Help me seal my integral garage.

Quinnaay · 13 Sep 2019 at 13:49

So I've been moved in now around 6 months and it's been pretty none stop. I now need to sort this garage door for the winter as it makes the house downstairs cold.

So it's a roller garage door and has drafts all over.. recommended seals/methods for top bottom and sides as cheap as possible please???

Top from outside the door

bazzabear · 13 Sep 2019 at 14:21

Do you ever put a car in it? Because if you do, I'd reckon you really don't want it sealed, as you need to vent moisture.

Would it be a smaller, cheaper job to upgrade the portal between the garage and the main house instead? Better door, better seals around it - maybe even a door and frame that are intended to be external? Would be more secure too.

Mind you, I'm assuming that the door is the only insulative weakness. I dunno how they actually put these things together. Surely the walls between garage and house are double skinned. Is the ceiling of the garage / floor of the room above properly insulated too?

Quinnaay · 13 Sep 2019 at 14:27

bazzabear said:
Do you ever put a car in it? Because if you do, I'd reckon you really don't want it sealed, as you need to vent moisture.

Would it be a smaller, cheaper job to upgrade the portal between the garage and the main house instead? Better door, better seals around it - maybe even a door and frame that are intended to be external? Would be more secure too.

Mind you, I'm assuming that the door is the only insulative weakness. I dunno how they actually put these things together. Surely the walls between garage and house are double skinned. Is the ceiling of the garage / floor of the room above properly insulated too?

The door is pretty much just a standard internal wooden door, so that is an option. I dont keep my car in the garage though either. As for being double skinned i believe it is. Insulated id also guess it is, the upstairs doesnt get cold, its mainly the draft from what id guess is the garage door into the "porch" which then goes into the kitchen. Maybe a better seal on the bottom of the door and new door could be a better solution.

matthab · 13 Sep 2019 at 15:37

I would be changing the garage door to something more modern as you can see the light coming through that one, this will also help make the property more secure. I would also change the door to an external one, this would add further security and prevent drafts.

Depends how much you want to spend.

NoobCannon · 13 Sep 2019 at 17:49

If you dont use it as a garage then brick it up. Prob cost just as much as the other messing around

Resident · 13 Sep 2019 at 20:14

My sister had a similar setup. Her other half just put up a frame up and plaster boarded it both sides with insulation in the middle.

Turned it into a games room eventually.

Quinnaay · 14 Sep 2019 at 11:34

I'd like to keep it as a garage its useful for storage and the washer, dryer, freezer etc. I can't justify a new garage door either really . . Think an external door will have to do for now.

hominid · 17 Sep 2019 at 18:21

Cheap way to fix the sides is expanding foam, once its set you can cut and paint if it bothers you. As has been said you won't completely seal the garage as that is not ideal.

Derek W · 17 Sep 2019 at 23:20

Quinnaay said:
The door is pretty much just a standard internal wooden door, so that is an option. I dont keep my car in the garage though either. As for being double skinned i believe it is. Insulated id also guess it is, the upstairs doesnt get cold, its mainly the draft from what id guess is the garage door into the "porch" which then goes into the kitchen. Maybe a better seal on the bottom of the door and new door could be a better solution.

If im reading this right, you walk into your garage through the roller shutter door. To get into the house you go through the garage into a 'porch' then into the Kitchen but you've said the door from your garage to house is a standard internal door? If this is the case it's the internal door that you should be replacing for an insulated fire door. That's the weak point, not the roller shutter door. As mentioned above, the garage needs some element of ventilation. Also if you've got a second internal door between the 'porch' and kitchen, if you keep this shut you'll find the draft is greatly reduced as well. When my missus doesn't shut the internal door after the porch her house becomes cool quite quickly, but when it gets shut the heat stays in the house for longer.