Is an insulated garage door worth it to keep out heat?

[james_444]

Hello,

I live in Mesa Arizona, an adjacent city to Phoenix. As you may of heard it gets a little warm here in the summer. Like over 110 degrees. I'm going to replace my 1977 single piece steel garage door. Not only is it starting to fail and I can't get parts but my house faces west. During the summer the sun beats on the steel garage door and turns the attached garage into a dry sauna. It's hotter in the garage than it is outside even though outside may be over 115 degrees. The heat bleeds into the house in spite of insulation in the garage walls and pushes up my air conditioning bill.

Every article I've found talks about insulated garage doors and cold. Cold is not my problem.

Any suggestions as to the best brand of insulated garage door for heat?

Since I have to replace the door anyway I don't see much point in getting another steel one and trying to insulate it.

I was thinking of a polyurethane sandwich style door. My reasoning that even if the door leaks air around the edges it will still be better than what I have now. I am aware that the R values quoted by manufacturers are not consistent since some use the center of the panel and very few, if any, test the whole door.

I've already put in Energy star windows and doors and had extra insulation blown into the attic. I have dropped my utility bills by over 35%. I've also installed ceiling fans which help a lot.

So in my particular case is an insulated door worth the extra cost? Does anyone have any experience with a particular brand?

Suggestions anyone?

 

[koditten]

My last place had a door facing east. It was uninsulated. When the sun came up, the heat that radiated thru that thing was amazing. I insulated it with 1/2 styrofoam boards and it made a huge difference.

I can't answer about a south facing door in AZ, getting sun all day, but from just what I know it would be good to have an insulated door.

Insulated doors are so much quieter. That alone is worth it too me.

There are some threads on here where people have insulated their own doors. There was one where the guy used the foil backed insulation with the foil facing in. It increased his lighting as well as insulating.

I've had many different doors over the years, I really can't say one is better than another. You maintan them and they will last.

KO

 

[James-W]

I am sure an insulated garage door will help, but it is hard to say how much it will help because it will depend on several factors. Things like what the R value is for the door, how tight the door fits, how big the door is, stuff like that. But regardless of all that, there will definitely be a difference. As to how much of a difference, that's harder to say.

 

[CNGsaves]

Yes. Only cheapie uninsulated doors installed are by builders wanting to save money / rip off home buyer. Within 5 to 10 years those doors are generally replaced with insulated doors by the homeowner.

Proper installation with good seal at edges is critical. Additional strip seals can be added to ensure best seal possible.

Good starting point for insulated door would be Overhead Door. Friend's dad worked at plant in Nebraska and they are well made, and Made in America.

 

[camaron32]

My local library carries old issues of Consumer Reports. If they did an article on garage doors maybe that would help. Just my two cents.

 

[Teken]

This is coming from the guy who pretty much lives in the North Pole where the winter gets below -45 for weeks on end. Our summer times as short as they are can be 38'C! A insulated door will definitely make a huge difference.

My partially completed garage with only insulation, part vapor barrier, stays at 5-10'C when its -20 to -35'C.

Get one!

It goes with out saying the sun facing door color will play a huge affect on the final outcome. Because I live in the North I purposely bought a darker color to attract the solar rays to keep the garage warmer.

Teken . . .

 

[upndown]

James, the difference is night and day! Kind of like walking past a white car and a black car, With the AZ sun it's still going to be hot to the touch, but you won't leave any skin behind. Wayne Dalton, and Clopay are both in Tempe. Overhead in Phx, Tons of door cos, Have their salesman come out with literature and prices, costs you nothing! Make sure their prices include removing and hauling off the old door and reconnecting the opener. Good luck,

 

[james_444]

First let me thank everyone for their kind replies.

I am going to do it since I can't see any reason not to. My own analysis is that a foamed polyurethane sandwich door is better than a polystyrene sandwich door. From what I read I the polystyrene door are made by gluing pieces of polystyrene between the steel panels. To me this would leave air gaps which in spite of a salesman telling me otherwise, I don't see how that would help the R value.

Coplay is on my list of doors.

Anyone have any other brands they would recommend?

The quoted price for an installed 7 X 16 foot Coplay, which includes all installation, removal of the old door, an uprated spring, and a life time warranty are running around $1,500.

