If you are asking this question, you already understand the importance of a well insulated garage. However, you may not understand the potential yearly energy savings you may be missing by not having a well insulated garage.
Fear not, as you are not alone. "Why is my garage cold?" is a question that many people ask themselves. In order to get down to the bottom of this, we must first answer a few additional questions:
- Are the walls insulated?
- Is the ceiling insulated?
- Is the garage door sealed properly?
- Is the garage door insulated?
If your walls and ceiling are not insulated, those are the first things that you would need to take care of to start to obtain a warmer garage. However, this can also be a very expensive step, depending on the square footage of your entire garage.
Next, we need to check to make sure that your current garage door is not only insulated, but sealed properly, as well.
Light Check:
Doing a light check is an easy way to see if your garage door is properly sealed. You’ll want to be sure that no light comes through the bottom of the door when the door is in the closed position. You’ll also want to make sure that no light is coming in around the door. If the light is coming through the bottom and/or sides of your garage door, then there is air infiltration, which could be causing some of your heat loss. You may need to replace your bottom rubber to solve this issue.
Weather Seal Check:
Next, close the garage door and check that you have weather stripping along the left, right, and top edges of your garage door frame. This weather stripping helps to conceal the gapping between the garage door and your frame, but also helps to stop the airflow, dust, debris, water, and snow from getting into your garage.
One thing to note is that your weather stripping is also supposed to be caulked to maximize your protection from heat loss. There may sometimes be light that shows through the sides or top of your garage. But if you have weather stripping, the light may just be shining through the rubber, and nothing else is. This is normal.
Material Check:
If the garage door is made of wood, glass, or if it is made of steel but has a hollow open back, then it is not insulated. If you have a steel door with any type of backing, or a vinyl door, then your door is insulated, but you may require a higher insulation value.
That being said, the most cost efficient way to start to increase your energy efficiency and create a warmer garage is to replace your garage door with one that is well insulated. Luckily for you, Precision Door Service offers a wide variety of insulated garage doors that fit anyone’s budget and insulation needs.
Ground Check:
If your ground is not 100 percent level, it may be near impossible at times for a garage door company to fix this problem for you. Your only surefire way to fix this is to have a professional level your ground for you.
Here at Precision Door, it is also a standard practice to replace all weather stripping, install it properly, and caulk it when finished to maximize your protection.