Should You Spring for an Insulated Garage Door?

It may seem like a small thing to replace your garage door. After all, it’s just a door, isn’t it? Well, according to Remodeling Magazine, which has kept tabs on the value common home repairs and remodels can return yearly since 2002, a garage door replacement is 2020’s second best returning project, recouping a whopping 94.5% of the costs involved. That’s huge! So maybe a garage door isn’t just a garage door after all.

Why Buy an Insulated Garage Door?

When it comes to choosing your next door, there’s a lot to consider, but one of the biggest decision points is whether or not to opt for an insulated garage door. Insulated garage doors can be a huge benefit to your home, whether you’re getting ready to sell or intend to stay the course for many more years.

Here are just a few of the reasons to choose insulated:

A more durable design. In order to insulate a garage door, additional layers are added to the somewhat thin materials that standard garage doors are made from. These extra layers include both insulation and, generally, a panel to cover the insulation and protect it from damage. Along with these elements, you will often also see additional braces along the door’s length, creating a significantly stronger door.

While it may not seem like a garage door needs to be strong, one of the major causes of garage door damage is wind storms. In fact, the right kind of winds can take an uninsulated garage door and basically crush it like an aluminum can, exposing everything inside your garage to the storm that’s in progress. The more durable materials also help to deter criminals, since the door is much heavier and more difficult to force open.

Improved energy efficiency. With all that insulation comes benefits you’d probably expect, like improved energy efficiency. Although many garages don’t get connected to climate control systems, they still influence the temperature inside your home’s envelope. When it’s very cold or very hot in your garage, air leaks and basic thermal radiation through walls can become extra obvious.

Even if you don’t notice temperature changes due to your garage’s wild temperature swings, your car and other machines probably will. Even though they’re indoors and protected from rain, wind, and snow, temperature extremes can still cause a fair amount of damage over time. Insulated garage doors even out these temperature swings, extending the life of sensitive tools and machines.

Quieter garage spaces. Depending on how your home is set up, adding an insulated garage door can also help reduce garage door noise. If your garage is off of a main living area or isn’t even connected to the house, noise from door vibrations may not be noticeable, but when you have a sleeping baby in a bedroom just above or next to the garage door, you’ll be able to tell. Along with reducing door vibrations, an insulated garage door will help reduce road noise that comes into your home from the outdoors. The thick door is a great sound dampener both ways, though, so your garage band can also make a little bit more noise without anybody outside being the wiser.

Of course, the benefits of an insulated garage door are better realized when your door is properly installed and gaps are eliminated. After all, putting insulation next to a big gap without covering it really does no one any good.