Whether you’ve turned your garage into a cozy extra room, a casual TV den, or a tidy workspace, you can’t get fully comfortable until you can properly heat your garage in winter.

Stay toasty and warm throughout the chilly season with Garage Heating 101 – our tips to keep your garage warm this winter:

Step 1: Clean Up

Before you can begin the process of properly winterizing your garage, you must first give it a thorough clean up to prepare your space.

Use a stiff broom to thoroughly sweep the floor, removing dirt, debris, mulch, leaves, and insects that have found their way into your garage during the warmer months.

Clear the walls, removing any cobwebs and dirt or dust.

Step 2: Replace the Weather-Stripping

After you’ve given your garage a thorough cleaning, you can begin the work of winterizing your garage, beginning with insulation.

When you think “insulation,” you most likely think of the pink fluffy stuff used to keep warmth within the walls of your home. But insulating a space also includes sealing up any air leaks that could be letting the warm air outside, and the cold air inside.

That’s why, before you get to the actual insulation, you’ll want to inspect the weather-stripping on all the windows and doors of your garage – including your garage door – fixing and replacing any cracked or broken areas.

Weather-stripping becomes cracked and brittle over time, which could lead to air leaks, creating cold drafts in your garage. If you feel drafts due to broken weather-stripping, you’ll want to remove the existing weather-stripping, scraping off any remaining sealant, then carefully apply your new weather-stripping.

Be sure to properly measure and align your new weather-stripping to your garage door in order to get a good seal. Do this by closing the garage door, then aligning the weather-stripping so that the rubber flap is flattened against the door.

Step 3: Insulate the Walls

After you’ve sealed up all the air leaks in your garage, you can begin the process of insulating the walls. Home insulation will help create a protective barrier for your garage, and can be made of various materials. You’ll want to use fibreglass batt insulation for this, taking care to choose the proper thickness depending on your garage walls.

Read the installation guide thoroughly, and then install your insulation according to instructions, making sure to follow directions carefully.

Step 4: Take Care of the Garage Door

Although you’ve already replaced the weather-stripping on your garage door, if you haven’t properly insulated it as well, you run the risk of losing precious heat through its considerably large surface.

To keep your garage toasty this winter, you’ll want to insulate the garage door as well. There are a variety of specialized kits on the market you can purchase, which include options such as foam boards, fibreglass, and reflective barriers.

When insulating the door, take care to cut the insulation carefully to fit the garage door panels, then secure them in place using adhesive. If you’re finding insulation difficult, or still feeling the cold even after installation, you may need to swap out your garage door, replacing it with an insulated design.

Step 5: Install a Heater

The final step of your garage winterization? Installing a heater to keep your space warm.

While insulation and weather-stripping will help keep cold air from entering your space, they won’t do much to help warm up your space.

To stay toasty in your garage all winter long, install a unit heater – these take up little space and are inexpensive to install. Make your choice between an electric or gas heater. For a more energy efficient option, choose a mini-split heat pump.

Congratulations – you’re all set to keep your cozy garage all winter long. Enjoy!