Many of the houses which were built in the past several decades have attached garages (depending on what part of the country we are talking about) and therefore the garage is a complex part of the structure of the house in addition to being part of the kitchen or living room, usually through a standard doorway. Because the garage is soonless a part of the house; it is important to have the door insulated against the wind, rain, snow and other elements in order to keep utility bills under control. Some of the insulated garage doors come with a bottom weather strip which not only helps to keep weather out, but also work together with the doors overall insulation to keep noises of the street from entering your home.
Insulated garage doors are usually built of durable and heavy duty insulation such as polyurethane sandwiched between two pieces of steel or other metals to give the garage door its insulated feature.
Another reason for having insulated doors is because it will help to keep the car or other items warmer in winter months. Often times, people with a two car garage will park their car on one side and use the other side for storage, a workout area or workshop. A nice small space heater in the winter would be all that is needed if a garage has an insulated garage door and opening the door in the summer months would help to keep the cooler air circulating in the warmer months.
Additionally, there is no reason to forego style for comfort of insulation. Many of the insulated garage doors are stylish and will complement any style home from Ranch style to Split-levels. And the insulated garage doors can be painted or stained – if they are wood – to match any color aluminum or steel siding.
Most common doors are made of steel plus the insulation. Some of the steel doors contain an insulation that is covered with a vinyl material for extra thermal insulation property and quiet operation. The insulated wood doors are made of beautiful natural wood and a thick layer of environmentally friendly polystyrene and then have a backing of heavy duty outer grade plywood – on the inside – for added insulation properties. Many of the insulated doors have R-Values in the range of 7.6 (average), which is the rating given to many insulation product by the construction industry regarding their ability to retain or resist heat.
The styles of insulated garage doors could be traditional, carriage, steel, fiberglass or wood.
There is another incentive to purchase insulated garage doors and that is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This program gives a tax credit to homeowners for receiving home improvements that are energy efficient up to $ 1,500. A tax credit is a better value than an equivalent deduction because a deduction only decreases the amount of income that is taxed while a tax credit reduces taxes dollar-for-dollar.