TWIN CITIES WEST Blog

Winterizing Your Minnesota Garage

Whether you simply use your garage for parking your car or as your home workshop, you’ve probably noticed it gets a bit chilly during our Minnesota winters. You might be asking yourself, “how can I make my garage warm?” 

Well, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep out the elements and make keeping your garage warm an affordable possibility.

Insulating Your Garage Walls and Attic

Attached garages in MN will have a layer of insulation in the wall separating the garage from your home, just like any other exterior wall. This approach keeps your home warm no matter how cold the garage gets, but what if you want a warm garage? Well, the first step is going to be insulating the garage walls.

The best kind of insulation for your garage walls is going to be batt insulation. It’s affordable, effective, and quick to install. The compact fiberglass sheets are the perfect choice for unfinished garages and practically turn your garage into another indoor living space.

For the attic, one can go a number of different routes with blown in insulation using either cellulose or fiberglass.  Another great option to really seal the attic space up is using spray foam.

Ensuring You Have Proper Weatherstripping

Of course, weatherstripping is going to play a huge part in how livable garages in MN can be. It’s essential for any external doors, but even more so for garage doors. The weatherstripping covers a wide area along the bottom of your garage door and creates the seal required to keep out wind and snow.

Older weatherstripping can become brittle after warming and cooling too many times. It then develops cracks and holes, letting freezing drafts enter your garage. You might as well leave a window open if you don’t plan on getting quality weatherstripping for your garage.

Shoring Up Your Garage Door

The garage door itself is another major source of heat loss for your garage. Whether metal or vinyl, the thin material of your garage door allows heat to escape very easily. Luckily, it can be insulated much the same way that your walls are.

Batt insulation can be cut to any shape or size, so it’s easy to apply to the individual panels of your garage door. Now you’ll have the protection from the elements you need to prevent excess heat from escaping your garage.

Heating Your Garage in Minnesota

A properly insulated garage will be a bit warmer because it’s right up against your house, but unless it’s heated, it’s still not a very inviting space. There are a number of heating options available for garages in Minnesota that can do just that. 

You could go with a small, permanent heating unit like a mini-split heat pump or simply use portable unit heaters that you can run as needed.

Heating Your Garage

Koala Insulation of Twin Cities West is here to help you with any of your insulation needs. We can quickly turn your garage into a functional space with batt insulation for your walls and garage door. Book your free consultation with us today!