What Is an Insulated Garage Door and Why Is It Needed?
An insulated garage door is a door that has unique insulating materials inserted into the pockets of the door. The aim of this insulation is to serve as a barrier against air intrusion.
Insulation is used for those garage doors not made of wood. Wood itself has some natural insulating properties, but garage doors made of other materials generally do not. Most often, an insulated garage door is one that is constructed mostly from steel.
An insulated steel garage door is what is most commonly found available for purchase.
Benefits of an Insulated Garage Door
Why would somebody want insulation in their garage door? First and foremost, heat escapes through the garage door by the size of it alone. Almost a third of the energy that is lost in a garage goes through the garage door.
For this reason, an insulated garage door is used to protect against such energy loss by serving as an effective barrier. Insulation can increase a garage's energy efficiency by at least 1/3.
The additional cost of the insulation is minimal when compared against the potential savings in energy. Insulation typically costs less than 20% more than a garage door without insulation.
Houses with attached garage doors will obviously have more need of an insulated garage door than houses with detached garages. Houses with attached garages typically share at least one wall, and often times two walls in common with the living areas of the house.
So, not only will a garage door that is insulated help save energy in the garage, but the living areas of the house as well.
An insulated garage door still provides benefits for those homes that have detached garages. For people who spend time working in a garage, the insulation can make the inside area quite a bit more pleasant. This is especially so for those who work in a commercial garage.
The insulation not only protects against the cold, but it also provides relief from extremely hot temperatures.
Types of Insulation Used in Garage Doors
Polystyrene and polyurethane are the most common materials used in an insulated garage door.
Polystyrene is hard slats that are thrust into the openings of steel garage doors. This is usually done between the inner and outer panels.
Polyurethane comes in the form of foam. It is sprayed onto surfaces where it then bonds, forming a protective barrier. Polyurethane is generally believed to be more effective for insulation.
To a lesser extent, fiberglass is also a material used for insulation.
DIY Garage Door Insulation
Insulation kits starting at roughly $100 can be purchased by those without an insulated garage door. The price goes up from there and will depend, in large part, by the size of the garage door. Some kits will use insulation made of fiberglass, which helps in the installation of the insulation.
Garage Door Opener Parts
Understanding Garage Door Opener Parts
Many homeowners look on the Internet for garage door replacement parts for do-it-yourself repair and maintenance jobs. But before you take on any garage door opener repair, it's crucial you have a solid understanding of which garage door parts are safe for non-technical folks to work on and which parts should be left to the professionals.
Don’t Touch Garage Door Springs
To be completely safe, don't touch any part that involves the springs. Especially when the door is lowered. The garage doors springs are under a tremendous amount of pressure. This is what makes it possible for the springs to raise the door when you want it opened.
Severe injury and even death have occurred when a spring gets loose or breaks.
And unless you are very adept with electrical work, it's best to leave a motor repair to a professional.
If you decide to work on the frame or garage door roller, you will need to perform this with extreme care because both the frame and rollers require precise alignment that can easily be overlooked by someone that is not used to repairing or installing garage doors.
Jobs that can be safely done include changing the remote control batteries or relocating a wired opener around a wall. You can also purchase replacement garage door opener parts on the Internet. Use your owner's manual to verify part numbers and specifications to make sure new parts match the original parts that came with your garage door.
More involved repairs should be reserved for a qualified technician. Your best choice is probably the company that originally did the garage door installation. If this isn't possible, call or check online for a trusted and reliable technician.
How Garage Door Opener Parts Work Together
Power Head
The first major part is the power head. This is either a plastic or metal encasing that houses the motor, control mechanism, and electrical connection. Many times the power head also has a light on its outside surface.
Drive Mechanism
A rubber or chain belt is usually the garage door opener drive mechanism. The drive is moved along a rail, which pulls the carriage back and forth in order to raise and lower the garage door.
Rail Assembly
The rail assembly supports the drive mechanism. It can either be one or several pieces. The rail assembly provides a track for the carriage assembly.
Rail Header Bracket
The rail header bracket fastens the rail to the wall above the garage door. This bracket must be securely mounted to prevent the garage door from falling out of place.
Carriage Assembly
The carriage assembly shifts power from the drive mechanism to the garage door by way of the arm. A release chord is typically part of the carriage assembly. This enables the door to be opened in the event of an electrical outage.
Many homeowners look on the Internet for garage door replacement parts for do-it-yourself repair and maintenance jobs. But before you take on any garage door opener repair, it's crucial you have a solid understanding of which garage door parts are safe for non-technical folks to work on and which parts should be left to the professionals.
