Modular Wooden Insulated Frame

Seeking suggestions on how to improve on this initial design.

To Sum Up:
We want to cover a 12'x12' garage door for a large outbuilding with an insulated frame that can be dismantled and stored during the warmer times of the year. The current design proposes three large panels, 12'x4', bolted together on the back side. Rockwool insulation or its equivalent will be attached on the backside of the frame, arresting air flow and improving heat retention inside the structure.

More Details:
Those of you who have been to Wheaton Labs might recognize this as the Classroom "garage" door. We want to cover it somehow during the Garden Master Course so it stays warmer in there during the class, in January. The first suggestion was to cover the wall with repurposed billboard tarp, but that's ugly and neither as biophilic nor as effective a solution as using wood panels milled on-site along with legit insulation material.

Can you think of a better way to approach this puzzle? I have a month to build it, and I'm 90% certain we have the materials already on-site (my only uncertainty is that we may need to mill more panels, but that's not impossible, and even better to do during this time of year).

Below is a diagram I cobbled together in paint.net:



Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

I've heard a breathable building envelope is important to Paul's philosophy.
That said,I think an air tight membrane layer would contribute a lot to keeping the space warm.
Edit: let me actually offer some biophilic suggestions.
Waxed fabric or paper,aluminum foil, sheep pelts, natural rubber,tree resin or gum, or some combination of these could help create an airtight wall.

I agree with William on the air-sealing aspect. Draftiness will be more noticeable than the uninsulated door itself. Your plan should include how to seal all four edges of the panel(s).
You didn't mention whether this panel is inside the door or outside in the weather... Outside in the weather, you want to have a moisture barrier to keep the insulation dry.

Another option would be greenhouse film and wiggle-wire channels added to the outside of the door frame, outdoors. This would be quick to implement, and do a good job of air-sealing the whole opening without fussing around the door gaskets, tracks, and joints in the door. As a bonus, you could open the door on a sunny day for natural light at least (not sure it faces correctly for solar gain, mirrors?). And you can still do whatever you want to insulate the inside face of the door as well.

Exploring the greenhouse film day lighting option... Your panels seem heavy and "permanent" as in "Do not open until Spring". What about rolly shelves with insulation on the back, which could be parked in front of the garage door, but also moved if desired?

Kenneth Elwell wrote:You didn't mention whether this panel is inside the door or outside in the weather... Outside in the weather, you want to have a moisture barrier to keep the insulation dry.

Definitely going to be inside the building. I suspect having it outdoors would require a much hardier design and likely a lot more material for it to be effective. We also want to have a more attractive interior to the classroom, and we think a natural wood wall (should we stick with this design) would level-up the interior.

Kenneth Elwell wrote:Another option would be greenhouse film and wiggle-wire channels added to the outside of the door frame, outdoors. This would be quick to implement, and do a good job of air-sealing the whole opening without fussing around the door gaskets, tracks, and joints in the door.

I like this, as it seems less labor-intensive and intrusive than things inside the building. I'll approach Paul with this idea and see how he thinks this might work.

WIlliam Bronson wrote:Waxed fabric or paper,aluminum foil, sheep pelts, natural rubber,tree resin or gum, or some combination of these could help create an airtight wall.

These may be materials that could augment the outdoor seal that Kenneth describes above. Nice. :)

Kenneth Elwell wrote:Exploring the greenhouse film day lighting option... Your panels seem heavy and "permanent" as in "Do not open until Spring". What about rolly shelves with insulation on the back, which could be parked in front of the garage door, but also moved if desired?

Another useful idea! I think the rolly shelves are tall enough. Maybe not wide enough, but we could line two of them up together, reconfigure the room somewhat, and I think this could be managed.

I appreciate everyone's input! If anything else comes to mind, please post in here. Thanks again! :)

Hello Stephen. If you have some time, would you give us a quick update? What kind of insulation are you using?
Maybe the time for ideas has passed ....
Just in case you're still looking, since it is a garden class, maybe filling those panels with manageable sized pillow cases (or socks or bags or milk cartons...) of vermiculite and/or perlite could help with the insulation and be a useful addition to future garden projects.

Amy Gardener wrote:Hello Stephen. If you have some time, would you give us a quick update? What kind of insulation are you using?

Thanks for asking, Amy. :)

Paul and I discussed this some time ago, and it's been put off for the time being. Since I'm rolling solo right now and it's the thick of the winter, we've had to set a number of things aside and this is one of them. Of course, I'm hoping to revisit this ASAP. Sorry that it's not an immediate success story. :)