Types of Garage Door Insulation
There are several ways in which garage door insulation is done. It mainly depends on the materials used as well as the process that is followed.
The simplest method is more like a home made approach wherein one buys the basic insulation material such as reflective foil insulation rolls, cuts them up to match the shapes of the garage door panels, and keeps them in place by means of an adhesive, usually a double sided tape. This approach reduces the cost drastically, but has some downsides to it. As the most basic materials are used, the thermal boundary that is created may not be as effective as the one that is created with high grade materials. The aesthetics that come automatically with a professional installation will also be lacking. Hence, it is better to consider professional help before starting work on your garage door insulation.
Insulating garage doors with basic materials such as reflective insulation foils that are based on heavy duty polyethylene foam don’t work effectively as there is always a certain degree of thermal exchange that is allowed by such materials, due to their lower R value.
The other material that is popularly used for insulating garage doors is molded polystyrene. This material has a relatively higher R value and enables prevention of thermal heat loss in cold regions. It also minimizes thermal exchange drastically as compared to the lower cost materials. This material can also be installed without professional help if the garage doors are of a standard size. There are kits that are available in the market which are designed specifically to match standard door sizes. However, since the polystyrene material is installed in the form of molded panels, if the garage doors are non standard, then self installation will not be a workable option. Moreover, the panels that are part of the kits usually don’t offer much variety to the customer to choose from.
Irrespective of what size the garages are, polystyrene panels installed professionally appear to be the best option. When the door sizes are not standard, professionals prepare molded polystyrene panels that are ofcustom sizes which fit the panels in the doors perfectly. These custom panels can be made to suit the customer’s preferences, in terms of color and appearance as well. Many of these custom-made polystyrene panels offer a variety of choices in the laminated vinyl finish that is presented on the exterior.
The custom built polystyrene panels offer many advantages over other basic materials as well as the readily available kits. For example, they are engineered in such a way as to easily fit into most pre-existing sectional garages.
They are also lightweight and ensure that the motor that opens the garage door doesn’t have to lift an extra load of insulation material each time.
Another thing to note is their durability. Due to extensive research that has gone into the development of these polystyrene insulation panels, they are able to withstand a certain amount of stress such as normal impacts that can occur during everyday use.
Keeping in mind the health of the individuals in the vicinity, non-allergenic materials are used in these panels. They are also designed to keep away loud noises, thus ensuring adequate sound insulation.