Don’t Touch Garage Door Springs
To be completely safe, don't touch any part that involves the springs. Especially when the door is lowered. The garage doors springs are under a tremendous amount of pressure. This is what makes it possible for the springs to raise the door when you want it opened.
Severe injury and even death have occurred when a spring gets loose or breaks.
And unless you are very adept with electrical work, it's best to leave a motor repair to a professional.
If you decide to work on the frame or garage door roller, you will need to perform this with extreme care because both the frame and rollers require precise alignment that can easily be overlooked by someone that is not used to repairing or installing garage doors.
Jobs that can be safely done include changing the remote control batteries or relocating a wired opener around a wall. You can also purchase replacement garage door opener parts on the Internet. Use your owner's manual to verify part numbers and specifications to make sure new parts match the original parts that came with your garage door.
More involved repairs should be reserved for a qualified technician. Your best choice is probably the company that originally did the garage door installation. If this isn't possible, call or check online for a trusted and reliable technician.
How Garage Door Opener Parts Work Together
Power Head
The first major part is the power head. This is either a plastic or metal encasing that houses the motor, control mechanism, and electrical connection. Many times the power head also has a light on its outside surface.
Drive Mechanism
A rubber or chain belt is usually the garage door opener drive mechanism. The drive is moved along a rail, which pulls the carriage back and forth in order to raise and lower the garage door.
Rail Assembly
The rail assembly supports the drive mechanism. It can either be one or several pieces. The rail assembly provides a track for the carriage assembly.
Rail Header Bracket
The rail header bracket fastens the rail to the wall above the garage door. This bracket must be securely mounted to prevent the garage door from falling out of place.
Carriage Assembly
The carriage assembly shifts power from the drive mechanism to the garage door by way of the arm. A release chord is typically part of the carriage assembly. This enables the door to be opened in the event of an electrical outage.
Garage Door Opener Repairs
Garage door openers can break down for a variety of reason. The most common reason is a misalignment of the garage track or garage door. Many companies that sell garage door openers offer repairs as part of the maintenance package sold to customers.
Experienced and trained technicians who can locate the exact nature of the problem within the system can repair or replace the garage door part or parts with certified spare parts.
Garage door opener repairs are many times much cheaper than having to purchase a brand new door. With garage door prices going up every year, repairing the door is a much preferred option.
After a successful repair, the door will work as well as the day you got it.
Checking For Problems
One method of checking whether the garage door opener requires maintenance or repair is by opening the door halfway and then letting the door go. If the door is in good working order, it should remain in the same position.
When To Replace Garage Door Opener Springs
Garage door opener springs generally need to be replaced every five to seven years. Getting your garage door opener serviced frequently can prevent major problems and extend the life of the opener.
Although it's possible to take care of some repairs yourself using the owner's manual, it's always a better option to have a qualified professional take care of your garage door opener repairs.
Having your repair performed by a qualified technician ensures the current problem is not just fixed properly, but future problems are prevented as well
In addition to all of those reasons, many garage door openers have safety features that must be adhered to. This can go beyond an average person's ability to comprehend properly.
Other Resources For Repairs
If you check online, you'll find sites and forums that focus on offering tips and advice for repairing garage door openers. If you have questions about troubleshooting or general maintenance, these sites will often be very helpful. Or you can look in your local bookstore for do-it-yourself garage door opener repairs.
Experienced and trained technicians who can locate the exact nature of the problem within the system can repair or replace the garage door part or parts with certified spare parts.
Garage door opener repairs are many times much cheaper than having to purchase a brand new door. With garage door prices going up every year, repairing the door is a much preferred option.
After a successful repair, the door will work as well as the day you got it.
Checking For Problems
One method of checking whether the garage door opener requires maintenance or repair is by opening the door halfway and then letting the door go. If the door is in good working order, it should remain in the same position.
When To Replace Garage Door Opener Springs
Garage door opener springs generally need to be replaced every five to seven years. Getting your garage door opener serviced frequently can prevent major problems and extend the life of the opener.
Although it's possible to take care of some repairs yourself using the owner's manual, it's always a better option to have a qualified professional take care of your garage door opener repairs.
Having your repair performed by a qualified technician ensures the current problem is not just fixed properly, but future problems are prevented as well
In addition to all of those reasons, many garage door openers have safety features that must be adhered to. This can go beyond an average person's ability to comprehend properly.
Other Resources For Repairs
If you check online, you'll find sites and forums that focus on offering tips and advice for repairing garage door openers. If you have questions about troubleshooting or general maintenance, these sites will often be very helpful. Or you can look in your local bookstore for do-it-yourself garage door opener repairs.