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts.

 

[burleyfarm]

Thumbs up on the Coplay. I have 3 of their their insulated doors in northern Michigan with windows in the top panel. One is 18x8 and 2 are 9x8. My garage is insulated and drywalled. Without the furnace on, I'm able to maintain above freezing temperatures (35-40) even when the outside temps fall below 0. However I now keep the garage heated to a minimum of 50 with my radiant heat tube. The only thing I would do differently is spec insulated glass in the door. I missed that and the builder said "you didn't say you wanted insulated glass" Duh, why would you order all insulated doors and not want insulated glass in them.

My biggest heat loss is through the floor along the exterior walls and where the doors and floors meet. Wish I'd added a thermal block in the floor at the doors. Live and learn.

 

[Teken]

First let me thank everyone for their kind replies.

I am going to do it since I can't see any reason not to. My own analysis is that a foamed polyurethane sandwich door is better than a polystyrene sandwich door. From what I read I the polystyrene door are made by gluing pieces of polystyrene between the steel panels. To me this would leave air gaps which in spite of a salesman telling me otherwise, I don't see how that would help the R value.

Coplay is on my list of doors.

Anyone have any other brands they would recommend?

The quoted price for an installed 7 X 16 foot Coplay, which includes all installation, removal of the old door, an uprated spring, and a life time warranty are running around $1,500.

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts.

For $1500.00 you can't go wrong. The only thing I can add is see if they will quote you for how much the door seal / gaskets are for each panel.

I thought this was standard practice when I purchased my door. But, since this came from the builder I'm not surprise that the gasket / seal was not present between each of the panels. I only mention it because in the North it does make a huge difference in frost build up where the panels meet up.

Get us some pictures when you're all done!

Teken . . .

 

[james_444]

Teken, thanks for the advice I will check on the seals. My major concern is heat transmission though the door itself from the sun beating on it. You could fry an egg on the current steel door in summer. That is why I am thinking of the polyurethane sandwich style door.

I have though of fiberglass but they are very very expensive and may not hold up to wind. We do get high wind dust storms and monsoon thunderstorms here.

 

[JerryC]

A few years ago I got a kit from HD for less than $100 to do my two car door. It uses Owens Corning bats. Did the whole thing an hour.

It is big difference, in the winter my garage stays around 55 degrees. My guess is that whatever temp the slab is at the insulated door helps keep it there. Before the insulation it was within a few degrees of the outside temp.

In the warm months when i come home from work and open the garage door you feel like you have opened a giant refridgerator door as cool air pours out to the driveway.

In the summer the garage seems to stay just below the temps of the day. Doesnt sound like a big difference, but it is big difference from the "OMG it's hot in here" it was before the insulation.

As was said above the noise reduction was noticable as well.

My GD faces north and I did no other insulation work other than to insulate the door itself.

The install looks ugly, much like the way insulation in the attc looks. Foam board would be a much nicer looking install. I recommend the foam board treatment over the bats if looks matter.

 

[Teken]

Teken, thanks for the advice I will check on the seals. My major concern is heat transmission though the door itself from the sun beating on it. You could fry an egg on the current steel door in summer. That is why I am thinking of the polyurethane sandwich style door.

I have though of fiberglass but they are very very expensive and may not hold up to wind. We do get high wind dust storms and monsoon thunderstorms here.

Make sure when the final install is complete that when the door is not attached to the GDO.

That you personally complete a static door test.

This will encompass you lifting the door in at least four positions. The door should hold its current height at all times. It should not require more than one arm to lift and pull the door in any position.

If the door is extremely heavy to lift in any of the four positions than the door is not balanced correctly. If the door shoots straight up with very little effort, again its not balanced correctly.

Again, the door should be moveable by a average person with one hand, unless you're weak!

The goal is to ensure the springs are wound properly and does not place undue load on the GDO. Proper door balance will ensure the GDO motor will live a long life.

EDIT: Also, its good practice to have the door handle left on. A lot of folks wonder why you would ever want the center door handle once a GDO is in place.

The reality is they break, and when they do you have no method to open and lock the door. Having the center locking door handle will provide you a measure of security and fail over in case the GDO fails and you have no method to open, close, and lock the door.

