How Much To Insulate A Garage?

By Dan WienerLast update
How Much To Insulate A Garage?

Garage insulation is necessary whether you live in a state like California, where the weather is almost always nice and warm, or live in Alaska, where frigid temperatures are a part of almost every day. If your garage is attached to your house and isn’t insulated, it could very well pull some of that cool or hot air from inside your house, driving up your electric bill and creating a less than stable climate within.

Therefore, learning how to insulate a garage isn’t something that only people who live in places with horrid weather need to do. Every homeowner needs to be concerned about garage insulation and, at some point, get it done.

So, how much is it to insulate a garage?

On average, it should cost you about $0.80 – $0.95 per square foot in insulation material and another $0.75 – $1.00 per square foot in labor costs. Therefore, the total cost will depend on the size of your garage, the kind of contractor you get, the cost of materials in your location, and any other special tasks that need to be completed during the project based on your specific garage.

Let’s say for example you have a garage that’s 1,500 square feet large. In theory, this kind of garage should cost you about this much to insulate:

  • $0.80 – $0.95 per square foot in insulation material X 1,500 square feet = $1,200 – $1,425
  • $0.75 – $1.00 per square foot in labor costs X 1,500 square feet = $1,125 – $1,500

Based on these approximates, you should be prepared to use about $2,325 – 2,925 or even more, depending on what your garage needs. On average, however, the total cost shouldn’t be too far above the $3,000 mark.

Note: These are just estimates. The best course of action would be to get a few professional contractors to give you actual figures so you can come up with the average estimate for your specific garage.

Read on to find out more about insulating your garage.

Garage Pricing And Insulation Cost Checklist

There are undoubtedly quite a number of variables when we talk about how much it costs to insulate a garage. For one thing, not all garages are created equal, so the garage insulation costs may vary. In addition, they don’t all measure the same, nor do they have owners who have the same needs nor tastes. What they do have in common, though, is the shape. For the most part, garages are either square or rectangular.

You also have to consider if it is an attached garage or a detached garage because your needs, in this case, may also be different, and you may require different insulation for the garage ceiling or garage wall.

However, that shouldn’t keep you from finding out how much insulating your specific garage might cost. Here is a simple checklist that should help guide you even as you do your research on an insulated garage door:

Find The Right Contractor

This is one of the most important factors and something that should be high up on your checklist when determining your insulation type. The right contractor not only knows all the best and most affordable yet reliable material suppliers, but you are all but guaranteed that they will get the finished garage done within the stipulated amount of time as well as budget.

This step might sound easy on paper, but it isn’t. There are, however, some simple steps you can take to make sure you find the right contractor for your garage space:

  • Research the top contractors in your area
  • Get recommendations from friends, family, and even trusted online homeowner forums in your area
  • Get at least 3 to 5 estimates from different potential contractors
  • Have a face to face interview with each contractor to see how well you guys would get along

Visit Suppliers Personally

One of the areas that most unscrupulous contractors make money off clients is hiking up material prices. This is mostly because they know that most clients won’t take the time to find out how much these things costs, and even if they do, they can always say that the prices they gave are from a different supplier.

The best way to deal with this is to visit every top material supplier in your area to get the various material prices. This way, you can always choose to purchase the materials yourself should the pricing from your contractor be higher.

Image Source: Photovs

Find Out Which Materials Work Best In Your Location

This is by far one of the most important aspects of this entire project – you need to know which insulation material is best for your specific location or your specific garage. For the most part, you will find that garage spray foam insulation (open cell or closed cell) is the best insulation for most garages that are made out of drywall.

However, in some cases, you might want to use a fiberglass batt for fiberglass insulation on an attached garage. If you hire the right contractor, they should be able to tell you exactly what kind of insulation works best with what you want and what works best in your garage space.

  • Pro Tip: If you want to get the best prices, approach contractors during their down season (Fall or Winter). This is when most people aren’t doing much home remodeling, and contractors across the board have massive discounts to attract customers.

Finally, when you get an estimate for garage insulation costs, ask the contractor how keen they are on sticking to the budget and if they are willing to commit. Once that is done, find out what kind of payment plans or schedules they accept.