Best Garage Door Openers
What Are The Best Garage Door Openers?
If you are looking for a reliable and well-built garage door opener, Chamberlain, Genie, Wayne-Dalton, Sears, Univeral (Skylink), and Linear rank among the top.
If you're in the market for a garage door opener, here are some brief product reviews that you'll find useful.
Genie Garage Door Openers
Genie is one the best known and respected companies in the United States. This company has been around since 1923 and was originally known as the Alliance Manufacturing company. Genie not only manufactures consumer products, but industrial and military products as well.
Genie’s products are considered some of the best garage door openers because of their powerful remote controlled garage door opening systems. Genie manufactures a large variety of garage door openers among many different brand names, including Screw Drive, Chain Glide, and Excelerator.
Blue Max, Alliance, Crusader, Pro-Max, Python, OverHead Door, Norelco, Lift-a-Door, Intellicode, and Code-Dodger are other brands made by Genie.
All of Genie's garage door openers display cutting edge technology. The Intellicode remote access security system is considered one of the safest systems available anywhere. Each time the transmitter is used, it changes the security code to one of countless combinations.
The Safe-T-Beam system uses an infrared beam to detect objects in the door's path. This feature is very popular.
Genie garage door openers work with both single doors and double garage doors. The openers use 1/2 horsepower and are able to work with doors up to 8 feet high. Genie’s garage door openers close doors at normal speed but open them twice as quickly as other garage door openers. The powerful motor is designed to work in any weather condition. They feature bright, wide-angle lighting and run very quietly.
All of these technological advances make Genie one of the best garage door openers available today. They also feature some of the most competitive garage door prices.
Chamberlain Garage Door Openers
Chamberlain is based out of Germany. The company is limited to manufacturing residential garage door openers. They also make residential and commercial gate operators, and remote controls.
You can find Chamberlain products almost anywhere in the world. They have offices in England, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Slovak Republic.
Chamberlain makes garage door openers for both residential and commercial use. Power Drive and Whisper Drive are two of Chamberlain's most popular brands. But LiftMaster stands up above the rest.
The range of LiftMaster products include remotes, mini-transmitters, replacement parts, and keychain remotes. LiftMaster garage door openers are available in a number of horsepower modes and drives. A large combination of different options and accessories are also available.
Included in the LiftMaster series are the Contractor, Premium, and Estate. All three of these models can be purchased with belt, screw, or chain drive.
Whisper Drive and Power Drive are two of Chamberlain's brands that are do-it-yourself residential garage door openers.
The Elite series features both residential and commercial gate operators. Access control systems come standard.
The Sentex series is designed for secure commercial and residential garages.
Craftsman Garage Door Openers
Sears Holdings Corp. is the third largest retailer of the best garage door openers. Sears is the parent company of Kmart. Sears makes the Craftsman series of garage door openers.
Craftsman not only makes garage door openers and accessories, but also power tools, cabinets and storage chests, bench power tools, power tool accessories, mechanics tools, compressor tools, general hand tools, and home security.
Craftsman garage doors openers feature a basic 1/2 horsepower garage door opener. Chain drive model are 3/4 horsepower.
The Craftsman line also includes products that include:
Wayne Dalton makes both ceiling and wall mount garage door openers. Wayne Dalton is the exclusive maker of wall mount openers. They are mounted on the wall alongside the door. This eliminates the need for belts, chains, or screw drive that take up quite a bit of ceiling space.
Another benefit of these openers is that vibrations and noises are greatly minimized.
Linear Garage Door Openers
Linear is a major manufacturer of commercial, residential, and industrial garage door openers.
Linear makes a wide a range of garage door opener accessories, including:
If you are looking for a reliable and well-built garage door opener, Chamberlain, Genie, Wayne-Dalton, Sears, Univeral (Skylink), and Linear rank among the top.
If you're in the market for a garage door opener, here are some brief product reviews that you'll find useful.
Genie Garage Door Openers
Genie is one the best known and respected companies in the United States. This company has been around since 1923 and was originally known as the Alliance Manufacturing company. Genie not only manufactures consumer products, but industrial and military products as well.
Genie’s products are considered some of the best garage door openers because of their powerful remote controlled garage door opening systems. Genie manufactures a large variety of garage door openers among many different brand names, including Screw Drive, Chain Glide, and Excelerator.
Blue Max, Alliance, Crusader, Pro-Max, Python, OverHead Door, Norelco, Lift-a-Door, Intellicode, and Code-Dodger are other brands made by Genie.
