# Insulating duct work in garage



## Romans922 (Sep 20, 2011)

I rent, and I am losing a good deal of energy (this summer) cooling my garage, I assume in the winter I will be heating my garage. 

I asked my landlord if he would reimburse if I insulated the duct work and he agreed.

ANYWAY, what kind of insulation should I get to do this job...? Just take it that I know nothing about insulation. 

Would something like this be good: 12 in. x 15 ft. Duct Insulation-FV516 at The Home Depot


----------



## Mushroom (Sep 20, 2011)

Is the duct simply passing through the garage and losing heat/cooling because it is uninsulated or is there a register in there where the heated/cooled air is being pumped in the garage?


----------



## Romans922 (Sep 20, 2011)

Brad said:


> Is the duct simply passing through the garage and losing heat/cooling because it is uninsulated or is there a register in there where the heated/cooled air is being pumped in the garage?



Both. 

The vent I have covered, but the duct work is still cooling my garage.


----------



## TimV (Sep 20, 2011)

That should work. Or, what I see around here is getting rolls of the kind of insulation you see in walls and wrapping it around the ducts with, you guessed it, duct tape. Thicker isn't always better, though usually is.


----------



## Mushroom (Sep 20, 2011)

Romans922 said:


> Brad said:
> 
> 
> > Is the duct simply passing through the garage and losing heat/cooling because it is uninsulated or is there a register in there where the heated/cooled air is being pumped in the garage?
> ...


If it is a trunk line that terminates in the garage, the better solution would be to install a cutoff in the duct as close to where it enters the garage as possible. That way you could turn it off when not needed, and back on when you want. Basically a piece of sheetmetal cut to the shape of the duct interior installed on a pivot rod with a handle for adjusting mounted outside the duct. Insulating wouldn't hurt, but being able to seal off the supply would be optimum. If the trunk line passes through and into other rooms, then a cutoff wouldn't work.


----------



## Romans922 (Sep 20, 2011)

All the ducts start in the garage and go to other rooms in the house. The vent that is in the garage, is part of another line that goes to the room directly above the vent.


----------



## Mushroom (Sep 20, 2011)

Romans922 said:


> All the ducts start in the garage and go to other rooms in the house. The vent that is in the garage, is part of another line that goes to the room directly above the vent.


Yeah, then insulating is the way to go. The stuff from Home Depot will work, but what is normally used is a blanket of fiberglas with foil backing. It comes in rolls of various widths and is cut to size to wrap completely around the duct with a couple of inches of overlap. It is sealed and secured with foil duct tape. I would use the foil tape rather than cloth duct tape even with the HD stuff to seall around the seams.


----------



## "William The Baptist" (Sep 20, 2011)

This is what I listen to/read all day at work... and pretend to know what it all means when explaining it to customers


----------



## Romans922 (Sep 23, 2011)

Brad said:


> The stuff from Home Depot will work, but what is normally used is a blanket of fiberglas with foil backing.



Brad or anyone else, where do I pick this stuff up at? What would it be called?


----------

