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Even though I’m now entering the third winter in my 1929 house, this is the first season I’ve taken a truly deliberate approach to winterization. We’ve sealed rim joists in the basement (particularly around water pipes that froze last year), blown insulation into attic bays, and started replacing our original—but leaky and broken—top-floor windows. One easy DIY task that I wish I hadn’t delayed? Insulating the garage door.
Our attached garage sits directly beneath the living space, and over time, it’s proven to be a significant source of cold air infiltration. When we replaced our siding last winter, we added a vinyl weatherstripping along the top and sides of the garage door, which helped cut down on the worst drafts. But while the weathered solid wood blocks the wind and precipitation, it still allows heat loss. (And if I were to guess based on other insulation discoveries in the house, the stuff between this level and the living space directly above is several decades old and degrading.) So, to aid in insulating my garage and the rest of the house, we picked up a complete kit featuring a reflective bubble radiant barrier.
Reach Barrier 3009 Garage Door Insulation Kit
Rating: 4.5/5
This lightweight, reflective bubble barrier installs easily with the included tape and effectively blocks radiant heat. See the Full Test
Buy at AmazonWhat We Like
- Immediately reduced noise
- Simple installation requires only scissors
- Made the garage noticeably comfier
What We Don’t Like
- 4-foot strips may not be long enough for all doors
Product Specs
- Type: Radiant barrier
- Size: 8 panels, each 4 feet long by 2 feet wide
- Installation kit: Included
Improvement in Under an Hour
This kit—previously tested and ranked best overall by the Bob Vila team—lives up to its reputation for ease of installation. With nothing more than a tape measure and scissors, the job can be completed in an hour. Measure your door, trim the insulation to size, and secure it using the provided double-sided permanent tape. For me, the most time-consuming part involved triple-checking my measurements and meticulously cutting around door hardware to ensure the cleanest, most precise fit.
I found that the included 4-by-2-foot pieces worked well for my 8-foot-square garage door, but our contributing writer Tom Scalisi noted that his 9-foot-wide door was larger than what one kit could cover. Turns out, this is not an uncommon issue with Amazon shoppers, so measure your door(s) before you buy.
My Garage Is 10 Degrees Warmer Thanks to This Garage Door Insulation Kit
Lightweight Yet Effective
At first glance, these bubble panels resemble shipping materials—but I immediately recognized the material as the same type of barrier that an insulation professional just installed along the stairwell to my walk-up attic. The double-layered, 5/32-inch bubble core is sandwiched between reflective polyethylene, creating a lightweight panel that promises to block 95 percent of radiant heat transfer.
The impact was immediate. I noticed sound from the nearby highway dampen with each panel I installed. Plus, the interior surface temperature of the garage door rose from 39 degrees to 54 degrees Fahrenheit—a meaningful improvement for such a simple upgrade.
I don’t typically heat the garage to work on projects there in the off-season—in fact, I tend to avoid the space in all extreme temperatures and put off working out there except for the briefly comfortable windows March through June and September through November. Thanks to this kit, however, I now feel less resistant to spending January in the space to get it organized for this year’s projects. All that’s left for me to do is add a high-quality garage door threshold to seal the gap at the bottom.
The Bottom Line?
If you spend any time in your garage during an off-season—especially if it’s attached to your home—insulating the garage door is a smart, low-effort upgrade. This kit is accessible for DIYers of any skill level and installs quickly. Plus, it’s lightweight enough to adhere to the door with stickers and to line the door without straining your garage door opener.
Older wood garage doors like mine may benefit from the added insulation of this Reach Barrier Garage Door Insulation Kit. For the time and cost involved, the comfort payoff is hard to beat.
