Tag Archives: garage door insulation
Phone Conversation: “My garage door is frozen!”
Homeowner: My garage door is stuck from the Winter’s cold? What can I do to unstuck it?
Garage Door Dealer: Can you see ice at the bottom of the door?
Homeowner: Ah, yes.
Garage Door Dealer: Well then your garage doors weather seal is probably frozen to the concrete. This happens when the bottom of the door sits in water or wet snow that eventually freezes when the temperature dips.
Homeowner: So what do I do?
Garage Door Dealer: Well, to get the door unstuck, break off the ice or use warm water to melt the ice. Then raise your garage door and clean and dry the area to prevent the door from refreezing when you’ve finished.
Homeowner: That sounds simple. I tried to force my door open and break the ice.
Garage Door Dealer: That could rip your weather seal and then water, snow and cold air could get into your garage. Then you’d have to replace the weather seal.
Homeowner: I don’t want to do that. Well thank you for your information.
Garage Door Dealer: Just one more idea. Think about waxing your door with the same wax they use on cars. This can be a great way to prevent ice from sticking to your [more]
The Ficticious R Factor
The garage door industry association, the Door & Access Systems Manufacturing Association (DASMA ) is in the process of performing U factor testing and eliminating R rating on all garage doors. This has been expected for some time as the major manufacturers (Clopay, Overhead Door, Wayne Dalton, CHI, Amarr/Entramatic and others) have been battling over who has the highest R-Factor.
Forty years ago a company, by the name of McKee Door, did testing on a 10′ x 10′ insulated door that didn’t have weather seals around the perimeter. They determined that they may as well have a 12 inch diameter hole in the center of the door due to air leakage. Perimeter seals are a major factor in buying an insulated garage door. Regrettably no one in our industry provides anything close to the kind of seals that the window entry door industries provide on their products.
So while consumers and door dealers get hung up on polystyrene/urethane doors with fictitiously high R-Factors, they are doing nothing less than selling the consumer a bill of goods. It’s reminiscent of the same commotion that energy tax credits and pinch-proof doors provided and flooded the industry for a number of years.
A conditioned air space and an [more]
June is Garage Door Safety Month
Increasing Garage Door Safety Awareness
The International Door Association (IDA) and the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA) have designated June as Garage Door Safety Month. Both associations and their affiliated manufacturers will be working to increase public awareness of the possible hazards of garage doors and automatic opener systems, and the need for periodic inspection and maintenance to keep them safe.
Just as your customers want their garage door system to operate properly every time they need it, they also want it to operate safely at all times.
The garage door is typically the largest moving object in your home. Properly maintained and operated, a garage door and its operating system allow them, their families and their vehicles convenient access to and from their home. They also provide security and protect against the elements. Newer, insulated garage doors even help save energy.
But moving garage doors can also cause serious injury. While there are some garage door system maintenance chores that your customers can – and should – perform on a regular basis, there are other tasks (including garage door installation and garage door spring replacement) that are best left to you, the dealer.
You have a responsibility to your customers to make sure [more]
Read Your Garage Door Owner’s Manual!
For those of you who have moved into a new home or have just installed a new garage door, be sure to take the time to thoroughly read the garage door owner’s manual. It may seem like a chore and take time, but one would be surprised at what they can find in most well written garage door manuals. The manual will contain safety and design information to help you insure that your garage door is safe to use and properly installed, and contain information on how to keep your garage door properly maintained.
For example, many garage door manuals will contain helpful tips for painting them. Most companies will tell you to pain BOTH the inside and outside of the garage door to keep everything even, and to never remove any parts of the garage door when painting. If you want to make sure that your garage door is completely covered in a fresh coat of paint, you need to call in a professional to dismantle it so that you can finish the paint job, and then have the garage door installed again. This usually does not happen, but again, do not try to dismantle any of the parts of [more]
Reduce the Noise Coming From Your Garage Door!
Every time the garage door opens and closes, a loud rumble comes right through the walls of your home. Can’t stand it? Here’s some advice to help you reduce noise generated by the up and down movement of your garage door.
1. An insulated garage door can significantly reduce the intrusion of street noise into the home – especially important when there are bedroom or other living areas above or adjacent to the garage. If your door isn’t already insulated, the insulation can be installed by professional installers for a minimal charge, but it is not difficult to mount the insulation yourself and kits are available at your local home improvement retailer. It is important to consider having your springs recalculated because of additional weight to the door.
2. Have the steel rollers on your garage door changed to nylon. With nylon rollers, you will obtain almost silent running on the tracks and there is no need for lubrication.
