The technical condition of your machine will depend not only on the features of its operation, but also on storage conditions. When the garage is not insulated, it will protect the car from rain and snow, but will not reduce the likelihood of rust.
Temperature differences have never been beneficial to the metal, for this reason the technique may fail. Today, garage owners are solving this problem in two ways. One of them is insulation, while the other is the arrangement of a heating system.
Garage insulation requirements
When constructing a garage, they usually choose:
- metal;
- cinder block;
- brick.
The thickness of the cinder block and brick walls usually varies from 120 to 250 mm. Such walls are not able to protect against severe frost, so they need to be insulated. In the process of such work, it is necessary to try to achieve the effect of a thermos so that the room does not cool down so quickly.
All ventilation openings should not be sealed during internal work. This will negatively affect the metal, which will become covered with moisture, which over time provokes the appearance of rust. In this case, harmful gases will accumulate in the room, and if there is no ventilation or exhaust, then this can become a risk factor for a person.
Which insulation to choose - external or internal
Before insulating the garage, you must decide where the work will be carried out - from the outside or from the inside. When there is a need to save space, the facade should be insulated. With internal insulation, you should seriously approach the issue of choosing a material, because it can release harmful substances into the atmosphere. Whereas for external thermal insulation such solutions can perfectly suit. The cheapest and easiest solution will be a curtain to the garage.
But with external insulation on environmental friendliness, you can pay not so much attention, focusing on cost and performance. The impact of negative environmental factors on materials installed from the inside will not be so disastrous. But when wet, they lose their properties, as a result of this they are ready to serve less. If the budget allows, then thermal insulation is best done not only from the inside, but also from the outside.
Material selection
If you have a question about how to insulate a garage, then you should consider a few materials. As practice shows, most of them are made from industrial waste. The composition usually includes:
- chemical substances;
- cellulose;
- glass.
The lower the cost, the more defects will have a heater. The choice should be made taking into account the advantages and disadvantages, as well as limitations in the field of use.
Is mineral wool suitable
This heat insulator is traditional. They have been using it for several decades. On sale you can find several varieties of this insulation, but basalt cotton wool has proven itself better than the others. It has high sound and heat insulation properties, and it can be operated without disturbing the air microcirculation.
Mineral wool can be represented by semi-rigid, soft and hard mats of different thicknesses. The plates are easy to install and have high technical and operational characteristics. Rigid mats do not slip off the walls and do not stray from below, as happens with soft ones.
The installation technology is simple, and special equipment is not required for operation. That is why many garage owners choose the described solutions for insulating the garage from the inside. But products do not tolerate moisture well. When wet, they retain heat worse. When calculating the cost of repairs, it is necessary to take into account the cost of high-quality vapor and waterproofing.
Advantages and disadvantages of glass wool
This material is one of the cheapest. But this is where the benefits end. During installation, you will need to use personal protective equipment, because if the particles get into the eyes or on the skin, the material can hurt, causing redness, itching and microtrauma.
This insulation during installation needs waterproofing. If during installation or operation the glass wool is exposed to moisture, then it will lose its properties. Another disadvantage is the smell. It will be unpleasant to smell in the room after the completion of insulation work for a long time. When laying glass wool is well insulated with foil or film.
Should I use Styrofoam
Warming the garage with foam allows you to achieve the result at the lowest cost. This material is durable and reliable; it is able to last several decades. Cloths do not rot, are not afraid of a fungus and insects. They can be cut with an ordinary tool. Assistants are not required for installation, because it is convenient to work with plates, they are extremely light.
But polystyrene cannot be called ideal. It does not allow air to pass through, so it is necessary to organize intensive ventilation in the room, and the joints between the sheets must be well sealed to prevent accumulation of condensate. Polyfoam is resistant to chemical compounds, but is afraid of ultraviolet radiation. It attracts rodents. If you do not worry about additional protective measures, rodents can destroy the insulation in a couple of years.
Pros and cons of polyurethane foam
When choosing a material for insulating a garage, you should pay attention to polyurethane foam, which is a relatively new but popular solution. It is valued for its resistance to external influences. The insulation is not afraid of moisture, and after drying forms a hydrophobic dense coating.
