Are you looking for a garage door repair in Alexandria VA or a garage door repair in Arlington VA? Look no further than Next Day Garage Door, a garage door repair company that prides itself on expert professionals and top-notch service. We’ve been in the business for over 10 years, and we’re hoping to help out homeowners that are struggling with common garage door repair issues. We want our customers to be well-informed homeowners that make intuitive decisions.
These days, garages serve many purposes in addition to storing vehicles. For many, the garage door is the primary way they leave and enter their homes. Some use their garages as a workshop, rec room or craft space, and most Americans use it for storage. A second deep-freezer, some leftover paint cans and the family’s extra water jugs are other everyday items we store in our garages, yet sometimes people are surprised to learn that their things would be much better protected if their garage door was insulated.
Technically, garages aren’t considered living spaces, so construction regulations on creating a safe, sealed environment are much looser. Air leaks through the cracks, both into the garage and out of it, bringing the garage close to outdoor temperatures. Depending on where you live, these temperatures can make the garage unbearable to spend any time in, cause damage to stored belongings and drive up the cost to balance the heat or air conditioning within the house.
Cold climates and warm climates alike can affect the comfort and energy-efficiency of any home. Insulating your garage door is perhaps the most effective way to control your garage temperatures and reap the rewards of a tightly-sealed garage space. There is a big difference between garage doors that are insulated and those that are not. Once you see how you could benefit from an insulated garage, even with the temperatures we experience here in Washington, DC and other neighboring area, you’ll never go back to an ordinary garage door!
Question #1: How does the garage door affect the environment inside your garage?
Construction Layers:
- Single Layer: Also referred to as non-insulated garage doors, these garage doors are made up of only one layer of panel material with no added insulation.
- Double Layer: Along with the layer that makes up the exterior door, you have a sheet of insulation on the interior — usually a polystyrene-based layer.
- Triple Layer: As the most insulating, these doors have a much thicker layer of insulation made of either polyurethane or polystyrene, packed between two sheets of garage door material.
Garage Door Material Used:
- Steel: As the most common material for modern garage doors, steel is durable and low-maintenance. It is much less likely to get damaged from anything scraping or bumping against it, and it offers a lot of design varieties. Steel is the ideal skin for wrapping around vinyl or foam insulation layers for double and triple layer garage doors, and even on its own, a single steel layer can add a moderate amount of insulation.
- Aluminum: Lightweight and sleek, aluminum garage doors give your home an updated look. It’s much less heavy-duty than steel, making it a poor insulator due to how thin it is
- Glass: No garage door is entirely made of glass, but glass can be the main component of a garage door if it’s made of giant windows within a metal frame, such as the garage doors you have seen used in firetruck garages. Similar to aluminum, glass is thin, so it insulates quite poorly. Acrylic is a cheaper alternative to glass windows, but it also allows a lot of heat or cold to enter in.
- Wood: For a classic, high-end visual appeal, homeowners can choose a wood garage door.
Question #2: What are the main differences between insulated and non-insulated garage doors?
From the outside, insulated and non-insulated garage doors are hard to tell apart, which might lead you to believe that apart from thickness, there’s no discernable difference between the two. The distinctions become much clearer once we address some of the disadvantages to having only a single thin layer between your garage and the outside world.
Garage Temperature: Depending on the insulation of your garage door, heat from outside during sweltering summer months or frigid air if you live in a colder climate can seep through the gaps and into your garage. Not only does this affect whether you want to store specific items in your garage, but it can cause instability to your home’s temperature, as the air from your garage leaks into the house.
Noise Effect: Single-layer panels on non-insulated garage doors often rattle and quake every time you open or close them. They can also create loud reverberations if daily activities cause someone or something to bump into them. Additionally, if your garage is not well-insulated, the thinness of a single layer garage door can mean any activities you may want to enjoy in the garage will be easily heard outside, and vice versa.
Durability: Thin, non-insulated garage doors will be much more likely to suffer permanent dents and damages if there is any collision against them like basketballs, bikes or even hail. If you live in an area with heavy storms, such as hurricanes or hail storms, a non-insulated garage door may do your home more harm than good, since it will be less capable of standing firm in rough winds to protect your belongings.
Questions #3: What are the benefits of purchasing a insulated garage door?
Money Saving: The problem with non-insulated garages is that you’ll be waging a constant battle with the temperatures of Mother Nature as they slip through the gaps, driving up your electricity and gas bills immensely. Leaks around the frame and windows and the thinness of aluminum doors are often the most significant causes for this kind of loss.
Better Protection: Your car and other belongings you store in your garage can receive damage over time if they are not adequately protected from outside temperatures. Cars can have issues starting due to dying batteries if they remain in freezing temperatures for too long. Not to mention, your tires can lose their air pressure, and car fluids can thicken and lose reliability. In the summer, it also helps to guard against pest infestations that originate from the small gaps.
Enhanced Curb Appeal: As a homeowner, you’re probably thinking long-term about the investment you make in your home for the sake of improving its re-sell value. We’re proud to tell you garage door replacements and renovations are among the top best investments you can make.
At Next Day GarageDoor, we promise to provide a vast selection of styles to help you make the smartest choice possible. Our ultimate goal is for all our customers to be informed homeowners. As this blog progresses, we will continue to help homeowners diagnose and perhaps even fix their garage door repair on their own. We offer Garage Door RepairMaryland and Roll Up Garage Door Washington DC. We also serve Garage Door Repairs all over Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. We have technicians available 24/7 to service any of your garage door repair needs. Garage Door Repair Cost can be high; however, we promise to offer professional top-notch garage door repairs at an affordable price guaranteed. Please feel free to give us a call or text at (301)-500-0475 or (571)-327-6285 if you have any questions or inquiries.
**Mention promotional code “NEXTDAY” FOR $25 off any repair service**
