ALBUQUERQUE AND SANTA FE Blog

Start Preparing Your Garage for Winter: Insulation Tips & Tricks

Whether your garage is attached to your home or you have a disconnected unit or storage shed, it’s important to have a thorough winterization process to prepare the space for the upcoming cold. This process can take time and getting ahead of the weather can ensure your property is safe and well-maintained throughout the season.

Especially for homes that are attached to a garage space, it’s important to ensure your unit is well insulated and adequately prepared for the rapidly decreasing temperatures. Even for storage sheds and disconnected garages, the time taken helps keep your property stored inside safe throughout the colder months. While most jobs can be handled yourself with a bit of quality insulation education, it’s always a good idea to consult your local insulation contractor for unfamiliar tasks.

5 Ways to Prepare Your Garage for Winter

Inspect Door and Mechanisms

One of your first moves should be to check out the condition of your garage door and system. Checking for cracks, gaps, weathering, and other damages ahead of time will save you before the first snow hits. Not only are you more likely to find better deals and assistance if you need it, but it also puts you ahead of problematic weather that could quickly damage the fixes you’ve made.

It also gives you the opportunity to check the insulation and air sealing around the door. Does it sufficiently keep the cold air out? Are insects and rodents able to find their way into the warmth through small openings? After you’ve taken care of the gaps, make sure the mechanisms are well oiled, tightened, and running properly. There’s nothing worse than your garage door locking up in the middle of an incoming cold front!

Find and Cover Exposed Pipes

If there are water pipes running through your garage, it’s important that they’re properly insulated before the cold starts to set in. Frozen and burst pipes affect unprepared homes every winter, with an average of 37% of frozen pipes occurring in underinsualted basements. Regardless of where your garage is located, a burst pipe can cause significant damage to the structure, plumbing, and property inside of the unit.

It’s especially important to consult an industry contractor if you’re unfamiliar with what kind of pipes are running through your unit. Insulating your pipes takes careful consideration - too much and you could risk a fire, too little and you’re not going to have enough protection. With an insulation expert, they can guide you on the proper insulation and amount of material to apply to pipes. In addition to indoor pipes, be sure any outdoor spigots are properly drained, prepared, and covered before the first significant frost sets in.

Update Air Sealing

As mentioned earlier, it's important to inspect your garage and storage rooms for any gaps, cracks, or openings. Having quality air sealing not only improves the indoor air quality of a space but also prevents pollutants and pests from easily getting into your unit. Additionally, it keeps the desired heat. According to the Department of Energy, about 90% of U.S. homes have poor air sealing and insulation, mostly due to infrequent updates and deteriorated material.

Luckily, sealing the gaps and openings is considered an easy job - you can either choose to call a contractor or take the time for a DIY project. However, what most homeowners miss are the smaller, hidden cracks throughout their homes that aren't as easy to spot. While your doors and windows are the most common culprits of air leaks, there are other openings in your building envelope that could be causing a problem. Pipe and wire holes, foundation or wall damage, and even insect and rodent hiding spots are common, undetected places that are more difficult to spot without a trained eye.

Remove Deteriorated Insulation Material

Insulation can be found in many places throughout your home and garage - throughout the walls, ceiling, and even the floors if you're above a crawl space, basement, or hollowed foundation. It's especially important when your garage is connected to other rooms in the home. Updated insulation can not only help with temperature regulation, but in many cases, the material can improve noise reduction, which can be especially helpful if you have a noisy garage door.

With Koala Insulation of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, you can schedule a free evaluation to have our team come and inspect your home. With a thorough read on your building's current condition, we can give you an accurate breakdown of poorly installed material, inadequate coverage, and deteriorating insulation. Our evaluation also covers air sealing, taking care of two important steps on your garage winter preparation checklist.

Safely Seal Your Flooring

Finally, if you store your vehicles or other large equipment in your garage or storage unit, you may want to consider sealing your floor. This can not only help insulate the area but also prevent salt damage from affecting the concrete underneath the equipment. For most sealants, it's important to regularly wash the area - wear and damage increase the rate of deterioration for most sealants.

Properly prepare the space beforehand, making sure the floor is clean and free of debris and dust. After that, you can apply something like epoxy to seal the flooring and provide a quality barrier between the surface and your vehicles and equipment. While sealing the floor isn’t necessarily a required step to winterizing your garage, it’s a great option if you’re continuously going in and out of the unit.

Consult Albuquerque & Santa Fe’s Insulation Experts

Winterizing your property is a crucial part of preparing your home for the upcoming season. Regardless of whether your city sees inches of snow or it only dips below freezing in the evening, the cold shouldn't be underestimated. Not only could you still experience damages because of underinsulated pipes and faulty mechanics, but you could be wasting energy and spending more on monthly utility bills.

Insulation plays an important part in keeping your home safe and comfortable. With the right industry experts in your corner, the material can also contribute to increased energy efficiency and better temperature regulation throughout the house. Our team at Koala Insulation of Albuquerque and Santa Fe is dedicated to bringing your cost-effective solutions that are the best choice for your home’s specific needs - not just the baseline industry requirements. Contact our team today to schedule your free evaluation and learn more about how insulation can increase your comfort and safety while increasing your savings.