After application, the structure expands, filling voids and gaps. The adhesion of polyurethane foam is very high, so it adheres well to other materials. Condensation does not accumulate under the layer, the material is not combustible and is ready to last more than 50 years.
With all the advantages, this insulation has some disadvantages, as one of them is the complexity of installation. For application, special equipment will be needed, so work is usually trusted by professionals. This entails another drawback, expressed in the cost of thermal insulation work. But the finished coating justifies the investment.
Inside insulation technology
For high-quality thermal insulation, it is necessary to pay attention not only to the walls, but also to the ceiling, floor, and gates. The choice of materials is extensive, so you can choose exactly the solution that is suitable for specific conditions. Most often, modern consumers stop at polystyrene, expanded clay and mineral wool. The second is laid on the floor.
Experts recommend combining heat insulators, since building structures are usually made of different materials. To insulate the garage from the inside, the floor is poured with concrete, so it is better to insulate it at the construction stage. The ground cover is leveled and compacted, a layer of sand from 10 to 30 cm thick is poured on top, which is well compacted.
The screed is poured on top and left until dry. As a heater, you can use sand or expanded clay. Materials are mixed with cement and diluted with water. The solution is poured onto the floor and dried. When it dries, you can start pouring the final concrete screed. After completion of the work, the floor cannot be operated for about a month.
Ceiling insulation
If you decide how to insulate the garage, then the next step is to do the ceiling. Styrofoam is excellent for this. You can also use mineral wool. The choice of technology will depend on the material. If the ceiling is wooden, then the foam can be fixed to the surface with nails or dowels.
When the floor is represented by a concrete slab, you will have to install the frame, and then put the insulation. In this case, the canvases are attached with tape, and then pressed against the outer skin. Gaps and crevices are filled with foam. The surface of such a ceiling is treated with antiseptics, covered with plaster and painted.
Wall insulation
The insulation of the walls of the garage is accompanied by their leveling. As a heater, you can use:
- polyurethane foam;
- Styrofoam;
- heat insulating paints.
For walls made of bricks and blocks, glass wool and mineral wool are often used. For cotton insulators, the walls are pre-cleaned of old coatings and supplemented with a frame. A cotton insulation is laid on it, which is fixed with special nuts. It will be protected by a breathable vapor barrier in the form of a film.
If you, like many, want to know how to insulate the garage from the inside with your own hands, then in the case of metal walls you can use polystyrene foam. The surface for this is degreased, the foam is installed on the glue and pressed tightly to the base. Sheets must be stacked and the gaps filled with foam. When it hardens, its excess is cut off, and the surface is putty and painted.
Gate protection
When insulating work, you should also take an interest in how to insulate the gates in the garage. For this, the shutters are finished with polystyrene according to the same principle as in the case of metal walls. If this is not enough, then you can also make a veil. A thick plastic film or a thick cloth is usually used for this.
Before you insulate the garage from the inside with your own hands, you must make a crate, in the cells of which a heater is inserted, fixed by dowels and glue. Seams and joints, as well as gaps, are filled to prevent the formation of cold bridges. The foam is coated with putty, painted or covered with sheets of finish cladding.
When the work is completed, in front of the gate you can hang the curtain in the garage, which is made from strips of polyethylene. Their width should be a limit of 20 to 30 cm. The length should be such that there is a distance of 2 cm between the curtain and the floor.
Roof insulation: tool preparation
To conduct thermal insulation of the roof, it is necessary to prepare the following tools and materials:
- glue;
- wooden blocks;
- hammer drill;
- drill;
- screwdriver;
- hammer;
- carpentry tools;
- dowels;
- self-tapping screws;
- waterproofing membrane;
- fungal dowels;
- paints.
This list is subject to change, it will all depend on what technology you plan to use.
Technology of work
Garage roof insulation can be done outside. If the roof is flat, then foam concrete can be laid on reinforced concrete slabs, on top of which a cement-sand screed is poured. But the plates are pre-cleaned from all sorts of influx, dust and dirt. The joints and junctions are sealed with foam.
A heater can be a foam of high strength. It is stacked in 2 layers. Plates are fixed among themselves with construction film. The next layer will be waterproofing as a roofing material or under-roofing film. There will be a concrete screed with additives in the form of reinforcement or reinforced fiber on top. Frost-resistant mixtures can be added to the concrete composition, which will exclude cracking.