Have you ever been in the room above your garage or someone else’s and found that it’s way too hot or cold in there?
There’s a reason for that.
It is rare for builders to insulate floors above garages. And it is common for the walls of above garage rooms to have inadequate thermal treatment and/or air leaks which can cause serious temperature fluctuations and decrease overall air comfort.
This is why the room above your garage deserves better insulation!
So how do you fix this problem?
There are two solutions: increase airflow and improve the envelope.
Most above garage rooms need more air flow compared to the rest of your home, especially if the room is under-insulated or has air leaks. You can increase air flow by balancing your HVAC system to decrease airflow to some rooms and increase airflow to the room above your garage.
This is a simple, non-intrusive way to make the room more comfortable. However, in some cases the above garage room may need a lot more air (up to 400 cubic feet per minute) which most HVAC systems cannot accommodate for.
If increasing air flow is not an option, you can look to improve your envelope.
So what is an envelope?
The envelope is terminology used for your homes thermal and air barrier to the outside world. In other words, the walls and insulation of your home.
Most above garage rooms are built with a low quality envelope compared to the rest of your home. They are especially typically under-insulated. By adding insulation between your garage and upstairs room, you can bring the envelope of this space up to par with the rest of your home.
So if you’re finding your above garage space to be too hot or cold, you may need to increase air flow or improve your homes envelope.
If you are planning to build a home with a room above the garage, it is important make sure your builder plans to properly insulate this space and add proper ducting for sufficient air flow. It is better to spend the little bit of extra money to properly build this space right off the bat.