3. Another point to look at is your electric operator. Any belt-driven model is best because the motor of this model is insulated from the metal case and will cut vibrations. The rubber belt is also quieter than the steel chain.
4. A noise isolator [more]
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With the cold weather, the following can you save you a lot of time and expense!
Keeping it Clean
Clean your garage door regularly with mild soap, such as car detergent, and a soft bristle brush. Avoid using abrasive cleaners and very strong liquid cleaners which could damage the paint or cause delaminating. If you have a steel garage door, you can revive its luster by applying a car wax as it will protect against acid rain and dust. It is best to avoid waxing in direct sunlight to achieve better results.
Weather Stripping
Clean the weather stripping with a good all-purpose cleaner. Lubricate it every 2 or 3 months with a SILICONE-based lubricant. Never use a petroleum-based lubricant on weather stripping as it will dry up and crack. Don’t forget the weather strip between your door panels. It is important to let your weather strip hang 1/2″ below the door base when you readjust your perimeter weather stripping. If the weather stripping is too tight, the door will not function properly. So if your weather stripping has lost its flexibility, it is best to replace it.
Maintaining the Hardware
Lubricate the rollers, tracks and hinges and all moving hardware parts with a little motor oil [more]
The All Purposeful Garage Door
Your garage door serves many purposes. It keeps your garage secure. It provides aesthetic appeal for your home. It also can be an energy efficiency product to help lower your energy bills.
You can get so much from a garage door that when it comes time to buy a replacement, you should shop smart. Make sure that the new one will be even better than the last. Do not settle for just any door. Shop around and be sure the model you get will serve all your purposes perfectly.
There are many considerations to make when choosing a new garage door. You should consider how you use the garage when making your choice. In some homes the garage is a playroom or a workshop in addition to keeping vehicles in out of the elements. How you use the garage will play into your final choice on a door.
You also need to make sure you get the right size of door. The wrong size of door will not serve any purpose. Take measurements carefully. Get help if you need it. Many retailers will offer help with taking measurements.
The appearance is also important. There are a range of styles, so you should try to [more]
Going Shopping
Here are some factors to consider when buying a new garage door.
• Budget. Like everything, budget dictates options. Garage doors range in price from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the size, materials and design you choose. Even if you have a small budget you can still get a great looking door that is going to enhance the look of the house.
• Design. Think of the garage as an extension of the home’s theme, not an afterthought. Let the home’s architectural style, the shape and size of the windows and entry doors, and exterior design details influence the design of the garage door.
It’s a good idea to visit dealer showrooms and review manufacturer Web sites to get a sense of the options available. Many companies offer doors pre-designed to match specific architectural styles, which can make the selection process easier.
• Insulation. Doors can be insulated or non-insulated. If the garage is attached to the house you’ll want an insulated door. This will help reduce utility bills – a popular selling point with prospective buyers. If you live in a mild climate or have a detached garage that will only be used to park the car, you can [more]
What Type of Garage Door is Best for You?
Modern-day garage doors are not limited to the wood of centuries past or steel of decades past. You can also get garage doors made of other materials like aluminum and wood composites. But which of these many materials is most cost-effective and durable? Which looks best? We’ll examine the pros and cons of each material.
Steel is by far the most often picked material for garage doors. They aren’t terribly expensive, they’re quite durable and require very little maintenance, and they can come in pretty much any style you might demand. Steel’s appearance is flexible, as it can be painted or formed into panels, and can be treated with a gel stain that makes it look similar to wood.
When you’re actually doing your shopping there is a few things to keep in mind about steel: it’s a pretty ineffective insulator, and probably requires an outside source of insulation to keep your garage habitable and save you energy. Also, steel panels tend to vary in their thickness, usually varying with the price, and if you want a steel door that will withstand basketball games, you’ll have to pay for it. Aluminum doors are similar to steel in many ways, especially in that they [more]
Make your garage much more than just a place to park your car!
Would you like more liveable space in your home? The simple expedient of insulating and draft proofing your garage door will give you just that. Make your garage much more than just a place to park your car!
A garage really is much more than a car park or at least, an insulated garage has the potential to be much more, especially when one takes into account their proximity to our homes. You wouldn’t let uncomfortable draughts into your home, so why let them into your garage?
Agreed, there is a negative to consider when deciding whether or not to insulate your garage doors. Insulated garage doors cost more to purchase than uninsulated garage doors, but this initial outlay is mitigated over time through the reduction of lost heat and the addition of extra liveable space within your home.
Home Improvement The benefits of having a garage that is insulated including an insulated garage door. We use our garages for everything except maybe parking our cars that is. Garages are great to have because we can get so much use out of them. They give us an extension of our home to work on hobbies like wood working or automotive care or even [more]