create air movement.

Any help and/or ideas are appreciated!

If you got that much mildew I suspect you have leak or a/C drain not draining and holding moisture? Something causing the mildew and IMO it not normal? You can look outside see if the A/C drain is draining some where should seed PVC pipe sticking up and draining? You can take panel off you unit and look in at the A coils. Look along walls of garage for any signs of moisture?

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by RAAndre

After reading this thread I did some searching on the Internet regarding DYI insulating of the garage door. There are several different type kits available for less than $100 bucks for a 9 foot door. People claim it works well and gives you up to a 30 degree temperature reduction inside the garage.

So I am considering a foam panel system from Home Depot (about $65). It seems like a pretty easy project. My door is 12 feet so I would need to double that or split one kit with someone who has the same size door. Check out the videos and let me know if you are interested in splitting a kit.

Access Denied (Won't let me post link - Look for Cellofoam Garage Door Insulation on the Home Depot site.)

Insulating the garage door will only slow down the heat transfer from the outside to the garage interior. The garage will still get just as hot, but it may take a little longer. But, in the evening, the garage will actually take longer to cool down because the heat transfer will flow from the garage to the outside, and the insulation will slow it down.

My garage has no insulation or ventilation. Right now, the outside air temperature is 96 degrees, but my garage temperature is only 91 degrees. My garage never get above about 96 degrees, even when the outside air temperature is 100 degrees.

[big guy]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

There should be no vent that allows air to vent from the garage space to the attic space, unless there is a fire wall separating the attic space above the garage from the rest of the house. That would be a fire code violation. Any vent in the garage should vent air to the outside of your house.

There is one in my house in front of furnace closet, vents to attic, built in 2004, Sumter county.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by big guy

There is one in my house in front of furnace closet, vents to attic, built in 2004, Sumter county.

I think the attic vent is a code violation of the current building code (see Post No. 26). I have also read several expert opinions that say an attached garage should be isolated from the living section of the house and the attic to contain a fire that starts in the garage. If you have a fire with smoke that occurs in the garage, the attic vent will allow the attic to fill up with smoke and permeate the rest of the house. This is my opinion, but maybe a home inspector could provide another opinion.

[REDCART]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I think the attic vent is a code violation of the current building code (see Post No. 26). I have also read several expert opinions that say an attached garage should be isolated from the living section of the house and the attic to contain a fire that starts in the garage. If you have a fire with smoke that occurs in the garage, the attic vent will allow the attic to fill up with smoke and permeate the rest of the house. This is my opinion, but maybe a home inspector could provide another opinion.

If the home has a gas furnace, could that ceiling vent be a vent from the outside to provide the required air for combustion? I seriously doubt that the building inspector would miss such an obvious violation.

[BostonRich]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Insulating the garage door will only slow down the heat transfer from the outside to the garage interior. The garage will still get just as hot, but it may take a little longer. But, in the evening, the garage will actually take longer to cool down because the heat transfer will flow from the garage to the outside, and the insulation will slow it down.

Yeah but that's when we are in the garage, right? Don't really care about the night.

[yabbadu]

Originally Posted by merrymini

I insulated the garage doors myself using insulation purchased from Texas Garage. Easy. And it brought about a reduction of temp of about 20 degrees. My garage faces east. Do not like the vents in the doors and do not want to make additional holes in my roof for fans and such which may have limited value. I can live with this.

Did the material installed make the door movement any less noisy????

[retiredguy123]

The posts on this thread that claim to reduce the garage temperature by 20 or 30 degrees by installing foam insulation on the garage door are not believable. Right now, at 1PM, the outside temperature at my house is 95 degrees and the interior temperature of my garage is 96 degrees. My garage door faces west and has no insulation on the door. Adding insulation to the door wouldn't change anything. Yet, some posters are claiming that adding an inch of foam board to my garage door will magically reduce the garage temperature to 65 or 75 degrees. I would suggest that, before you insulate your garage door, monitor your garage and outside temperatures during the daytime. If the temperature difference is less than about 5 degrees, the door insulation will be a total waste of money.

[crash]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

Heat rises and there is nothing that will drop the garage temp 15 degrees other than air conditioning.

The insulation and radiant barrier prevent the heat from getting in, thus cooler. The inside of the radiant barrier is 15 degrees cooler than the hot side. You can check it out for yourself on the internet just search radiant barrier.

The attic insulation prevents the heat from the attic radiating into the garage.

[crash]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

The posts on this thread that claim to reduce the garage temperature by 20 or 30 degrees by installing foam insulation on the garage door are not believable. Right now, at 1PM, the outside temperature at my house is 95 degrees and the interior temperature of my garage is 96 degrees. My garage door faces west and has no insulation on the door. Adding insulation to the door wouldn't change anything. Yet, some posters are claiming that adding an inch of foam board to my garage door will magically reduce the garage temperature to 65 or 75 degrees. I would suggest that, before you insulate your garage door, monitor your garage and outside temperatures during the daytime. If the temperature difference is less than about 5 degrees, the door insulation will be a total waste of money.

I agree with this because most of the heat is coming from the attic. If the temperature is 95 outside the attic is over 140. Just insulating the door will not help.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by crash

The insulation and radiant barrier prevent the heat from getting in, thus cooler. The inside of the radiant barrier is 15 degrees cooler than the hot side. You can check it out for yourself on the internet just search radiant barrier.

The attic insulation prevents the heat from the attic radiating into the garage.

How is it going to reduce it below ambient temperature when everything in, around, and above it is ambient at least temperature? IMO it Will NOT reduce temperature below ambient temperature. The garage is not sealed air tight.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

How is it going to reduce it below ambient temperature when everything in, around, and above it is ambient at least temperature? IMO it Will NOT reduce temperature below ambient temperature. The garage is not sealed air tight.

It is correct that no matter what you do to the garage, short of installing an air conditioner, you will never get the garage temperature below the outside air temperature.

[hastey001]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

It is correct that no matter what you do to the garage, short of installing an air conditioner, you will never get the garage temperature below the outside air temperature.

[fastboat]

Originally Posted by davephan

Has anyone tried to air condition their insulated garage with a split AC unit? I wonder how much it would cost to cool an insulated garage down to about 80 degrees.

Dreamer!!

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

If you got that much mildew I suspect you have leak or a/C drain not draining and holding moisture? Something causing the mildew and IMO it not normal? You can look outside see if the A/C drain is draining some where should seed PVC pipe sticking up and draining? You can take panel off you unit and look in at the A coils. Look along walls of garage for any signs of moisture?

Thanks for the reply! There are no leaks or A/C drain issues. The problem is likely that the garage door is often not opened/closed for up to a couple months at a time when I am traveling. Therefore, no air movement.

I have installed a dehumidifier, and it dropped the humidity to my set 55% level and cycles on/off as expected. Also got a 20" box fan to move air when I am working in the garage.