Questions and Answers for Reach Barrier Reflective Air Garage Door Insulation Kit

A:  No. You'll need a better barrier and don't open the garage door no matter what kind of barrier you have since you'll lose any kind of climate control when you let the outside air in.

A:  It is insulation. It will keep your garage cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. It is like a space blanket on your garage door.

A:  It adds some insulation for sure. Not knowing what part of the country you were in or how much your current garage door helps, which way the sun faces etc. In general it makes it a little bit more insulated than just plain thin metal

A:  No. Generally, it will be about 10 degrees warmer, or cooler, depending on the season. The only way you make the garage warm is to seal it and put heaters in it.

A:  It does add extra insulation for both the winter cold and summer heat.  During the day stand in the garage  with the all doors shut  to see if any door areas show light, if so, seal those.  New weather strip &/or bottom garage door rubber seal.   No regrets buying this and wish we had done it sooner.  For us, worth the investment 

A:  yes . Reflective surface of barrier does help keep the garage warmer

A:  Not sure of the R- Value.  It helped with the temperature of the garage.  Easy to install. We are considering placing an additional insulation barrier.  Our garage door has direct sun throughout the day.  

A:  According to the Reach Barrier website, this product does not have an R-value, since it is a reflective rather than a thermal insulator. The latter would have an R-value.

A:  no R value because it is not an insulation, it's a blocker. It does make a big difference in the garage by keeping the air more consistent in temperature.

A:  Technically, there is no R value. The purpose of this product is to reflect heat. It does that very well. I installed it on my metal garage door then installed Home Depot’s Owens Corning garage door insulation kit on top. Dropped the internal temperature significantly! 

A:  The weight is minimal and did not affect the operation of my garage door.

A:  I installed this radiant barrier and the addd weight is insignificant to a 1/3 or 1/2 hp standard garage door opener. I installed this product under Owens Corning garage door insulation kit. The added weight slowed the door opening a bit but the insulation value was worth the added 1second of speed opening or closing.

A:  I had no problem with the weight added. If you plan to use it then just use the film and don’t add foam between the film and the door.

A:  I bought this awhile ago and it adds very little weight to the door. It maintains its shape when installed. If you lift the box it comes in you can tell the weight you will be dealing with, but don’t include the weight of the box.

A:  About 2 pounds to entire garage door if even that much!

A:  Dear Masher: None of the garage door insulation procucts sold by Home Depot add significant weight to a garage door! Insulation is very light. Reflective / radiant barriers like Reach, however, are not effective. You would need to create a sealed air pocket behind each piece of the reflective barrier and your garage door. You can't simply glue it to the garage door. If you attach it with velcro, the heat (infrared energy) from the garage door will simply bounce off the reflective barrer - back to the garage door, which will increase the temp even more, heating the air inside your garage just like it did before. Fortunately, Home Depot sells an effective garage door insulation product that delivers R-8 performance, is easy to install and light. See: Owens Corning model #GD01, Home Depot Internet #202257272, UPC Code #047563700275, Store SKU #744925 I hope this is helpful. Mark

A:  I personally installed the insulation per the directions and have had no problem. I also thought about the spray adhesive and decided not to do it. I would suggest that if you do use the spray adhesive, install the insulation during the coolest part of the day.

A:  I have not used any adhesive but just tugged to four edges and I don't have any panel fall off yet after three years of usage. There is no reason that you cannot use spray adhesive on them for assurance.

A:  I am sure you could opt for it but it is not needed. The panels fit snugly inside the door. I have not had any come loose.

A:  yes should be fine. It will adhere

A:  I would test a corner of it to make sure what you are going to use does not melt the barrier.

A:  This product is designed to be supported and held in place by the metal 'bars'. If you can't find a suitable product for your doors, I would suggest using a double sided tape for hot and cold weather. Self stick Velcro tape might be an option.

A:  You can use a high temperature adhesive to hold it in place. There also is an adhesive backed silver tape you can use. On my door I measured 120 degrees F so choose an adhesive that can with stand the temp. Mine did not and failed.

A:  As long as you clean the areas (use alcohol) where you will apply double sided tape, it will work fine. I've done several garage doors and had no problems. I use double sided gorilla tape -- it is easy to cut and sticks well.

