Below are some of the products that I’ve installed in my shop that have made a huge difference in helping me be able to control the temperature. The first 3 items that I have listed are what I consider to be the most impactful changes that I’ve made. Each of them were very easy to install. In fact, the insulation probably took the most amount of time and effort and I had it completed in less than half a day.
For a more detailed look at options available to you for heating and cooling your shop, take a look at my article here.
Garage Door Insulation Kit – Installing this kit made the biggest change in temperatures to my shop. The door on the house I purchased didn’t have an insulated door.
It took me about 3 or 4 hours to install these, but they dropped the temperature immediately. I noticed a complete difference the following day. The big selling point for me on this particular brand was the fact that they have a thick plastic skin backing that separates the insulation from the open air side in the garage. At our house, there’s kids always running in and out and the door can take a beating. The hard plastic shell helps protect the insulation.
Other brands have a plastic covering similar to a garbage bag that hides the insulation. I just felt like this would easily get caught on stuff and tear. In the end, I believe all the garage door insulation has the same level of effectiveness. The more heavy duty coating was the major selling point for me.
Spring Loaded Energy Saving Garage Door Hinge – These hinges have made a huge difference in my shop which is amazing given what they are. I love them! Normal hinges that come with your garage door have no resistance. They bend and conform to whatever movement is needed to move the door along the rollers. Since there’s no resistance of any type on these hinges, when your door closes, there is often a gap on the sides of your door. Even the slightest increase in outdoor winds can open this gap a few tenths of an inch which allows more outside air into your shop.
These hinges are built with a heavy duty spring attached to them. You will not notice any differences in how your door operates until it is in the closed position. Once closed, these springs go into action and force each panel of your garage door to close in a tighter position. This extra tension eliminates the gaps created on the sides of the garage door which in turn prevents outside air from blowing in.
They’ve made a huge difference in my shop. I’ve also noticed a significant drop in sound from the outside. Since we moved into our house, I’ve been worried about neighbors complaining about the noise of my running saws. These springs have helped deaden the volume fairly significantly. They ended up helping me solve two problems – reducing air leaks and adding a barrier for noise.
These hinges are made to be direct replacements to your existing ones. They are super easy to change out and the customer support at Green Hinge is excellent!
Garage Door Threshold – I looked at several thresholds before deciding on this one. The final deciding factor for me was all the great reviews for this particular model. I can definitely tell a difference since installing it. It helps to close the gap that always exists between the door and the floor of your garage.
Even though there was very little light that passed through under my door prior to installing this threshold, it was obvious air passed under the door as well as water when it rained. I always had a significant amount of water pass under my door in even a moderate rain shower. Add a small amount of wind, and the amount of water increased significantly.
After I put this down, all of that stopped! The install is very easy. It sticks to the floor with liquid nails (a strong caulk). It may have taken me 15 minutes to install and that was with my kiddo helping!