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Insulation Step-by-Step

Make your garage more comfortable in a weekend

POSTED BY: Mark Berger
January 20, 2010

PHOTOS BY MIKE ANDERSON AND COURTESY DOW

Adding insulation to your garage walls can be an easy, stress-free project, depending on the materials you choose. Though fiberglass is a popular choice, it does require you to wear special safety gear during installation, and you may have to deal with air-quality issues as the insulation batts slowly off-gas the formaldehyde that’s used as a binder in the manufacturing process.

However, alternative insulation materials such as Dow’s SafeTouch offer the benefits of fiberglass without the drawbacks. SafeTouch is made from polyester fibers with no formaldehyde binders. You don’t have to wear any special safety gear, and installation takes just half a day for a typical two-car garage. Add in a day to hang drywall and you’ll be ready for mud and tape at the end of a weekend.

Sources

Dow Building Solutions
SafeTouch Insulation
866-583-2583
http://building.dow.com/na/en/

Project Photos


Dow’s SafeTouch has the same R-value as fiberglass, can be installed quickly and doesn’t require you to wear protective gear while you work.	Step 1 After removing the insulation batts from their bags, gently fluff them so they can expand to their normal thickness.	Step 2 Work your way down the walls, gently tucking the insulation batts between the studs. Use scissors to cut the batts to length, to width to fit in any narrower-than-normal stud bays or to fit around any obstacles such as receptacle boxes.

Step 3 Once the insulation is in place, cut and install the drywall sheets.	Use expanding polyurethane foam such as Great Stuff (shown here) to fill any gaps, cracks or voids where air could penetrate.	For areas where there’s no room for batts (such as against concrete block), use adhesive to secure rigid foam insulation over the surfaces.