When you’re choosing a garage door, there are a lot of details to iron out. You must select color, style, window type, and so much more. On top of the design, you also have to decide whether or not to go with an insulated door. Insulation is one of those things that can save you a few bucks if you leave it off, but you could also end up with buyer’s remorse sometime down the road if you don’t add it. Let’s look into the issue of garage door insulation and whether it’s worth the money.
Is the Building Insulated?
If you discuss insulated doors with the pros at Lewis Door Service, the first question they’ll ask you is where the door will be used. If you plan to install a new door in an insulated space, you should go with an insulated door. It just makes sense for the garage door carry its fair share of the load when it comes to controlling energy costs. Using an uninsulated door on an insulated building is not much different than leaving the door open. Insulated spaces get insulated doors.
However, the opposite is not necessarily true. You may have a shop building, detached garage, or other building with no insulation that still might benefit from having an insulated door. That might sound strange, but it makes sense in many situations.
Let’s say that you have a simple metal building where you keep the lawn mower, tools, and so forth. It’s not insulated because you don’t have anything temperature-sensitive in it, and you don’t occupy it as you would a workshop. You may still benefit from an insulated door in this situation.
First, if you choose to insulate the building later on, you’ll already have an insulated door in place. Second, an insulated door has some protection against damage and will also reduce the noise that escapes from your building, so even though the building is not insulated (yet), you might still benefit from having an insulated door.
Is the Garage Climate-Controlled?
The main purpose of insulation is to regulate temperature. That’s what the term actually means: you want to insulate the cool from the warm, or vice versa. The most obvious time when this is necessary is when you are spending money to heat or cool the garage and want to keep as much of that expensive climate-controlled air inside the space as possible. In that case, it’s obvious that an insulated garage door is the better option.
Insulated doors will slow the rate at which the outdoor air changes the temperature of the indoor air, keeping your heat or air conditioning from cycling as frequently. The fewer cycles the system runs, the less you will be spending on your energy bills.
That’s not to say that you must have heat or air conditioning in the garage to get temperature benefits from an insulated door. An attached, unheated garage can act like a giant cold compress against your home if it’s not properly insulated. In that situation, an insulated door can contribute to keeping the outside air from having such a large impact on the temperature inside your residence.
What’s Going on Inside?
When we talk about insulation, we usually think first of these temperature management strategies. While that is typically the highest priority for the use of an insulated door, it is not the only insulating purpose that the door may handle.
An insulated door is also a well-protected door. When you have a busy garage with work going on, items being moved around, or even just daily life going on inside, there is always a chance that something hits the inside of your garage door, making an unsightly dent that can be expensive and difficult to repair.
The things going on outside can also make an insulated door worthwhile. Our driveways don’t just park cars. They host bicycle races and basketball games, and they create a handy location for washing cars and doing landscape work. All of that outdoor activity can get pretty loud for those inside the house who may be studying or resting, and an insulated garage door can help diminish some of the impact from your busy driveway.
Insulated doors can also dampen down noise like that from nearby highways, renovation crews next door, barking dogs passing by, and so much more. If your home could benefit from less noise, it can probably benefit from an insulated garage door.
Thinking Long-Term Value
Whether your new door is insulated or not, it is an investment in the functionality and value of your home. Your goal should be to make it worth every dollar that you spend. One of the best ways to get a real cash return on an insulated garage door is through resale value.
You may not think that you’ll ever want to sell your home, but there is always the possibility that it will turn out to be a good move someday. If that happens, you’ll be glad if you’ve made a decision about a garage door based not just on what was best for you at the time but also on what might turn out to be best for a potential buyer evaluating your property years down the road.
For example, you may not use your garage for anything but parking vehicles, but a new owner might want to add climate control and make it a workshop. If you’ve invested in an insulated door, you will see a better return on those dollars than if you had chosen to go with an uninsulated one.
Of course, it is always possible to upgrade to an insulated door at the time you list your home on the market, but that means replacing a door that probably didn’t otherwise need to be replaced. This increases your investment and makes it much more difficult to recover your money through resale value.
Because of situations like this, an insulated door is just like any other home improvement project. It’s a decision made today that will impact your family’s finances for years to come. When you choose an insulated door, the simple fact is that your home will prove more appealing to would-be buyers.
Little details like these can sometimes be the points that make a sale happen — and at a better price. That is especially true in today’s real estate market, where home inspections are the norm. A qualified home inspector will definitely notice your insulated door, especially if it has been well-maintained by a garage door tune-up professional, and pass that information along to the buyer, which can help mean more money in your pocket.
Talk With a Garage Door Professional Today!
For homeowners around Louisville, Lewis Door Service is the best choice to get reliable advice and quality service regarding garage doors. Our team has years of experience with projects just like yours, and we offer more options than just installation. Throughout Kentuckiana, we furnish both commercial and residential garage door services, including emergency repairs, door replacement and repair, garage door openers, and much more. You can count on our expertise to help you choose the best door for your garage. Give us a call today!
