Garages these days are spaces that are utilised for so much more than just parking cars or tinkering at your tool bench; they are extensions of the home which can become an extra living space, a home gym, an office, a playroom and even a warm safe place for pets to sleep.
In the past when homes were built, the intention of a garage was simply for it to be used as exactly that (a garage). This meant there was little thought or planning in the building of the garage in regard to insulating, lighting and functionality.
Newly built homes will usually have an insulated garage door already. But for any of us living in slightly older homes, our garage doors are not. Non-insulated garage doors are very effective at ensuring we lose heat in the winter and allowing excess heat into the garage in the summer which then limits the possibilities of what we can use our garage for.
By retrofitting your garage door with insulation, you automatically reap the benefits. Your garage remains a more constant temperature all year round. In the winter the insulation works effectively at keeping the heat inside the garage and in the summer the insulation works effectively at keeping the sunlight or heat from the outside from penetrating in.
Let’s bear in mind that most garage doors are made from metal. Think of something else that is made from metal such as your car perhaps. How does this feel to touch if it is sitting outside in cold weather? How does this feel to touch if it is sitting in direct sunlight for a while? Correct! It feels super cold or super hot, as it takes on the temperature of its surroundings and then amplifies it.
Let’s think back to our metal garage door which takes up almost one whole wall of garage space; we can now understand that it is doing the same thing (amplifying the temperature of its surroundings) which then creates a flow on effect to the rest of the area (in this case the garage). That is a huge amount of heat lost or heat generated.
Those people who are already using their carpeted garage at its full potential, the home workout crew for example. How hard is it for you to get motivated when you walk into the garage, headphones on ready to sweat and there is an icy cold blast as soon as you open the door from the house?
The people who have pets that sleep in the garage at night or are left in the garage during the day. How many times have you thought on a hot day; “I hope they’re ok in the garage? I know how hot and stuffy it can get in there”?
It's 2021, let's make things easy for ourselves and reduce our stress. Make the home workouts easy, don’t feel anxious about your pets at home, don’t put on your jacket to go and work in your home office in the garage. Just insulate the door and you will notice an instant difference in the overall temperature.
There are two main types of garage door insulation available. Polyester and polystyrene. We prefer to use a polyester product over a polystyrene product for one main reason. Polyester is a semi rigid malleable board which means all areas of the door can be completely insulated by tucking the product right in behind the metal uprights on the door. Polystyrene is a totally rigid board which cannot be bent or moved; therefore it leaves gaps in behind the uprights on the door cavity.
Because of polyester's malleable properties, it makes it far more effective than rigid polystyrene. The polyester creates a complete seal over the whole surface area of the door.
Feel free to send us a photo of your garage door to find out if it's already insulated or not.
If you have been considering adding value to your home and making the garage a more usable space, then contact us for your free quote today.