A:  Dear LaLa: This type of garage door "insulation" product is singularly ineffective. Unless you build a sealed air pocket between your garage door and each sheet of Reach barrier, the infrared heat from your garage door in the summer will strike the Reach barrier -- get refelcted back to the garage door, which will heat up more, and heat the air in your garage just like it did before. In short, you will create a series of solar air heaters. If you glue a reflective barrier directly to your garage door, this won't stop heat either, because reflective barriers like Reach require an air gap to be effective. By themselves these products provide almost no insulation -- just R-1. They don't work in the winter either, because cold cannot be 'reflected' and the warmer air inside your garage is not radiant (emitting lots of infrared energy). Fortunately, Home Depot sells another garage door insulation product that is much more effective (R-8), and easy to install even if your garage door does not have metal bars on the inside. See: Owens Corning Model #GD01, Home Depot Internet #202257272, UPC Code #047563700275, Store SKU #744925 This product also works in the winter. I hope this is helpful. Mark

A:  No worries just use velcro strips

A:  Easy to install. Helped with sound insulation from noisy road and lowered temperature of garage. The garage door was exposed to several hours of hot morning sun. I estimate the garage temperature was reduced by 15-20 degrees. Highly recommend this product and very happy with the results.

A:  Don't think so

A:  No, it would not. This product is not designed to be stepped on.

A:  No it would not

A:  It may work, but if you are planning to use it on the inside roof, you may damage the interior if you wish to take it off, costing you more to fix the interior of the car. Suggested to use the material for what it is intended for.

A:  I don't recall the measurements, but the package contained two sections that slipped into the space on the inside of the garage door. One went on the upper part, and the other went on the lower part. They are kept in place by the metal frame on the sides of the inside of the door.

A:  Includes (eight ea) 24 in. x 48 in. pre-cut panels and 48 adhesive fasteners measuring 1 sq. in. each. This product is very easy to cut if necessary.

A:  7’ x 16’ Garage Door Used 2 kits ... Cut to fit each of the 16 sections Secured with several dabs of strong all weather glue ... Easy to do ....

A:  Yes but you may have to use an alternative adhesive. I don't know how well the double sided foam tape will affix to Styrofoam.

A:  I don't see any reason why not. Insulation is installed with 2 sided tape.

A:  as long as the sticky applicators hold to the styrafoam it will be fine. it will definitely give an extra layer of insulation.

A:  Dezertratz, Avoid foam panels. Foam is very flammable and must be covered by an approved thermal barrier in a garage, home, basement, etc. The standard is 1/2" drywall -- so this cannot be used on a garage door either. Hope this help. Good luck!

A:  In principle Yes. But for this product to work, you must have a Gap (air gap) between it and styrofoam. Just like your double glass windows have it. Do not give up. You can use the garage door U-shaped panels to do that and double sided tape So it comes on top of styrofoam, not under it. Glue it on top of the U-profile of the garage panels creating an air gap.

A:  I don’t believe you can. The sheets get pushed into the sides of each door section. This is how they stay in place. You could remove the styrofoam panels and install them over the reflective sheets.

A:  Dear Dezer: First, the styrofoam panels you installed in your garage door are a fire safety hazard and building code violation. Foam board is flammable and emits toxic gas when it burns. It must be covered by an approved 'thermal barrier' in any garage, living space, basement or attic storage area. The standard is 1/2"drywall, which obviously will not work on a garage door. Second, a reflective barrier is not effective on a garage door because it provides almost no insulation (R-1) without a sealed air gap. Fortunately, Home Depot sells a more effective garage door insulation solution that delivers much better performance (R-8), is easy to install and safe. You can remove your foam board and install this in its place. See: Owens Corning model #GD01, Home Depot Internet #202257272, UPC Code # 047563700275, Store SKU #744925 I hope this is helpful, Mark

A:  You can install over styrofoam, that's what I did. The panels are thin enough that it won't stick out and interfere with the operation of the door, even if your styrofoam panels are flush with the hardware operating the door.

A:  If you have an aluminum door you can

A:  The R value can vary if you install foam between the door and the Reflective sheet. I found that my door reaches 120 degrees in direct sunlight since it faces east. With the insulation that dropped to 80. One kit will cover a normal 2 car garage door. This kit will not prevent your garage from reaching the outdoor temperature since once you open the door the ambient temp outside will be the same inside. I did find out I need a much higher temp glue to hold the foam barrier on to the metal door. I used a high temp glue but it gave way.