Teken . . .

 

[BTC]

I've got the Amarr Classica 3000 doors. My garage is also insulated and dry walled and stays above freezing in the winter without heat. I don't know how accurate the temperature readings are on my door openers, but I don't think I've ever seen them below 50 degrees. My doors don't have windows. Unless it was just a budget issue, I don't think I would ever consider a non-insulated door.

 

[Highbeam]

Insulation reduces heat transfer both ways. What works to keep heat in the garage will also keep heat out of the garage.

 

[James-W]

The quoted price for an installed 7 X 16 foot Coplay, which includes all installation, removal of the old door, an uprated spring, and a life time warranty are running around $1,500.

I bought the 7 X 16 foot insulated Clopay door from Home Depot with the door seals for just under $800 and I installed it myself, Well, I had two friends come over and together we installed it. It only took about 2 hours of actual work but we stopped for lunch and a few beer breaks so in reality it took awhile longer than that. It isn't hard to install the door, in fact, the door comes with a DVD that you can play in your home DVD player and watch it on your big screen television set. The DVD does a very good job of explaining how to assemble the door panels and then how to install the door on the garage. I guess what I am trying to say is, a little "sweat equity" can save you a sizable chunk of change. After the door was installed and working we installed the garage door opener. That was pretty easy to install as well, although it didn't come with a DVD to explain how to do it.

 

[james_444]

Thank you for your suggestion James_W but this one I will leave to the pros. I have a single piece steel door now and there is enough mechanical energy in it's springs to kill me if I make an error. Also I would still have the problem of how to dispose of the old door. I don't think it will fit into my Mazda 3 very well.

 

[James-W]

Just trying to save you a few bucks. If you know someone with a pickup truck you could probably sell your old door to a scrap metal place and get a few dollars for it. As far as the old springs are concerned, that could pose a problem if you aren't really careful and I can understand your reluctance. But I would almost bet that you know someone who is familiar enough with garage doors enough to assist you in removing the tension from the springs. Once the spring tension is gone I doubt you would have any trouble with installing the new door.

But I do understand what you are saying, when you hire a crew who does this all the time, they will come in and within a few short hours they will be all done. The new door will be installed and working properly and the old stuff will be hauled away.

 

[JerryC]

Around here if you put any scrap metal on the curb, it's gone by morning.

 

[DocRocket]

My own analysis is that a foamed polyurethane sandwich door is better than a polystyrene sandwich door. From what I read I the polystyrene door are made by gluing pieces of polystyrene between the steel panels. To me this would leave air gaps which in spite of a salesman telling me otherwise, I don't see how that would help the R value.

Just for the record here, the polyurethane/polystyrene is NOT what is insulating--it is the air. The foam is just keeping the air from moving, so you have to conduct heat through the air, without motion, rather than having convection, where the air moves and takes the heat away from the surface. The foam traps air--prevents movement--this is the same process as fiberglass batts in your attic, or blown in cellulose, or whatever. The thermal conductivity of either polyurethane or polystyrene is about 0.17-0.18 W/mK, air is 0.0263 W/mK and the polystyrene foam is 0.027, while the values I see for polyurethane foam are a little higher. The air gap is insulating, so long as it does not allow for air currents in the gap--if it is small, it is not hurting you at all. I do not sell this stuff (on either side), I teach aerospace engineering, including heat transfer.

Overall, either will do just fine, the spray in polyurethane may be a little stiffer/quieter, but either will be pretty much equivalent for heat purposes--they will be rated with an R value--this is a standardized measurement, so you can compare using it. An R-13 door will be pretty much as insulative as a 2x4 wall with fiberglass insulation in it.

 

[bd8134]

I have 3 Garaga H-Tech Plus doors which say they are R-18. They seem pretty good.
I also took the option to add different weatherstripping and heavier tracks.
http://www.garaga.com/garage-doors/residential/h-tech-plus/

 

[james_444]

Reporting back.

Well I took the plunge and went with a top of line Clopay door with two inches of polyurethane.

I am absolutely delighted with the door. Today here in Mesa AZ it was a nice spring day of 100 degrees. As I mentioned my house faces west so with my old single piece, steel, non insulated door would act like a radiator with the sun beating on it and transferring the heat directly into the garage.

