Soundproofing your home is extremely important to protect yourself from the countless potential adverse consequences of noise pollution.
This amazing project often does not include home garages because it’s mainly used for its primary purpose – parking vehicles – and sometimes for storing lawn equipment and other rarely used stuff. That’s totally fine since your mower, pizza oven, toolbox, and sedans don’t mind the loud noise from the street.
But if you intend to use your garage as a mini gym, home office, game room, etc., soundproofing is essential, especially if you live in a busy street. Garage doors, particularly roll-up types, let in and even generate a lot of noise that calls unwanted attention and complaints from your neighbors or HOAs.
So, in this post, I’ll discuss everything you need to know about how to soundproof a roll-up garage door to create the most comfortable work or fun environment.
Is Soundproofing a Roll-up Garage Door?
The most evident reason homeowners opt to insulate their roll-up garage door is to block out the external noise for a disturbance-free space. Also, it’s the ideal solution if your activities in the garage call attention.
So, whether you hate a noisy environment or want to keep your garage hobbies private, it’s a good idea to soundproof a garage door.
What Are the Potential Sound Leak Areas
Understanding why so much noise escapes or enters your garage is central to fixing the issue.
Gaps
Like regular models, roll-up garage doors will likely have gaps along the sides, bottom, and top. These openings are large enough to allow sound to travel through. These gaps around your garage door are usually due to poor installation, inadequate weatherstripping, or wear and tear.
Insufficient insulation
If your garage door is not well insulated, then it’s more likely the culprit. This means your roll-up garage door poorly blocks the transmission of sound. Remember, garage doors are usually made of metal, which is an excellent sound conductor. So, noise will always be an issue without sufficient sound blocking or insulation on your garage door.
Material quality
Garages with doors with thin or low-quality materials allow noise to escape more easily. They are not effective for absorbing or dampening noise.
Soundproofing a Roll-up Garage Door: What You Need
Before heading out to the nearest local hardware store, it’s advisable to determine what exactly you need. You don’t have to keep traveling back and forth or wasting your hard-earned money on useless stuff.
Here are a couple of essential tools and equipment needed to insulate a garage door:
- Spray adhesive or green glue
- Weatherstripping
- Measuring tape
- Motor lubricant for garage door
- Screws or nails
FOUR Proven Soundproofing Tips for a Whisper Quiet Hobby Garage
With countless tips and tricks online, finding the right way to insulate your garage from external noise can be tricky.
So, in this section, I’ll share exactly how I achieved serenity in my home garage using easy-to-source and inexpensive materials.
Seal the gaps
A noisy garage is most likely due to gaps around the roll-up door. Aside from leaking noise, holes can be responsible for recurrent pest infestation.
To stop external noise from making it into or outside of your hobby garage, it’s important to cover all gaps, small or large, around the roll-up door. The best way to do this is using appropriate weatherstripping tape.
Most importantly, you should only use weatherstrips explicitly designed to block the free passage of noise.
Hang fiberglass blankets
For regular garage doors, you can easily hang heavy materials, which offers the best soundproofing results. However, I could still create a serene atmosphere using fiberglass blankets.
Fiberglass is light while adding mass and sufficient resistance to the noise path. Because of its lightweight, the extra added mass didn’t make manual lift a problem or strain its lifting mechanism.
Also, I preferred fiberglass insulation because of its low price point. While it might not be cheaper than aluminum, it definitely offers more insulation for creating the perfect noise-free garage. Fiberglass offers better sound insulation performance than wood without requiring you to break a bank.
Unlike other material options, fiberglass won’t rust. Also, it has an impressive thermal resistance, which makes it almost not responsive to changes in temperature for warp-free use. Plus, it only demands a little maintenance, meaning you won’t have to spend your hard-earned cash and value time on upkeep.
That’s not all;
Fiberglass can be cut into your preferred shape and size to work perfectly with your roll-up garage door. Thanks to its pliable design, applying a faux wood finish was easy, so it appears like natural wood and adds a retro style to my garage. It’s also a good idea to paint it to prevent light from passing through.
Apply lubricants to the garage door mechanisms
Garage doors making a ton of noise when in operation are usually due to a faulty motor or worn parts. Lubricating the opening and closing systems solves this issue.
Applying lithium-based or silicone lubricant designed for garage doors on the moving parts should solve the annoying creak or squeak noise. It’s important to lubricate the door rollers, rails, springs, locks, etc., for smooth and noise-free operation.
Use a garage door kit
The garage door kit offers extra sound-deadening results by sealing the top and sides to prevent noise transmission. Also, it helps with thermal insulation — keeps the weather at bay, and cuts costs on power bills.
Installing the garage door kit is a simple process, thanks to the detailed instructions included in the kit.
Related FAQs
Sound-deadening blankets can be used along with other existing insulation methods to keep noise outside. However, you must be careful when hanging the blankets over the roll-up door inside the garage to avoid accidents. It’s only sometimes recommended because it often gets caught when rolling up the door.
If you want a quieter garage, adding rubber mats on the floor helps absorb impact noise and annoying vibration. Remember that rubber mats are not excellent at soundproofing but play a crucial role in achieving a serene space. Alternatively, you can use old carpet to insulate your garage floor and prevent sound from bouncing off the hard floor.
Squeaky roll-up garage doors can be due to worn parts or a faulty garage door opener. In most cases, lubricating the springs, tracks, joints, and rollers stops the creaking noise. Using the proper lubricant meant for metals like 10W-30 motor oil is essential.
Yes, it is possible to soundproof a roll-up garage door without professional assistance if you have the necessary tools and skills. However, hiring a professional can ensure optimal results.
Parting Words
Soundproofing your garage ensures a quieter and more comfortable place for your favorite hobby. Also, it helps contain your noise, ensuring you are not disturbing your neighbors with your activities.
When insulating your roll-up garage door, the most critical soundproofing tip is adding mass, which increases its sound-blocking performance.
However, attaching heavy materials with this type of garage door won’t work. So, your best bet is fiberglass. It’s light enough for smooth opening and closing the performance of your roll-up garage door while still creating a more peaceful garage.
Remember, there’s no way to soundproof your garage completely, but these tips will help reduce noise so you can enjoy a serene hobby garage.
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