Commercial Roll Up Garage Door Insulation - How to Install

Posted by Edward Fritz · July 10, 2023

The simplest and fastest way to cool the garage area in your metal building is to add radiant barrier to the metal roll up garage door using the BlueTex™ Roll Up Garage Door Kits.

If your roll up door is catching direct sunlight, then you definitely should add a metal building insulation radiant barrier to the door and/or any other walls that are catching direct sunlight from the exterior. It will act almost as though the door is in the shade, or like it’s a cloudy day.

"I installed the BlueTex™ on my south-facing metal roll up door inside my metal building. During installation I could tell a huge difference in heat coming off the door behind the part finished with BlueTex™ versus the uncompleted part. It made a noticeable difference." - BlueTex™ Insulation Customer

For roll up metal garage doors we recommend the BlueTex™ 50" Wide 2mm Pro product or the foil only radiant barrier. Both of these materials are thin enough to install and not interrupt the mechanism that rolls the door up. The BlueTex™ 6mm Supreme products will NOT WORK on a roll up style garage door - the 6mm is too thick and will interfere with the door being able to roll up.

Step 1: Prep Door

For the best adhesion, if your door is dirty or dusty, wipe it clean and allow it to fully dry.

You'll start by using the double-sided tape* to permanently attach the insulation directly to the metal every 12"-18". Peel the liner off the tape and press it firmly onto the door. Wait to remove the second side of the paper backing until right when you're about to hang the BlueTex™ insulation.

Step 2: Add the BlueTex™ insulation, starting at the bottom of the door

You can either run the BlueTex™ horizontally or vertically, depending on the size of your door; the direction you go won't change how the product works. Measure the width of the door and trim your first piece.

For most applications you can install the BlueTex™ insulation so that the white surface faces inside the garage/shop. This is because the valleys of the corrugations create a small air gaps between the foil surface and the door, so the foil is able to reflect back the heat on about 60% or more of the door area.

Remove the white paper backing on the double-sided tape piece where the top of your piece will lay. Line up your BlueTex™ so the top edge is on your double-sided tape and press firmly to secure the bond starting at the center of the door and working your way out to the edges. At this point the rest of your piece will be hanging from the double-sided tape like a curtain down toward the floor. Reach behind the BlueTex™ and remove the paper backing from the next row of double-sided tape and then press the BlueTex™ onto it, starting at the center and pressing/smoothing outward.

Continue this until you've removed the paper backing from all the rows of double-sided tape and the BlueTex™ is securely attached to the tape.

Step 3: Overlap & trim seal your seams/edges

Your consecutive pieces of BlueTex™ will be added so that you have at least 1" overlap of the top piece over the bottom one. You can peel the liner off the BlueTex™ and use that to stick the top piece to the bottom one, but it's not required.

Press the BlueTex™ overlap firmly to get it to seal and stick to the bottom piece.

Continuing this until you get to the top of the door and it's all covered.

*Tip* Toward the end of the roll, the material may not immediately lay flat off the roll. The final edge may also be bent due to how it's rolled during production. We recommend laying this last piece out flat and letting it relax back to a flat layer, just like you would do with a new rug. You can stack some stuff on the edges to hold it down and let it flatten out before installing it on the door.

Step 4: Seal Your Seams with White Seam Tape

Use the 3" white seam tape to keep the insulation overlap smooth and create a clean, more polished interior look.

You can also seal the edges of the insulation on the left and right side if wanted, but it's not required.

Looking for a way to seal up the gap at the top of the door? BlueTex™ Roll Up Garage Door Insulation Kits are not really designed for this use, but foam board, a roll up door brush kit, or even some pool noodles may work.

Pre-Made Roll Up Garage Door Insulation Kits

For your convenience and easy installation, we have 3 pre-made kit sizes: A Single Roll Up Garage Door Insulation Kit (covers up to a 12' x 12' size door), a Double Roll Up Garage Door Insulation Kit (covers two 10' x 10' doors or a single larger door up to 200 sq ft), and an Oversize Roll Up Garage Door Insulation Kit (covers up to 300 sq ft). The BlueTex™ 6mm Supreme products will NOT WORK on a roll up style garage door - the 6mm is too thick and will interfere with the door being able to roll up.

If you have a door larger than 300 sq ft or if you have multiple metal roll up garage doors, these are the basic supplies needed to insulate them properly:

BlueTex™ Insulation: Pro 2mm 50" Wide, Pro 2mm 62" Wide, or the Foil Only product (available in 48" wide and 60" wide). *Note: the Supreme 6mm is too thick to fit on the door and will not work for a roll up garage door application.
Double-Sided Tape (to stick the BlueTex™ to the door without piercing the door)
Vapor Barrier 3" Wide Finishing Seam Tape (to seal the overlapping seams of insulation): White Color or Foil Color

Remember, the foil side of the product MUST face an air gap to work and reflect heat, so keep this in mind during your installation.

Trying to Mostly Keep Heat Inside?

If your doors don't have the corrugation pattern or your primary goal is to keep heat in your garage (when you heat it in cold seasons), then flip the product so the foil surface faces INSIDE the building/garage/shop, as shown below. The open garage space is the airspace, and the foil will still work of the reflectivity/emissivity quality and it works a little better than having the white facing inside.

insulating a garage door to keep heat in

Note: Having the foil facing inside is a good option to reflect heat back into the building if you have a heat source. However, it should only be applied on doors that have minimal use, since the foil side isn't as durable as the white side of the product, so regular opening and closing of the door may wear off the foil surface over time.

Panel-Style Garage Door Insulation Kits

If you have a panel style garage door, use our Residential Garage Door Insulation Kits. You can see the detailed installation guide here: How to add BlueTex™ to a paneled garage door.

If you have questions about how to install BlueTex™ products on your roll up door, please contact us or order a free sample kit here.