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How to Decide if an Insulated Steel Garage Door is Right
Garage doors come in a selection of metals, from aluminum to steel. Many garage door manufacturers make and sell metal garage doors that are not insulated. This creates a product for the low-cost garage door market. For homes located in temperately mild climates, metal garage doors that are not insulated usually work just fine. But for homes located in areas where temperatures change a lot or tend toward either hot or cold, insulated garage doors are a better option.
To insulate or not to insulate is fairly simple to figure out. If the home will improve in energy efficiency with an insulated door, then it is likely the best choice. More complex of a decision to make is what kind of material should the garage door be made of?
Wood is a natural insulator, though there are man-made garage door insulations that are often considered to work better at keeping temperature transference to a minimum. Wood needs a bit of maintenance and regular resealing in order to maintain the look and quality of the door. Homeowners who do not want to have to maintain wood garage doors look to metal options.
Aluminum garage doors makes for an inexpensive garage door, and insulated aluminum garage doors are available on the consumer market. As a metal, aluminum needs minimal care and maintenance in order to keep the garage doors functioning. But aluminum is very light weight as far as metals go. Residences in particularly windy regions would be well advised to avoid light weight garage doors, lest the wind rip the doors right off the building. Of course, this is a bit of an extreme, and the majority of homes can use aluminum garage doors without issue.
Equally easy to maintain are steel garage doors. Steel garage doors are easily cleaned a few times a year with mild detergent, and the garage door service that performed the installation can show the homeowner where and how to oil the mechanisms. Because they are heavier than aluminum, many homeowners feel that insulated steel garage doors provide better security than their light weight counterparts. The weight and strength of steel also means that insulated steel garage doors are more ding and dent resistant than those made of other materials. While most homeowners hope that no cars will driven through the garage doors anyway, garage doors take a lot more wear and tear than many people think. Even errantly flying baseballs can dent a garage door, and a door that is resistant to this sort of impact will not only look better longer, it is also less likely to sustain damage that creates issues with regular functioning.
Insulated steel garage doors offer energy efficiency, easy maintenance, security, strength, and durability. They are usually less expensive than wood garage doors, though they often cannot be customized to the extent that wood garage doors can. Many insulated steel garage doors are priced higher than aluminum doors, which makes them in the mid range of garage door prices. In the end, insulated steel garage doors are usually a winning bet.
Many people who
were thinking of selling their home and trading their single car garage for a
double garage door have found they are going to have to wait a little longer
for their equity to build up. This does not mean that they can't make their
existing home feel like new. One of the fun parts of a new house is the extra
facelift owners will give their home to increase its sale price.
Selling a home
does not need to be the only reason to want to improve the garage space. Take a
weekend and make it more inviting and accessible. First pack up everything in
the garage. Storage tubs can come in handy here, otherwise a couple of boxes
should get everything packed away. Take a mental inventory. Is the existing
storage enough. Is new shelving or a cabinet needed? If some of the stored
items are large and but light, look to the ceiling for storage. The space above
the garage door may be adequate to store skies, snow sleds, or baby pools. Just
make sure that they don't get in the way of the garage door opener. A local
hardware store should have the hooks or braces for any need.
While one's eyes
are looking up, take a look at the garage door opener. If it is really old or
noisy could it use a tune up or would a replacement be in order. Then look at
the garage door itself. Does it need a good cleaning? Perhaps it needs a coat of
paint? If the garage door is wood and some of the pieces have dry rotted a new
door or door segment will be in order. Consider getting a professional to
inspect it. Check the door lifting mechanisms as well as the opener. Test the
garage doors automatic reverse sensor.
After one works
out the condition of the garage door, clear the space out completely. With the
space completely empty, look at the walls and floor. Start with a good scrub of
the walls and floor. One wants to make sure the temperature is between 50 and
78 degrees so that the cement will dry quickly, but not too fast to be useful.
Use a paste of dish detergent and hot water, or clothing spot treatment for
cleaning up oil stains on the floor.
If the space
really needs an update consider paint. Get a durable paint, remember that most
folks rarely ever think to repaint a garage door so make this one count. There are
also paints for the floor that will bond with concrete and then resist future
oil and water.
After all this
bring the boxes back in and make sure everything has a place. Items that don't
have a place can stay in the box and mark the contents clearly on the outside
with a note to sell or discard after a year.
Now that will
make a garage worth staying around for.
Garage door opener torsion tension springs are not generally
very expensive.They usually cost
between $25 and $50 USD.Many property
owners might prefer to install or replace torsion tension springs themselves so
as to save money on the fees charged by professional garage door services to do
the work.However, garage door opener
torsion tension springs are in fact one of the most dangerous parts of any
automatic garage door system, and should only be removed, serviced, and
replaced by trained professionals.
Garage door opener torsion springs are not universal.That means that different garage doors and
garage door openers need different sizes and types of torsion tension
springs.The necessary information about
which type of spring a given door and automatic opener system need is usually
found in the door and opener manuals. When the manuals are not available, the existing springs can be measured
by the property owner, though this method has a risk of miscalculation and
error.For this reason, it is likely a
good idea to call in a professional garage door service to determine what size
and type of torsion spring is necessary. As most property owners need to call in a service technician in order to
have the spring serviced or replaced, most technicians will determine which
spring is needed for the property owner. Keep in mind that size is not the only important factor.Weight of the spring and of the door, as well
as the horsepower of the garage door opener are all vital factors in
determining what kind of replacement is needed. The make and brand of both the door and opener must also be taken into
consideration.