All of Genie's garage door openers display cutting edge technology. The Intellicode remote access security system is considered one of the safest systems available anywhere. Each time the transmitter is used, it changes the security code to one of countless combinations.
The Safe-T-Beam system uses an infrared beam to detect objects in the door's path. This feature is very popular.
Genie garage door openers work with both single doors and double garage doors. The openers use 1/2 horsepower and are able to work with doors up to 8 feet high. Genie’s garage door openers close doors at normal speed but open them twice as quickly as other garage door openers. The powerful motor is designed to work in any weather condition. They feature bright, wide-angle lighting and run very quietly.
All of these technological advances make Genie one of the best garage door openers available today. They also feature some of the most competitive garage door prices.
Chamberlain Garage Door Openers
Chamberlain is based out of Germany. The company is limited to manufacturing residential garage door openers. They also make residential and commercial gate operators, and remote controls.
You can find Chamberlain products almost anywhere in the world. They have offices in England, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Slovak Republic.
Chamberlain makes garage door openers for both residential and commercial use. Power Drive and Whisper Drive are two of Chamberlain's most popular brands. But LiftMaster stands up above the rest.
The range of LiftMaster products include remotes, mini-transmitters, replacement parts, and keychain remotes. LiftMaster garage door openers are available in a number of horsepower modes and drives. A large combination of different options and accessories are also available.
Included in the LiftMaster series are the Contractor, Premium, and Estate. All three of these models can be purchased with belt, screw, or chain drive.
Whisper Drive and Power Drive are two of Chamberlain's brands that are do-it-yourself residential garage door openers.
The Elite series features both residential and commercial gate operators. Access control systems come standard.
The Sentex series is designed for secure commercial and residential garages.
Craftsman Garage Door Openers
Sears Holdings Corp. is the third largest retailer of the best garage door openers. Sears is the parent company of Kmart. Sears makes the Craftsman series of garage door openers.
Craftsman not only makes garage door openers and accessories, but also power tools, cabinets and storage chests, bench power tools, power tool accessories, mechanics tools, compressor tools, general hand tools, and home security.
Craftsman garage doors openers feature a basic 1/2 horsepower garage door opener. Chain drive model are 3/4 horsepower.
The Craftsman line also includes products that include:
- 10 foot chain drive extension kit
- Remote control conversion kit that includes one remote
- 8 or 10 feet garage door opener extension kit 8 feet rail extension kit
- Keyless entry pad
- Remote control
- 3-function security Plug-in light control
- Wireless monitor and extension kit for the screw drive garage door opener
Wayne Dalton makes both ceiling and wall mount garage door openers. Wayne Dalton is the exclusive maker of wall mount openers. They are mounted on the wall alongside the door. This eliminates the need for belts, chains, or screw drive that take up quite a bit of ceiling space.
Another benefit of these openers is that vibrations and noises are greatly minimized.
Linear Garage Door Openers
Linear is a major manufacturer of commercial, residential, and industrial garage door openers.
Linear makes a wide a range of garage door opener accessories, including:
- Linear DR3A Linear Moore-O-Matic gate or garage door opener receiver
- Linear Act 21 key chain transmitter
- Linear DT2A gate or garage door opener replacement transmitter
- Linear DTC Moore-O-Matic Delta 3 Remote (same as DTD or DT) gate or garage door opener replacement transmitter
- Linear DTKP wireless keypad
- Linear MDR Megacode System single channel receiver
- Linear MDT-1 and MDT-2 Megacode gate or garage door openers
- Linear MDTK wireless keypad model
- Linear MDR Megacode System single channel receiver
- Linear MT-2B channel visor block coded transmitter
Garage Door Prices
Garage Door Prices For All Brands and Styles
Brand new garage doors can cost anywhere from $600 to over $7,000. These prices include installation. In order to come up with a more accurate estimate, a number of factors need to be considered.
So, to give you a better idea of what kind of price range is best suited to your needs, this article will break down costs based on the type of material used in the construction of the door.
A summary price range will be provided for each category of door. The door's size naturally affects the price, so you should know the size of door you are looking for. The most common garage door sizes are 8x7, 9x7, 8x8, 9x8, and 16x8.
For the sake of simplicity, quotes for each door type will be for 8x7 doors. You can estimate a 16x7 garage door to cost roughly twice the cost, a 9x7 garage door approximately 10% more, and 8 foot high doors to cost roughly 20 - 25% more.
The biggest factor in garage door prices is the material the door is made of. But whichever garage door you decide on, you can count on it lasting a long time to come.
