Installations — radiant barrier

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Commercial Roll Up Garage Door Installation

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 your convenience and easy installation, we have 2 pre-made kit sizes: A Single Roll Up Garage Door Insulation Kit (covers up to a 12' x 12' size door) or a Double Roll Up Garage Door Insulation Kit (covers two 10' x 10' doors or a single larger door up to 200 sq ft).

If you have a door larger than 200 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

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.

We recommend you use double-sided tape to permanently attach the insulation directly to the metal every 12"-18", but you can also try a spray adhesive if you prefer but the tape is tried and true.

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.

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. If your doors don't have the corrugation pattern or your primary goal is to keep heat in, then face the foil surface inside, toward the inside of the garage/shop. The open garage space is the airspace, and the foil will still work of the reflectivity/emissivity quality.

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

The Roll Up Metal Garage Door Kit can also be used for panel style metal garage door, just trim to size and install with tapes. A more detailed install guide for paneled metal garage doors is coming soon.

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.

Barn and Shed Installation - Blocking Heat Only

Posted by Edward Fritz · April 04, 2023

Goal Temps in Non-Conditioned Buildings

The main problem with heat gain in a metal building is that it will absorb so much radiant heat that the inside temperatures will far exceed the outside temperatures. The simple solution to this is a radiant barrier; it will essentially act like shade. Reflecting 97% of that radiant heat out of the structure is the key to a comfortable space, even without conditioning it.

We have many customers who have used radiant barrier on garages, barns, carports, airplane hangars, work sheds, warehouses etc. with great results in comfort. It's important to remind yourself that structures under this category are just that: structures. This means they will not feel or operate like conditioned or living structures; they will be hotter/cooler than a home/office space and they'll also likely be wetter, and that's ok. That being said, the goal for these types of buildings is to take the edge off the continual heat gain in the hot months and to help temper the chill in the colder months.

No Need for Traditional Insulation

On a non-conditioned building, there really is nothing better than a radiant barrier to control the heat gain. Structures like sheds, carports and barns can all benefit greatly by adding a layer of radiant barrier near the roof line and any sun-catching walls to keep the heat out. On a non-conditioned building, traditional r-value insulation is not necessary since you're goal is NOT to keep conditioned air (cold or hot) inside of it, but rather just trying to keep it comfortable when in use. Therefore, the most realistic expectations you can have for a building that you are not heating or cooling, is to get it at (or close to), outside air temperature (also known as ambient air temperature). Getting the air temperature lowered is largely relative to the amount of ventilation you have going through the structure. However, keeping the inside of a metal structure at or near ambient temperature is practically impossible if you do not have a radiant barrier. The radiant barrier will work to reduce the surface temperatures, and the ventilation to help bring the air temperatures down.

How to Install

Like most installs of this nature, getting the BlueTex™ closest to the exterior of the building will bring about the best overall results, specifically for hot climates.

If you're doing new construction, you can wrap the outside of the frame with BlueTex™ too, just make sure the FOIL SIDE of the product has at least ¼" to ½" of an air space between it and the exterior/interior sheathing. You can see more info on how to install here: Install BlueTex™ in Your Metal Building

What About Moisture?

Interior moisture (condensation) is created when relatively warm-moist air hits a cold surface (usually the metal of the building). One of the biggest issues we hear of with metal buildings are customers trying to find a solution to "sweating buildings" and we get it! We've written an extensive guide to teach you (1) what causes moisture in your metal building and (2) how to stop it.

Did you know? The problem itself may be what you're using the building for! Livestock, agriculture products, grain etc. are all commonly stored inside barns and sheds. These items will produce high levels of moisture & sometimes there's not much you can do about that. The best way to protect yourself against moisture forming inside a structure like that is to have plenty of ventilation to keep moisture from sticking, and pair it with a radiant barrier to stop the huge swings in temperature inside the building.