The torsion tension spring is the garage door opener component that pulls the door up, and holds it in vertical place and helps
secure it in the overhead storage position. The name says it all-- torsion tension springs hold tension on the door.This makes them very dangerous.If the spring is detached from the garage
door while the door is not fully closed, the door will fall with a crash to the
ground.This is dangerous for people and
pets that are nearby and is also likely to cause the door to come off the
tracks entirely.Extensive, expensive
damage can be done to the door, the tracks, and the attached structure if a
heavy garage door is allowed to crash to the ground.Garage door springs also pose a safety hazard
when released from the door and opener as the tension on the spring can cause
it to snap backward once released. Because these springs are very heavy duty, it is difficult to hold them
in a manner that guarantees they will not snap back.
For safety and proper garage door opener function, torsion
tension springs must be regularly serviced and replaced when they begin to wear
out or become damaged in any way. Homeowners should avoid messing with these high tension springs.Professional garage door service technicians
are not only trained and highly skilled in handling torsion springs safely,
they also have tools and equipment to help ensure that safety is respected and
no damage is done.The minor additional
cost of hiring a professional saves the door, structure, and people from
damage.
Garage
doors are arguably the largest moving feature in most any
home.In addition to vehicle storage,
garages provide extra space for tools, seasonal items, and workshop areas for
many homes.In this, they provide added
value and security, but they can present dangers if their mechanics are not
inspected and maintained on a regular basis. Though the door should be inspected by a professional yearly to make
sure that it is working properly, the home’s resident should also do routine
monthly inspections to keep an eye out for problems that could emerge.Quickly discovering a small problem can save
money and prevent potential injury in the long run.
When doing the monthly inspection of a garage door,
a good starting place is by checking the functioning of the opener. Since 1982, mandatory guidelines have been in
place requiring that the garage door openers will cause the door to reverse if
it comes in contact with an object.This
auto-reverse feature was added largely to keep children and pets safe from the
heavy door.To check the auto-reverse on
the door, place an object such as a 2x4 wooden board across the garage door
threshold and press the button to close the door.If the door does not reverse when it touches
the board, a garage
door service should be called to fix this
problem.
Assuming that the garage door opening mechanism is
working properly, the next check should be of the door itself.The movable parts that make a garage door
function as it should can wear out over time, creating potentials for damage to
property as well as personal injury.The
most obvious thing to look for would be if the door does not open and close
smoothly on its track.A garage door
should be able to be stopped at any point along its track and maintain this
position.A door that jerks, stops, or
falls quickly at certain sections needs to be professionally inspected and
repaired.
The bottom brackets of the garage door are typically
made to be resistant to tampering, and this should be respected.If they do not look as they are supposed to,
it is worthwhile to call in a professional. If the springs need to be replaced, they should be replaced at the same
time to be sure they continue to wear evenly. Also, while still in the garage, it is a good idea to look over the
cable and see if there are any fraying or worn out sections.Spring and cable replacements should always
be done by a professional.
Having a garage adds
value, security, and privacy.With
proper maintenance and inspections, garage doors can be a
long-lasting feature to a home.
There are many garage door openers available on the consumer market. Many homeowners might automatically go for the least expensive option available. However, different garage doors require different power levels of openers, and the location of the garage in relation to the home is also an important factor.
For garages that are built under the house, as is common with many ranch style homes and homes with basements that have exterior access, it is likely worth spending a bit of extra money to get a very quiet garage door opener. While it may be less important for a garage that is under common area living spaces, such as kitchens and living rooms, garages that are underneath bedrooms can be noisy areas that can disturb people sleeping above. Keep in mind that automatic garage door openers are most often attached to the ceiling of the bay-- which is the floor of the living space above. Spending an extra hundred dollars on a whisper quiet automatic opener can minimize noise disturbance. This is especially important for homes with children.
Noise concerns are one thing, but before a homeowner can select from a series of whisper quiet units, the appropriate style of automatic opener must be found. The garage door service that is performing the installation can help a homeowner figure out which style is best. Most garage door openers are installed in an overhead fashion. This means that the opener is mounted to the ceiling in the car bay area, and uses a pulley system to raise the door up and overhead. For garages with particularly low ceilings, cathedral ceilings, or obstructed ceilings, jackshaft opener styles must be used. Jackshaft openers are wall mounted, and often receive high ratings for quiet performance.
When it comes to garage door openers, size matters. For most insulated metal and fiberglass garage doors, an opener with 1/2 horsepower is ample. However, specialty doors are often heavier than more standard doors, and likely require more heavy duty openers. Most carriage house style garage doors need an opener with 3/4 horsepower to handle the heavy lifting. Likewise, solid wood doors, which are extremely heavy, need at least 3/4 horsepower to handle the weight.
It is vital for safety that automatic garage doors have the appropriate horsepower to handle the size and weight of the doors that they must lift. Without the correct horsepower, automatic openers can easily falter and fail, creating serious safety hazards. Because it is so important that the opener matches the door, it is a wise decision to consult with a garage door service about the power and style of opener that is needed.
