5 Reasons To Pick An Insulated Garage Door Over A Basic Model

When it comes time to invest in a new garage door, there's more to consider than just the style and the material. Considering what's included inside the door itself, in the form of either empty air or foam insulation, is essential to finding a garage door worth its price. Learn the five long-term benefits of an insulated garage door before you skip over this essential feature in order to save a little money upfront.

Reduced Heat Transfer

Since most garages are connected to the house, the structure itself is insulated so that the garage doesn't suck heated air from inside the rest of the home due to the extreme temperature differences. However, all that wall and ceiling insulation does little to nothing if the garage door itself is a big piece of metal that conducts heat quickly through its surface. Insulation slows down heat transfer through the door itself, completing the buffer effect started by the structural insulation.

Even if the garage doesn't exactly stay warm in the winter, a less extreme temperature difference between it and the house helps keep warm air where you need it the most. Of course, an insulated garage door only works when it's tightly sealed around the edges to prevent drafts and direct air leaks.

Better Noise Blocking

Listening to the constant rumble of traffic flowing past your home can ruin your peace and quiet very quickly. While not all insulated garage doors are specifically designed to dampen noise, that layer of foam still contributes to its noise blocking ability to some degree. All insulated doors dull street noise by some amount, with models designed specifically for noise blocking offering the best quieting effect. There's little point in mounting sound-dampening panels on the walls of the garage if the door itself is transmitting most of the noise.

Quieter Operation

Is the noise that's bothering you coming from inside the garage instead as your door clangs and rattles along while it opens and closes? Pair an insulated garage door with a quieter opener, like a belt-driven model, and you may not notice any noise at all as the door slides shut behind you. Insulated models tend to produce less noise because

• The core provides stiffness that prevents rattling
• The same foam also absorbs vibrations to dampen them before they produce noise
• The door is slightly heavier, preventing it from moving around so much on the track as it extends and retracts.

Stronger Construction

On top of blocking heat transfer and dampening sound, the foam-filled garage door is also quite a bit tougher. When neighborhood kids throw a basketball against the usual garage door, the open space in the middle of the door leaves plenty of room for the outer panels to bend in. This results in a sizable dent in metal doors and broken panels in wooden models. While the foam inside the insulated model isn't indestructible, it does offer extra support so that minor accidents don't make such a noticeable mark on the exterior.

Improved Results

Finally, it's better to choose a garage door built with insulation inside the model instead of going with a single-ply design and adding your insulating foam. Insulation works best when there are no gaps left, and it's very difficult to install insulation on a finished garage door without leaving any gaps. The insulation layers only last as long as the adhesives as well, and loose insulation will get tangled up in the tracks and cause a lot of trouble. Insulated garage doors cover the inner layer of foam with another vinyl or plastic barrier, preventing it from moving around or getting damaged over the years. It's also installed in one continuous sheet, unlike the small panels used for DIY insulation.

For more information and options, talk with garage door suppliers, such as those at DSI Door Services North Shore.