Should I insulate my garage?

[BigD]

I have a house built in 2017. 2300 sq feet and very well insulated. It has a 1350 sq foot garage with an rv bay. The garage walls are insulated, but I was surprised to find out the attic is not. My wife works out in the garage and in the winter it is in the low forties with an outside temp in the teens and in the summer it will get close to 100 . I installed an inferred heater over her workout area which has helped quite a bit. I looked into an hvac system and it is more than we want to spend. Do any of you think that insulating the attic at a cost of about $1200 would help to maintain a more comfortable temp year around?
Thanks for any opinions.

 

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

DIY, we did my sons garage and cut the holes our selves and rented an insilation blower and bought the material, not as big an area as yours but I believe it was like 500 bucks, he also did a mini split AC which was yes expensive but its like 200 degrees in there in the summer in AZ so no brainer. Its now nicer in the garage than the house!!!! Also insalated the garage doors

 

[Bdjones]

Are you using be blow in insulation?

I live in North Dakota where it gets bitter cold and I can be comfortable in my garage during negative temps. Both my walls and ceiling are insulated and I have a large electric ceiling heater. I'll run on low for a 5 minutes to warm it up. Holds the great real good.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[coyotecreek]

Can you partition a workout area and only insulate that area? Would be much easier to heat and cool that way

 

[wilydawg]

Insulation will definitely help big time. And I see you're in Idaho. As I'm sure you know, dry climates allow for the use of evaporative coolers. I put one in my garage (easy wall mount and not expensive), and along with the insulation it's comfortable even on the hottest days...

 

[Fridaythe13th]

I definitely would. But make sure you have enough roof vent if you have asphalt shingles. Otherwise it well take some life out of those shingles because the attic above the garage gets to hot in the summer.

 

[Werty]

Yes, make sure everything is too code. It makes life easier.

 

[crich]

Ceiling insulation is more important than the walls. If you value having the garage insulated at all I definitely would do the attic. Easy DIY just PITA.

 

[Idahoguy]

If you a re only insulating the attic, use blow in from home depot. I think the machine is free if you buy the insulation. 2 guys and a garage will only take a couple hours.

 

[Mt Al]

IHMO, do it even if you have to finance it. With the walls done you're almost there, why not finish? When the sun beats on your roof, the amount of heat transferred to your living area crazy. We get the same thing here. Even adding a little insulation and a soffit or gable end vent makes a huge difference. My 2 cents

 

[EastHumboldt]

Insulating the attic is money well spent. It will pay you back in energy savings and comfort over the years. Make sure you ventilate though because the heat will build up in the attic.

 

[BigD]

Thanks for all the replies. .I priced it out and I would only save about $100 DIY. I agree attic is the most important. Builder did a great job on the wall insulation, even insulated the rv walls above the ceiling of the two car section. cant really partition off the work out area because of the layout.
You guys are telling me what I wanted to hear, time to insulate!

 

[dieselchessy]

Are your doors insulated? They will be the next hot spot if not and they face south at all.

 

[wapitibob]

It'll help but the cold is coming from the concrete slab.

 

[EastHumboldt]

To be technical... the concrete slab is absorbing heat, not giving off cold. The ground wants to stay at a temp of 50-55 degrees give or take, so uninsulated doors will allow more heat to escape than will escape into the slab. Also if the doors face south they will allow more radiant heat in the summer.

 

[BigD]

Doors are insulated and face north. The rv bay has the outside wall and faces west. There are three windows(wont open) that are about 14' up on the outside wall.

 

[buckslayer5676]

Definitely insulate! You'll notice a huge difference.

 

[Echo]

Howdy all, I’m a new member - first post. I say go for it with insulation. It makes that space more useable and the rise of ‘working from home ‘ is just beginning. Beyond the comfort the insulation offers, it will probably add nice value to the house as well.

good luck

 

[Blockcaver]

Insulate it. We built our house in '16 and insulated the garage just like the house and used the same type of windows and manway doors. Installed insulated garage doors too, including on the RV bay. It is very comfortable in the summer and does not get very cold in the winter. This is the first insulated garage we've had out of the 4 and its way nicer.

 

[keller]

I was in the same situation after 10 years I finally insulated the attic.rented a blower had about $700 in to it made a big difference. Took about 5 hours.
Good luck