Just make sure you consider your needs and preferences as much as the price. 10 years down the road, you'll have long forgotten what you paid for the garage door.
You want to be happy with your choice. So, here's a brief summary of each type of garage door and their approximate prices.
Steel Garage Doors
Steel door garage doors are the most common and least expensive kind of doors for the garage. When considering a steel garage door, you need to factor in the amount of insulation you'll need. The easiest way to do this is by matching the R value of your home. R-12 is the most common used in homes.
The upside to steel doors is the price. The downside is they dent easily.
8x7 Steel Garage Door Prices - $800 - $1200
Vinyl Garage Doors
There are 2 major reasons why vinyl garage doors are increasing in popularity even though they are a bit more expensive than steel garage doors. The first reason is that vinyl doors more realistic wood grain pattern have a nicer appearance than steel garage doors.
The second major reason is that vinyl isn't as prone to denting, which means they will stay looking new for a longer period of time.
8x7 Vinyl Garage Door Prices - $1100 - $1500
Wood Composite Garage Door
These doors are made from mostly recycled material, which makes them environmentally friendly. You can easily match the color of the outside of your house with these doors because they require painting. This allows you to change the color of the door and at the same keep your costs down during a remodeling or new construction.
8x7 Composite Wood Garage Door Prices - $1000 - $1300
Carriage House and Custom Wood Garage Doors
The natural appeal of real wood is undeniable. Hemlock, mahogany, and cedar are the most common wood garage doors. Hemlock is typically stained, but mahogany and cedar look great just the way they are.
Any home's exterior is dramatically enhanced with these types of doors. They can literally raise the re-sale value of the house.
But you should expect to pay quite a bit more for these doors.
8x7 Cedar, African Mahogany, and Stain Grade Hemlock Garage Door Prices - $2000 - $7000
8x7 Carriage House Garage Door Prices - $2000 - $7000
Brand new garage doors can cost anywhere from $600 to over $7,000. These prices include installation. In order to come up with a more accurate estimate, a number of factors need to be considered.
So, to give you a better idea of what kind of price range is best suited to your needs, this article will break down costs based on the type of material used in the construction of the door.
A summary price range will be provided for each category of door. The door's size naturally affects the price, so you should know the size of door you are looking for. The most common garage door sizes are 8x7, 9x7, 8x8, 9x8, and 16x8.
For the sake of simplicity, quotes for each door type will be for 8x7 doors. You can estimate a 16x7 garage door to cost roughly twice the cost, a 9x7 garage door approximately 10% more, and 8 foot high doors to cost roughly 20 - 25% more.
The biggest factor in garage door prices is the material the door is made of. But whichever garage door you decide on, you can count on it lasting a long time to come.
Just make sure you consider your needs and preferences as much as the price. 10 years down the road, you'll have long forgotten what you paid for the garage door.
You want to be happy with your choice. So, here's a brief summary of each type of garage door and their approximate prices.
Steel Garage Doors
Steel door garage doors are the most common and least expensive kind of doors for the garage. When considering a steel garage door, you need to factor in the amount of insulation you'll need. The easiest way to do this is by matching the R value of your home. R-12 is the most common used in homes.
The upside to steel doors is the price. The downside is they dent easily.
8x7 Steel Garage Door Prices - $800 - $1200
Vinyl Garage Doors
There are 2 major reasons why vinyl garage doors are increasing in popularity even though they are a bit more expensive than steel garage doors. The first reason is that vinyl doors more realistic wood grain pattern have a nicer appearance than steel garage doors.
The second major reason is that vinyl isn't as prone to denting, which means they will stay looking new for a longer period of time.
8x7 Vinyl Garage Door Prices - $1100 - $1500
Wood Composite Garage Door
These doors are made from mostly recycled material, which makes them environmentally friendly. You can easily match the color of the outside of your house with these doors because they require painting. This allows you to change the color of the door and at the same keep your costs down during a remodeling or new construction.
8x7 Composite Wood Garage Door Prices - $1000 - $1300
Carriage House and Custom Wood Garage Doors
The natural appeal of real wood is undeniable. Hemlock, mahogany, and cedar are the most common wood garage doors. Hemlock is typically stained, but mahogany and cedar look great just the way they are.
Any home's exterior is dramatically enhanced with these types of doors. They can literally raise the re-sale value of the house.
But you should expect to pay quite a bit more for these doors.
8x7 Cedar, African Mahogany, and Stain Grade Hemlock Garage Door Prices - $2000 - $7000
8x7 Carriage House Garage Door Prices - $2000 - $7000
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