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Insulated Garage Doors – A Buyer’s Guide Dacula, GA

Insulated Garage Doors – A Buyer’s Guide

A residential garage with Insulated Garage Doors

Have you been thinking about replacing your garage door? Are you considering an insulated steel garage door? Today more than ever, your choices for insulated garage doors are almost overwhelming.

Hopefully you’ll find the following information helpful in making the decision that’s right for your budget, home and lifestyle.

If your current garage doors are wood construction, you’ll most likely be upgrading to steel doors. A quick comparison between wood and steel doors reveals that wood garage doors while being old and currently outdated, actually offer a decent amount of natural insulation thanks to mother nature and the density of wood.

Steel on the other hand is a natural conductor of both hot and cold and even though your garage might not be environmentally conditioned, steel will heat your garage up in the hot summers and cool it off dramatically in the winter. With that said we generally recommend that your new garage door be insulated rather than just hollow backed steel.

Different manufacturers will offer various overall thicknesses of garage doors, starting at 3/4″ going all the way up to 2″. Some of the common thicknesses of doors you’ll find are 3/4″, 1″, 1 1/4″, 1 3/8″, 1 1/2″, 1 3/4″ and 2″.

Polystyrene vs Polyurethane Insulation

Some products will only be offered insulated and others will offer a choice of insulated vs non as well as types of backing and insulation material. The two primary types of insulation that you’ll find are polystyrene and polyurethane.

Polystyrene insulated garage doors will be offered  with no backing, foil backing, vinyl backing, steel backing panels and a double sided steel door, more commonly known as a steel sandwich garage door. Polyurethane doors will be offered in foam-back which can either fill the entire cavity of the door or approximately half of the overall thickness. Generally speaking the doors filled with polyurethane will be double sided steel sandwich doors.

When it comes to insulated garage door the sandwich type doors are the strongest, quietest and most durable of the insulated doors. Sandwich doors are most comparable to wooden garage doors and because of the sandwich or bonding process they are by far the most durable in my opinion.

Polyurethane insulation will be more expensive and it will offer a better R value. Polystyrene tends to be a little more economical and not far behind in R value, both have their benefits.

The following is opinion on my part and some won’t agree. Polystyrene is a solid and when its sandwiched between two sheets of steel makes a strong quiet and durable door, it also offers excellent adhesion in the bonding process which means longevity.

Polyurethane is injected into the door as a foamy liquid, adheres, dries and solidifies into a solid product.

Because polyurethane is injected as a liquid there are going to be air bubbles where the foam doesn’t bond to the steel. This in my opinion weakens the door a bit, however the polyurethane does offer a little better insulation value.

Now here’s the big kicker when it comes to comparison of R values between manufacturers, there are not any industry standard testing methods. What this means to you the consumer is that one manufacturer might test a 2’x 2′ sample of a door and yield a significantly higher R value while another manufacturer tests a 10′ x 10′ actual door and even though the doors are virtually identically constructed, this door will yield a much lower R value. To me this can be very deceiving and makes it more difficult for the consumer to make a more intelligent decision.

To me personally, your investment in a new garage door shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially with the cost of new garage doors today.

Some other things to consider in this decision making process are the following, do you have living space above your garage? How many walls does your garage share with your home? Does your garage have HVAC? Is it also your workshop and how long do you plan on staying in your home?

Remember a good quality insulated garage door can also be touted as a great resale feature if you’re considering selling your home.

My final words of wisdom are that while the quality of the garage door is extremely important, the quality and reputation of the garage door installation company is even more important. Always check for length of time in business as well as online reviews.

Posted on behalf of Habpro Garage Doors

Phone: 770-985-3355

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Our Client Reviews

5.0 /5.0
Google logo Jeanie S.

June 6, 2024

I have been using Habpro for many years and they are THE BEST! They are so knowledgeable, efficient, polite, reasonable and get the job done correctly! And, they come out very quickly and no job is too big or small for them. I highly recommend Habpro!

Google logo Kay P.

June 6, 2024

My garage door top panel was broken and bent. I contacted 2 different garage door companies who quickly quoted a price to replace the entire garage door. I then contacted Habpro and I am so glad that I did! They requested that I send them pictures of my garage door and were able to give me a reasonable quote to repair the door. They explained what they intended to do and set an appointment for the next day. I was kept informed of my tech's arrival. Jared arrived on time and he was professional, courteous and knowledgeable. He fixed my garage door and added additional hardware to improve the structure of the door. The job was completed in about 30 minutes. I have already referred Habpro to my neighbor. This was a great experience!

Google logo Tripp Ch.

June 6, 2024

I have used Habpro on 2 separate occasions over the past years to repair broken springs on our garage door, most recently in May 2024. Both times Bill and his team have been very quick to respond and had someone onsite to complete the repair in the same day at a reasonable cost. The guys completing the repairs have been great to work with and told me exactly what was going on and took care of business quickly and efficiently. They are my first choice, and I would recommend Habpro to anyone looking for garage door repair.

Google logo Demetra R.

June 6, 2024

They did a great job on my mom’s garage door. It was an older model, so we replaced the motor added keypad and setup remote digital control. Thank you

Google logo Tai M.

June 6, 2024

The technician did a great job to install my garage door opener in timely manner and great price! I highly recommend to all my friends!

Google logo JAZiadie

June 6, 2024

I came home from vacation to my garge door spring broken mysteriously. Bill answered my call on a weekend and had his guys there the next day! Quick response, quick fix, awesome service!

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Bill Farmer

Habpro Garage Doors

770-985-3355