Add Insulation to Your Garage Door and Save
Insulating your garage door is a simple procedure that has the potential to save you money in many ways. Whether you retrofit insulation as a DIY project, hire a pro to do the job, or buy an already-insulated door, it will conserve energy and safeguard your possessions.
Posted — UpdatedIt's not just the garage that suffers due to temperature fluctuations. Insulation also protects a major investment – your car – from weather-related wear and tear (not to mention the fact that you'll find it much pleasanter to climb into an automobile that's neither blisteringly hot nor shivery cold!).
In addition, the insulation process serves to strengthen the door itself, extending its life and saving you money on replacement.
Finally, there is a type sold as rigid boards, usually of polystyrene, with R values of 3.3 for ½ inch thick to 6.5 for one inch. The boards need to be cut to the precise dimensions of your door panels, which makes working with them quite a challenge, especially for the amateur. This is the highest-cost method.
All these types of insulation may be applied to either aluminum or steel doors and will not add excessively to their weight or difficulty of operation.
Don't forget to protect the bottom of your door. Inexpensive vinyl weather stripping seals the garage door and its opening, preventing hot or cold drafts. As it eventually becomes dry or cracked, the old weather stripping will need to be scraped off and replaced.