The Right Questions to Ask About Your Next Residential Garage Door

As a homeowner, you have a lot of concerns about your residential garage door and how well it can protect your vehicles, secure access to your home, and prevent high heating and cooling bills. A residential garage door, or any entrance into your home, must be strong enough to insulate your home and keep it at a comfortable temperature.

You can judge how well your door will insulate your home by looking at its R-Value and other factors. R-Value is provided by manufacturers of residential garage doors, but it can be a tricky method of comparison. When it comes to R-Value, let’s look at the top questions and what you should understand when choosing your next garage door.

What Does R-Value Mean?

The R-Value of a residential garage door is a way to note the thermal efficiency of a door — a fancy way of saying how well the door insulates its enclosure. R-Value is often used as a way to show if a door is energy-efficient. The value is also based on the thickness of the insulation in your door as well as the chemical properties of the door’s materials. However, it’s not always easy to judge a door on its R-Value because there are differences between how doors are rated and what the values themselves represent.

Ask About What’s Advertised

While the majority of manufacturers will list an R-Value based on the overall thermal efficiency of the door, others have previously provided values based on a select part of the door. For example, calculating based on the center-most panel on a door usually bumps up the R-Value compared to calculations that average it across the entire door.

You might not get what you’re expecting if you get a door with an R-Value that only applies to the best panel. Always ask your door provider and installer to avoid using a door that isn’t what you want.

Ask About Your Residential Garage Door Service and Replacement

Your garage door is a statement. When you put the finishing touches on your door, ask if its R-Value may have changed along the way. Adding windows and glass to your door can reduce the R-Value because there is a gap in the insulation or thickness of your door. You can choose to use insulated glass or double-pane glass, but that may also increase your cost without giving you a big boost to R-Value.

Custom Door & Gate can help you learn more about the right insulation, strength and movement for your home. Let’s work together to keep your residential entry door properly sealed to help your home stay energy-efficient.