I typically receive many questions a week from people asking, how they should choose a garage door. This is a great 7 step process I use when advising home and business owners on the best garage door to fit their budget and needs.
The first thing I always ask a new client is where is the garage door located on the house. You are probably thinking “duhhh in the garage, Mike!” However let’s dive a little deeper, garage doors can be located; under the main floor level of a home, in an attached garage, in a detached garage or in another free-standing structure like a large barn or shed.
When replacing garage doors under a home or business we always recommend insulated garage doors because the doors will make an immediate difference to the comfort of the living/working area above. Lets face it, we all live in the North East and insulated metal garage doors are pretty much the only way to go if you have any hope of controlling your energy bills!
There are many different insulating values to choose from. Insulated values for residential garage doors can range from a low of 6 to as high as 19. The best way to make the selection process easy is to understand the construction of your garage. Most garages and garage door installation walls were and are still built today with typical 2×4 construction. Typical 2×4 fiberglass insulation that is used today gives the average 2×4 framed wall a 13 value. Garage doors in the 13 range, will therefore at least equal your walls insulating capacity and value.
For garages that are attached and not insulated or even for detached or free standing garages/sheds we still recommend a steel insulated garage door, however with a lower insulating value. We do this for two reasons;
- A garage door with a respectable insulating value will help keep the door operation quiet, most un-insulated garage doors sound like huge bags of hollow tin cans rolling around.
- The garage door insulation generally makes the garage door more rigid and durable. If you decide to use the cheapest, non insulated door on your shed or garage, the locking system and feather-light weight of the door could come back to haunt you. It does not take much effort to get through a cheap door. We have seen many a home and business owner who have had their equipment stolen because a thief simply busted the locks or bent the door panels enough to slip right into the garage.
For additional help in choosing the right garage door for your home or business please give us a call or shoot us an email!
