How to Keep Your Garage Warm During Winter

by George Karonis

A well-insulated, warm garage will provide you with an all year round usable workspace, even when the temperatures outdoors drop to extreme lows. However, even if you don’t plan on spending a lot of time in your “garage shop” this winter, it’s still wise to winterize and warm your garage.

A garage that becomes too cold can not only damage your car, but it can damage any equipment you’re storing in it. Winterizing your garage will also save you money. So, here are some ways that will help you keep your garage warm this winter.

  1. Replacing Weather Stripping
    Before you begin insulating your garage, you’ll want to seal up all air leaks that could be allowing your garage’s warm air to leak outside and let the cold air inside.
You can do this by inspecting and replacing weather stripping on your garage doors and windows. Over time, weather stripping becomes brittle and cracked, created cold drafts and air leaks. To replace the weather stripping, first remove the existing weather stripping, scraping off all the sealant. Apply the new weather stripping carefully.
You’ll want to ensure you measure and align the new weather stripping properly to your garage door to ensure a proper seal. To do this, close your garage door and align the weather stripping to where you’ve flattened the rubber flap against the door.
  1. Insulating the Garage Walls and Ceiling
    Now that you’ve sealed the warm air in and cold air out, you should add another layer of insulation. Insulation acts like a protective barrier for your garage. While there are various materials used for insulation, you should use fiberglass batt insulation for the garage, ensuring you choose the right thickness based on your garage walls.

Install your insulation according to the installation guide instructions to ensure you do it properly.

  1. Insulating the Garage Door
    Before you install the insulation, you’ll need to cut it so it fills the panels of your garage door and then use adhesive to secure it. Not all garage doors have recessed panels which make the insulation project a little more difficult.

If you’re finding it too hard to insulate your garage door or despite installing the insulation you’re still feeling the cold, you may be better off replacing the door with a modern, already insulated design.

  1. Installing a Heater
    While weather stripping and insulation will definitely help to keep the cold outdoor air from leaking into your space, they’re not going to warm it up.

So, if you want your garage to be nice and toasty all winter long, you should install a unit heater. These are inexpensive to install and don’t take up much space. You can choose between a gas heater or electric. A mini-split heat pump is a better energy efficient option.

  1. In-Floor Heat
    Just like your bathroom, you can heat your garage with warm floors. An in-floor heating system can make a great addition to your other heat source and will keep your toes, neck and back toasty from the ground up.

Remember, since your garage is going to be “buttoned up” all winter long, you should use a garage exhaust fan, especially if you work in your garage and use chemicals and other toxins. Garage exhaust fans, like the QuietCool GA ES-1500, will help exhaust these garage pollutants keeping the air you breathe clean.

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