Insulation and kits for garage doors

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Insulation, Kits and Garage Doors

The garage door is often a large un-insulated space in many homes, causing costly energy losses.

If your garage is not attached to your home, and if you aren't interested in comfort or soundproofing, you can buy a door with a low R-value or without insulation. But if your garage is…

- directly below or adjacent to your living room space;
- or if it used as an extension of your living space and you or your family plan to spend a lot of time in your garage, than...

you need a garage door that is able to provide thermal comfort, energy savings and soundproofing.

Garage door insulation: r-value

Look for a door with an R-value of at least 4-5 in temperate climates. In more extreme climates the R-value of the garage door should be higher: R-values of 6-7 (up to 10) are common and desirable in hot and cold climates.

Note: the R-value is a measurement of thermal efficiency; efficient garage doors offer higher R-values.

Garage door seals

Your garage door should have efficient weather seals between its sections (if it is a sectional roll-up door). The seal may involve a gasket (that compresses when the door is closed); it may also be designed into the mating surfaces of the panels.

Garage door windows

Use double-paned windows to get natural light and to keep winter cold and summer heat out.

Garage Bottom threshold/seal

Your door should be sealed at its bottom. If the door doesn't come with a standard bottom seal, add one to keep rain and water out.

There are garage door threshold seals carrying a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Steel and Aluminum Garage doors and the insulation layer

Cheaper steel and aluminum garage doors have a single sheet of galvanized steel. They do not have a second thick layer of an insulation material – usually polystyrene or polyurethane – to provide high insulating value and soundproofing to the door.

See, on this issue:
Steel garage doors
Aluminum garage doors

Wood, fiberglass and vinyl garage doors

Wood, fiberglass and vinyl provide some natural insulation. But the efficiency of the garage doors based on these materials is lower than that of steel and aluminum insulated doors.

See, for more information:
Wood garage doors
Fiberglass and vinyl garage doors

Garage door & Insulation kits

If your existing steel or aluminum garage door has insufficient or no insulation at all, you may install an insulation layer. There are several companies offering standard insulation kits for garage doors. They usually consist of pieces of expanded polystyrene with a bonded plastic film applied on one side (ask for UL certified expanded polystyrene, as a guarantee of quality), or reflective double foil kits.

Some companies offer a one year warranty, and professional installation.

Make sure the insulation is correctly installed. It should conform to legal procedures (namely those involving fire safety). Do not forget also that additional weight added to the door may affect the operation of the garage door opener.