Question: My garage is my workshop, and it has a bedroom above it. I want to replace the old, metal garage door, which has no insulation. What type of garage door is best?
Answer: It sounds like you can make some efficiency improvements to the garage door, both for your comfort while working and for energy losses from the bedroom floor above. If the builder installed an inexpensive, inefficient garage door, or if it’s an older building, it’s likely the bedroom floor above the garage isn’t well-insulated either.
Keep in mind: Hot air goes up, but heat energy moves in all directions, including down. If your garage doesn’t have a furnace duct going to it, but it stays reasonably warm, it’s getting heat from somewhere—probably from an adjacent house wall and from the bedroom above.
Before you invest in a new garage door, inspect your existing door. If it’s in relatively good condition and there are no significant drafts coming from the joints between the panels, consider installing a garage door insulation kit.
Owens Corning makes an easy-to-install kit. It includes vinyl-backed fiberglass insulation batts, retaining clips and tape. Cut the batts to fit the door panels. Apply strips of double-sided tape on two spots on each panel. Stick the retaining clips on the tape, and push the insulation over them. A top clip snaps on to hold the insulation securely in place.
If you decide you need a new door, there are several options. The most common garage door materials are wood, insulated steel, insulated fiberglass and aluminum/glass. Of these, insulated steel or fiberglass doors offer the best efficiency because of the insulation value and the rigidity of the door to remain airtight over its life.
If you prefer the appearance of wood but want higher efficiency, select a clad-insulated steel garage door. Clopay developed a polymer-coated steel door with authentic wood grain molded into the surface, so it looks identical to stained wood. Another option is an embossed simulated-wood finish that’s painted on.
A popular garage door style today is a simulated swing-open carriage type. It gives the appearance of two doors that would swing open, but it rolls up like a typical panel door. These attractive doors often have decorative glass across the top panel for aesthetics and for natural light in the garage.
An insulated steel door is probably the least expensive design to meet your efficiency and comfort needs.
When choosing a steel door, look for one with a thermal break separating the outdoor and indoor metal skins to reduce heat loss. This is not a factor on a fiberglass door. If you have children, look for pinch-resistance panels. These are designed to push a finger out of the panel joints as the door closes. If you want glass in the door, make sure it’s at least double-pane, insulated glass or low-E for better efficiency.
The following companies offer efficient garage doors: Amarr Garage Doors, (800) 503-3667; Clopay, (800) 225-6729; Overhead Door, (800) 929-3667; Raynor Garage Doors, (800) 472-9667; and Wayne-Dalton, (800) 827-3667. A garage door insulation kit is available from Owens Corning, (800) 438-7465.
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