Insulated Sectional Garage Door - Better for Bedroom Above?

seanfos

We have a room above our integral garage that is consistently 2-3 degrees colder than the landing and other bedrooms. It is a new build property, so should have good levels of insulation throughout. The garage door is a standard, very flimsy, up-and-over one and the garage itself is much colder than anywhere in the house. Is installing an insulated sectional garage door likely to have much benefit to keeping the room above warm (assuming windows, radiator, room insulation, etc. are as they should be)?

Thanks

Sean

grumbler

seanfos said:

Is installing an insulated sectional garage door likely to have much benefit to keeping the room above warm

Define 'much'.

Of course, it will be an improvement, but it has be sealed around, not just insulated, and this is more difficult to do for a 'flimsy' door.

seanfos

grumbler said:

Define 'much'

Thank you for replying. My aim is to eliminate the temperature difference between this bedroom and the landing area, as walking through the bedroom door you can instantly feel it is much colder. I am trying to decide if replacing the garage door is likely to achieve this, if the other items mentioned in my first post are all up to scratch (I am working to confirm this). I spoke to an installer who happened to be onsite and he estimated around £2,000 for the job, but would need a survey first

Sean

TadleyBaggie

An unheated garage is always going to be cold in winter, changing the door isn't going to affect that very much. 

grumbler

I think for £2K you can insulate the garage ceiling with a much better effect. Not sure if it has to be some special fire-resistant insulation though.

Can you check how the bedroom floor is insulated? From modern developers you can expect pretty much anything, including no insulation at all.

Mutton_Geoff

I'd be tempted to lose some ceiling height in the garage and overboard with 2 or 3" insulated plasterboard. If you need more fireproofing then standard celotex then pink plasterboard over that. Seal any gaps around the edges. Unless you are going to insulate and heat the rest of the garage, there is no point doing anything other than the ceiling.

seanfos

Thank you for your thoughts all. So the garage currently has fire rated plasterboard that is sealed all round, then Posi Joists (the metal web type engineered ones) stuffed with rockwool type insulation. I can speak with the site manager to get specific details if needed. There is certainly enough height in the garage to add an additional layer of insulation and plasterboard. Maybe combine this with replacing the garage door for a full solution if needed?  I am thinking of hiring a thermal imaging camera or having a survey done so I can go back to the developers if something isn’t right, but want to get ideas first.  It will be easier to go back to them armed with facts rather than try and argue that they should carry out the checks

Sean

Mutton_Geoff

seanfos said:

Posi Joists (the metal web type engineered ones) stuffed with rockwool type insulation.

As long as there is no air movement in the void (air is a great insulator as long as it's not moving, loft insulation simply traps air). If it's a major housebuilder, I expect a few bits of loft insulation just thrown in there. Is there any chance to lift the bedroom floor or is it glued chipboard? You can improve the insulation under the bedroom floor for not much money but the garage door will be a waste of money unless you plan to heat the garage. The floor and walls of the garage may not be insulated to the same standard as the rest of the house so spend with caution!

silverwhistle

In addition maybe upgrade the carpet undelay and possibly that thin board insulation too, as an incremental improvement.

Lorian

How thick is the rockwool. Sounds like the floor might not be the issue if it's insulated. Might want to check it's not the lockshield valves on the bedroom radiators not allowing enough heat in there (search for radiator balancing)

seanfos

To answer the questions above, it is a small local developer not a big national so they care about their reputation in the area. I have not seen the insulation in our home, as it was already boarded, but have in others at various stages and have confidence it should have been well fitted barring any mistakes. Not sure how thick the insulation layer is, but can speak to the guys working here.  The bedroom is carpet, underlay and EGGER Protect boards glued to the joists. I don’t really want to do any “damage” in there, as if there is an issue I can prove then I can put it on to the developer to fix and make good. It’s a good point that the garage walls may not be insulated, I’ll see if I can confirm that

Sean