We just had our first child, and his room is right above the garage. It is noticebly colder in his room, especially the floor. I used the plastic window kits and that helped, however, the floor is still extremely cold and I would like to at least check the insulation in the garage ceiling. Right now there is drywall on the ceiling, but I have no qualms about ripping it down, not real worried what it looks like. What should I look for...I believe there is very old (50 years) fiberglass insulation but i'm not 100% sure. If there is the old insulation there...should I look to replace it? If so, with what R value...Is this a project that someone without specific experience in the field could complete? I'm pretty handy but certainly not a pro. I'm not worried at all how it looks in the garage.
thats a good question i would definetly insulate the garage but see if theres a special garage insulation maybe something that has a vapor barrier against car fumes or sometime of extra fire resistant stuff i know they have a noise reducing insulation
There is a big debate with vapor and no vapor barrier depending on where you live. Check your local codes. You can have insulation blown in. A fast DiY if there is no aesthetic issue in the garage is to put up fiberglass sheeting on the ceiling which will be quick but effective fix.
It is a two person job. Take down the drywall. Examine the insulation that is there. If it looks good and fills the gap vertically and horizontally then leave it be. Add more insulation by getting rigid foam insulation and tacking it to the joists. Then drywall over the insulation. R-30 is a very good target, but go for what you can get. Don't oversuff cavities, that lowers the value of insulation.
This project can be easily completed by someone with little to no experience. Since you believe the insulation is 50+ years old, your best coarse of action is to tear out the drywall and existing insulation and replace with new R-30 insulation. Fiberglass insulation starts to degrade after 50 yrs. R values vary on your location and climate, but a in general an R-30 batts would work for this application.
The joists are probably 2X8 in which case you can use an R30 fiberglass batt. I would use unfaced and then staple up plastic. That will provide a better moisture and draft protection than the faced insulation would.