This afternoon the outside of my new door was to hot to touch but the inside of the door was only slightly warm. YEA!

The garage is also much much cooler with the new door rather than old door. I am very happy with my decision to go with an insulated door and I believe it was well worth the extra money. My two car garage door, including a trim kit, an uprated spring (20,000 lifts) and a life time gold warranty was around $1350 installed.

Now I'm ready for our summer days of 115+. I expect to see a significant decrease in my air conditioning bills as well. All the heat that was transmitted by the old door, into the garage, and then into house, is not happening any more. How much of a decrease I don't know yet as I have not yet used my air conditioning. It is not hot enough here yet. I have ceiling fans and they work just fine because our humidity is under 10%.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

 

[Teken]

Reporting back.

Well I took the plunge and went with a top of line Clopay door with two inches of polyurethane.

I am absolutely delighted with the door. Today here in Mesa AZ it was a nice spring day of 100 degrees. As I mentioned my house faces west so with my old single piece, steel, non insulated door would act like a radiator with the sun beating on it and transferring the heat directly into the garage.

This afternoon the outside of my new door was to hot to touch but the inside of the door was only slightly warm. YEA!

The garage is also much much cooler with the new door rather than old door. I am very happy with my decision to go with an insulated door and I believe it was well worth the extra money. My two car garage door, including a trim kit, an uprated spring (20,000 lifts) and a life time gold warranty was around $1350 installed.

Now I'm ready for our summer days of 115+. I expect to see a significant decrease in my air conditioning bills as well. All the heat that was transmitted by the old door, into the garage, and then into house, is not happening any more. How much of a decrease I don't know yet as I have not yet used my air conditioning. It is not hot enough here yet. I have ceiling fans and they work just fine because our humidity is under 10%.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Pictures my friend . . . Pictures!

Teken . . .

 

[upndown]

Wise choice!! You will not regret it. Did they charge you extra to frame the opening for a sectional door? Or did you do it...

 

[MPOWERD]

I am in Texas so I share the heat issues of the OP. I didnt get a new door but instead I used the HD Owens Corning Fiberglass garage insulation kit and topped it with the HD aluminum foil covered bubble wrap and it has made a huge difference in garage temps this winter. My Door is east facing. So far its kept the temps below what they were last year in the heat as well. Not as effective as in winter but well worth it for stopping the heat transfer from a metal door facing the sun...

 

[james_444]

Wise choice!! You will not regret it. Did they charge you extra to frame the opening for a sectional door? Or did you do it...

The price included removal of the old door, installing of the framing kit, rails, door, etc. Today's temperature is 102. The outside of the door is to hot to touch and inside temperature of the garage is only 90. The inside house temperature, with out air conditioning is 79 as I write this. With out the insulated door the inside garage temperature would have been 115+ because the heat would just build up and had no place to go. I should have done this a long time ago.

 

[Seavs]

Any insulation here in Phx helps. A friend of mine had an uninsulated two-car door that was southern facing but got some shade from the rest of the house in the afternoon. His daughter's room was above the garage and was consistently 5° warmer than the rest of the house. Even after rebalancing their AC ductwork and freezing the rest of the house her room would still be toasty.

I helped him install the Lowe's garage door kit and it made an immediate difference in the temp of the garage but more importantly in the temp in his daughter's room. I was quite surprised.

Glad you found a solution that works for you!

 

[Chucktown]

Thank you for your suggestion James_W but this one I will leave to the pros. I have a single piece steel door now and there is enough mechanical energy in it's springs to kill me if I make an error. Also I would still have the problem of how to dispose of the old door. I don't think it will fit into my Mazda 3 very well.

I had a football coach in highschool lose 3 fingers installing a garag door. Good idea to leave it to the pros.

I have Overhead Door in my garage. Love it. The customer service is top notch.

 

[Riley]

When there are so many repairs, renovations and other chores to do around the house, many homeowners wonder about the value of insulating their garage. Is it really worth it to put the time and money into a part of your home that is mainly used to house your car and store seasonal equipment

Just curious, did you even bother to read the three posts above your post?

PS - Your syntax seems quite "bot like"....

Welcome aboard.