Insulate garage?

BlueBSH

I have a completely finished attached garage... which right now is not insulated one bit... is it worth insulating it? right now we have the wall that goes into the house uninsulated (not sure what smart builder said leave that not insulated) which lets in a LOT of cold into the house in the winter... which I am definatly going to insulate this summer (15ft of wall, no big problem to redo) but the whole garage is not insulated... any reason I sould redo all the garage drywall and insulate it the whole way? it does get noisy in there since its near a road... maybe insulation would dampen the noise some? or should I look at like a blown in stuff for the walls that arnt part of the main house? (i need a vapor barrier there since there is none at all right now)

hyunelan2

Here, it's code that the wall between the livingspace and the garage needs to be insulated. In my last house, that was the only part of the garage that was insulated, the rest was not. After one winter without insulation, I finished the walls of the garage with faced R-13 batts and drywall. It made a HUGE difference the next winter, especially in the bedroom that sat partially above the garage.

I would imagine that all that airspace between the drywall and outside wall helps to amplify the noise - like a drum. I could be wrong on that though.

Nostco

Whether your garage is heated or not, insulating all the walls will make a difference.

100% Insulate/Vapour barrier the walls connecting to your house.

As for the other ones, it's up to you. You don't NEED to, it's whether you WANT to or not. It will reduce noise, especially if you go with safe and sound or another product specially made for sound reduction. Insulating all the walls will help with reducing the cold that penetrates your garage, but weigh the cost of doing that to the potential energy savings of only insulating the partioning walls between your house and the garage.

If you're going to go that far, might as well heat the garage

BlueBSH

I'd assume the kraft paper vapor barrier is enough for the house wall? or should I somehow have a plastic one put in place?

Nostco

Regular batt insulation requires 6mm poly.

I use either standard batts (no paper face) with the poly, or 2lb poly spray foam

I'm not familiar with the paper stuff, I never trusted it so I never used it.
Read the manufacturer's instructions, if it claims to act as a vapour barrier, then you definitely DO NOT want to add an additional layer. Double v.b. causes more damage than no vapour barrier.

Gary in WA

http://www.buildingscience.com/docum...ecommendations

http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/energ...gy-claims.aspx

Be safe, Gary

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