There are so many options to choose from when you are looking at purchasing a new garage door, from windows to colors, to the door design itself! One of the first decisions to make is whether or not you want an insulated door. Many design options are contingent on if your door is insulated or not, so that is typically the first thing we have our clients decide on. For many people, the choice isn’t always so clear on whether or not to get an insulated door. We at Hung Right Doors almost always recommend that you get an insulated door even if the door is going on a rental, or a detached garage.
It probably doesn’t come as a shock, but insulated garage door cost more than a non-insulated door. This isn’t the reason we recommend that the next door you purchase is an insulated one though. The biggest reason is simply that insulated doors are way more resilient than non-insulated doors. We usually recommend going for a steel front and back insulated door. Vinyl back insulated doors have a thin layer of vinyl covering the insulation so that it’s not just exposed Styrofoam on the back of your door. This doesn’t add any more strength to your door, it just ensures that your not going to take a chunk out of the foam insulation if it gets bumped. A steel front and back door literally doubles the durability of a door! Garage doors are not always treated with kid gloves. They are constantly being bumped, dinged, or even run into. It’s so important to have a door that can stand up to that kind of treatment.
If doors get too damaged and they aren’t repaired it can lead to total destruction of the door itself. These days lead times are long for replacements and parts. Making sure that your garage door is durable is important so that you can have a well working day all the time.
Insulation isn’t always for warmth, although if you have a garage attached to your house it’s important for that (more on that later). It’s important for the longevity of your door (as previously discussed) We recommend going with at least the 6.5 R value steel front and back door. But you can go even higher if you want to as well. If the insulation is just for durability though, the 6.5 R value is perfectly fine.
Warmth is also a huge factor when you are thinking about going for an insulted door. If you work in your garage, or if the garage is attached to your house it’s important to go insulated because of the temperature regulation that happens with an insulated door. Insulated doors can help keep the draftiness of a house down which in these coming cold months is so important!
It also keeps the house cooler in the summer since the insulation not only holds in warmth in the winter, but it also keeps it out during the summer. This temperature regulation can help keep your heating bill, which can help to offset the higher price point of the insulated garage door!
Hopefully this shed a little light on why an insulated door is the way to go when you are looking to replace your current garage door. Now the only question is how high are you gonna go in R value?
We offer a full line of clopay garage doors