Summer or Autumn is a Great Time to Install Garage Door Insulation
There are a wide variety of home improvement retailers who offer many different products that are designed to insulate an existing garage door. These DIY products are touted as being an affordable solution to insulating an existing garage door. But is that really the case? Will these products really give you a superb R-value insulation for your garage door?
DIY Retrofitted Garage Door Insulation vs Custom Installed Insulated Garage Door Panels
While the trend continues, DIY garage door insulation has a number of troubles that makes it an inferior product when compared to a newly installed insulated garage door panel. Jim Norman of Overhead Door Company of Central Jersey has this to say about insulated door panels versus DIY retrofitted insulation” A DIY garage door insulation retrofitting can be done, however it’s the least effective insulation package that a door can have. The most efficient type of garage door insulation is the Foamed in Place—better known as FIP panels—found on the better built doors. Surprisingly it is not much more costly than the lesser levels of insulation when a new door is selected. It cannot however be retro-fit to an existing door.”
And that’s a big problem for many homeowners to overcome—spending the little extra to have a new insulated garage door installed or to retrofit their existing door. When it comes down to the numbers however, many homeowners end up making the wrong decision. By installing a new, insulated garage door panel such as a FIP, you’ll save a greater amount of money through energy efficiency and therefore easily recoup the higher cost of the installation over a short period of time.
The Risk and Rewards of DIY Garage Door Insulation
Many homeowners assume that just because a DIY garage door insulation project is affordable that it’s going to benefit the structure. The problem with that notion is that more often than not, with the additional weight of the isolative panels comes additional strain on the door operator motor and gears. It all adds to the wear and tear of moving parts on the entire structure and shortens the life of your existing garage door—and in some cases, setting it up for premature failure when you least expect it.
Even when the weight of insulation doesn’t become a big factor, another issue arises—proper installation. When foam insulation is attached directly to the surface of a metal door, condensation between the two surfaces will occur without the proper vapor barrier in place. This increases the effect of corrosion and significantly shortens the lifespan of the garage door. Mold, mildew and bacteria growth can occur when water is allowed to stand in hot and humid structures like a garage.
Saving Money in Winter with a Well Insulated Garage Door
DIY garage door insulation might seem like an easy solution to insulating your garage, but it’s also a difficult job if things don’t end up looking like the picture on the box. More often than not, these kits come one size fits all, so if you’re going to install garage door insulation yourself and you have an odd sized door, then you might find you have trouble getting the right sized DIY kit for your needs. Whereas a garage door installation expert will most likely be able to install an insulated garage door panel in your home or business with ease, regardless of size.
The bottom line is that you may wish to consider a new garage door with FIP, rather than potentially damaging the functionality of an existing garage door.