A:  No "R" value on this insulation because in is installed in a fluid environment. It does reduce of to 95% of radiant heat. One kit covers a standard 8 panel 8 x8 metal garage door. Depending on your garage door design, you may have to cut some pieces to fit. Saves those pieces to attach to other panel pieces which may be larger. It is important to clean the surface before mounting to assure good adhesion of the double sided foam tape (included). Installation is very easy and we are very satisfied with the results.

A:  Dear Rwebb: Good question. The R-value of Reach and similar reflective / radiant barrier products is only R-1. Plus, they don't work in the winter because cold cannot be 'reflected'. Plus consider the physics: if you install this on your garage door, and it reflects the radiant (infrared) heat back to the hot garage door, what happens? The garage door heats up even further, and warms the air in the garage, just like it did before. In shore, you created an efficient solar heating panel! Home Depot sells another garage door insulation product that is much more effective (R-8), works winter and summer, and is easy to install. See: Owens Corning Model # GD01, Home Depot Internet #202257272, UPC Code # 047563700275 Store SKU #744925 I hope this is helpful, Mark

A:  rwebb0103, There is not an R value for this product. You will need two boxes for a 16 foot garage door or a box for each one car garage door. If you read the specs closely it does say to double up the insulation for maximum benefit. I used one layer on each door and do notice a difference in the summer and winter. I included a picture of the specifications. Hope this helps. Good luck!

A:  I bought this product about 3 years ago, I installed it and it made a great difference especially in summer heat. I''m not sure of the R factor as I moved to a smaller home in Sun City West 2 years ago. I haven't put this kit in my new garage as I am planning on replacing the door. I only wish I could give you more information. I recommend it and if the new garage door isn't insulated I will get this kit again.

A:  The insulation kit will cover a 2 car garage door... The "R" value is probably about 3-4 Not very much. Changed the garage temp about 1-2 degrees

A:  This kit was enough to cover a single garage door.

A:  The very first thing to remember is it will not add heat or cold to your garage. The garage will raise or lower to the ambient temp outside. I placed foam inserts behind these reflective panels and over time the glue that was high temp gave way causing the panels to fall out. I saw no change in temp from the outside to inside. If you want to control the temp in the garage you'll have to add some cooling fans or heating units to the outside wall of the garage to supply the garage. Don't hook up to the home system HVAC since any fumes in the garage will make their way into the house. With that installed these might keep the inside temp to the desired comfort level as long as you don't open the garage door because it will allow the outside air to intrude into the garage.

A:  I can't say how it does with cold temperatures...I use it on my overhead garage door in Florida and it does an amazing job keeping the heat OUT.

A:  Dear HarleyGuy: This is not the right solution. Reflective / radiant barriers like Reach do not perform in the winter because cold cannot be 'reflected' and the warmer air inside your garage is not radiant. These products deliver only R-1. Fortunately, Home Depot sells a good solution that provides R-8, winter and summer, and is easy to install. See: Owens Corning Model #GD01, Home Depot Internet #202257272, Store SKU #744925 Foam board is not a good choice either, because foam is flammable and emits toxic gas when it burns. It must be covered by an approved 'thermal barrier' in any garage, living space, basement or attic storage area. The standard is 1/2" drywall, which obviously will not work on a garage door. I hope this is helpful. Mark

A:  I used this with some 3m spray adhesive for my 2 car garage door definitely made a difference i no longer felt the cold or heat radiating from the garage door the temperature where i live goes from single digits in winter and right under and sometimes over 3 digits in summer. I used this and a space heater worked well enough the 1yr later i decided to insulate the attic over the garage and that maid a big difference as well i also made sure all the seals around the garage door. Doing the garage door is a great start and ull definitely feel a difference.

A:  Being a person that likes to overkill things, I used both this and the foam insulation. I live in upstate South Carolina and my garage stays above 50F with no heater. Helps to also insulate the outside walls and ceiling.

A:  If you have wooden doors this will probably work well for you.. it works well, BUT only where it is applied. I have metal doors, where the insulation is inside the door panels there is LITTLE heat transfer. However, the metal frame itself is very cold in winter and hot in summer. This transfers heat/cold into the garage at all times. I am going to remove the reflective from inside the panels, put the styrofoam inside the panels and place the reflective on the FRAMEwork on the inside of the metal to attempt to relieve this.