The garage can simultaneously serve as a workshop, cellar and home for a car. And if you also take into account the affection of some motorists to their cars, then a second home for a person. True, metal garages do poorly with their functions. If they are still able to protect the car from rain and snow, then for all other characteristics the situation is deplorable. In the summer, the metal box warms up so that the room is more like a sauna than a workshop. In winter, another misfortune. The temperature inside is very slightly different from the temperature outside.

And in the autumn-winter period in such a garage there is an increased formation of condensate, which is very bad for a car. Is it possible to fix the situation? After all, not everyone has the opportunity to build a capital garage of brick or concrete. To adjust the climatic conditions in the garage, we have to warm it. And here is how and what this article will tell.

Content

1. What determines the success of insulation
2. What should be a garage
3. Metal garage insulation features
4. Choose a heater
5. Correct installation is the key to success

What determines the success of insulation

It would seem that it can be special in warming metal garage? Choose a better insulation and mount. But no. Did you know that 95% of success in carrying out such types of work does not depend on the insulation at all. In order to decide how to insulate a metal garage and achieve success in this, it is necessary:

• take into account all the features of the insulated object, in our case, a metal garage;
• choose the right insulation;
• make the installation correctly.

What should be a garage

It should be dry with a relative humidity of not more than 70% and an optimal temperature inside + 50C. This is the standard that we should strive for. The norms are taken from SNiP, and relate to parking lots, on which service vehicles, such as ambulances, etc. Our garage  not a station of the Ministry of Emergencies, but, nevertheless, tends to these indicators is necessary. This will extend the service life of the car, and it will leave less nerves when leaving the garage in the winter.

Metal garage insulation features

Features of a metal garage are:

• the metal frame has its own specific characteristics (thermal conductivity, corrosion, etc.), which in their performance are significantly lower than capital buildings;
• lack of foundation and, as a consequence, the possible lack of waterproofing from the ground;
• not all garages are equipped with a suitable ventilation system.

The last two features have a direct effect on the humidity in the garage. The higher it is, the less the vehicle will live. Since the topic of our article is the insulation of the garage, we will not dwell on ways to eliminate these shortcomings. Although all this is interconnected. We only note that the ventilation system can be mounted as follows. We need an asbestos-cement pipe with a diameter of 150 mm, we need to install it, so that the end of the pipe in the garage is as low as possible to the floor. If possible, we make waterproofing of the garage flooring.

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Now for the metal frame. Its peculiarity is that if we do not have combined walls with other garages and it does not heat up, then we will have to insulate the garage from the outside. Or both. Not only does the internal insulation make the already scarce space even smaller, it essentially shifts the dew point to the inner metal surface of the walls. This will significantly reduce the thermal insulation parameters and lead to accelerated corrosion of the garage box. In addition, this makes it impossible to use certain types of thermal insulation materials. For example, mineral wool. Over time, it absorbs the emerging moisture and simply loses all its properties.

Therefore, if there is no way to insulate garage from the street, then internal insulation is considered an ideal option, plus we paint the outside of the garage with special heat-insulating paint.

Choose a heater

How to insulate a metal garage from the inside? Immediately, we note that such a heater as extruded and expanded polystyrene foam for internal insulation of the garage is not applicable at all. Upon contact with vapors of gasoline, fuel oil, propane and other gases, it is destroyed. For internal insulation, the following most suitable materials can be distinguished:

• Mineral wool, preferably based on basalt (can withstand temperatures up to 1000 * C). It is possible and glass wool, but its installation is a pleasure. Requires additional vapor barrier, such as lining;
• Arbolit is a type of lightweight concrete with organic additives. The density of the material is 500 kg / m3, almost like aerated concrete. Refers to refractory materials. Highly resistant to mold damage, which is only a plus for metal garages;
• Penoizol (liquid foam) is an inexpensive insulation, ideal for warming metal garages, easily penetrates into inaccessible places without leaving cold bridges. Minus one cannot be insulated independently; you have to hire a company.

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For external insulation, you can use:

• Polyfoam grade PBS - S-25, a fairly dense material. The prefix C means that the composition contains a flame retardant that prevents the burning of the material;
• Liquid heat-insulating paint, such as Teplomett or others. Helps to shift the dew point to the outer surface of the wall and prevents metal corrosion;
• Siding and other materials waiting for outdoor application.

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Correct installation is the key to success

As already mentioned, a good choice of insulation for the garage is not enough. It is more important to make the correct installation. By this is meant the following:

• When installing mineral wool inside the garage to create the frame, we take only a wooden beam, as in the video below. This is due to the fact that the metal profile will be a bridge of cold, i.e. heat will leak through it, and moisture will collect on its surface. Accordingly, cotton wool will get wet and there will be no sense in our work;
• For insulation based on mineral or glass wool, it is imperative to provide reliable vapor-tight protection. A specially treated lining is best suited;
• With external foam insulation, the installation of plates always starts horizontally from the bottom. The plates are glued close to each other, the presence of a gap in the potential cold bridge is unacceptable;
• Since the reinforcing mesh on the glued boards is given only on the third day, it is best to buy boards with already finished face. They are a little more expensive, but the headache is much less, because all three days direct sunlight should not fall on the foam. Because ultraviolet light destroys the structure of the foam, it turns yellow and crumbles.

We hope our material will help to properly insulate the metal house for your car. And he will faithfully serve you for many years.

Author: Sergey and Svetlana Khuentsov

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