Garage Door Maintenance: Keeping Your Space Comfortable and Efficient

Unlocking the Benefits of Insulated Garage Doors

Insulated garage doors are among the latest home remodeling trends because they’re eco-friendly and reduce energy costs. If you’re shopping for an overhead door, you’ll quickly notice most come with optional insulation. Why are so many homeowners jumping on the bandwagon, and is an insulated garage door worth the investment?

Garage door insulation offers many benefits to homeowners, with even more advantages in certain situations. For example, here in Minnesota, insulated garage doors are more beneficial than they are in moderate climates. At MW Door Service, we’ll help you determine if you need an insulated garage door and recommend some styles you’ll love.

An insulated garage door limits the heat transfer between your garage and the great outdoors. It keeps warm air from escaping in the winter and seeping in during the summer. This insulation offers many advantages, including:

1. Improved Comfort: An insulated garage door alone can turn your garage into a vestibule for your home. It creates a warmer buffer zone between the cold outdoors and your heated house. Your garage shouldn’t greet you with a blast of cold air every time you walk in. Raising the temperature a few degrees by keeping the cold air out can be an extra convenience in your busy life.

2. Enhanced Energy Efficiency: When you have an attached garage, it likely shares at least one wall with the main part of your heated home. Many homeowners have a heated room directly above their garage. Improving your insulation by installing a garage door with a high R-value lets you realize energy savings, as your heating system doesn’t have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable.

3. Reduced Noise: When Clopay tested the sound levels for an insulated vs. uninsulated garage door, the analysis revealed insulated overhead doors are incredibly quiet by comparison. Specifically, an Intellicore overhead door produces just 80 decibels (dB) compared to an uninsulated door’s 96 dB. Intellicore doors are three times quieter to a human ear. Insulation reduces the noise garage doors make while in use by absorbing the vibrations.

The Ideal Garage Environment: Insulation and Sealing

Insulated garage doors come from either polystyrene or polyurethane foam. It creates a thick, rigid layer between the panels of your overhead door, providing extra reinforcement. After repeated use, an insulated garage door will hold up better to daily impacts with fewer dents.

Almost any home can use some extra insulation on their overhead door, and some will reap more benefits than others. A few circumstances can make an insulated garage door worth the investment – it can even be a must-have:

1. Extreme Temperatures: Here in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the winters average temperatures get as low as 7 degrees Fahrenheit and even lower as you travel farther North. Cold weather can cause problems for your vehicle and cause it to wear out faster. Storing it in an insulated garage can let you go longer between trips to the repair shop and protect your battery, fluids, and tire pressure.

2. Frequent Garage Use: Many people treat their garage as a workshop, office, or home gym. Some turn their garage into an entertainment room. If you spend lots of time in your garage, an energy-efficient door can add some extra comfort. If you have a space heater or permanent heating system hooked up, an insulated garage door is crucial to heating the space efficiently.

3. Attached Garages: If your garage connects to your house, a lack of energy efficiency makes it more expensive to heat your home. Heat escaping through an inefficient garage door will lower the temperature above or adjacent to your garage, forcing your HVAC system to work harder and use more energy to compensate.

Beyond the energy savings, an insulated garage door makes smart economic sense for four reasons:

1. HVAC Efficiency: With comprehensive insulation that includes the garage door, your HVAC system doesn’t need to work as hard to heat your home in the winter or cool it in the summer. This translates into direct benefits to your energy efficiency with the added advantage of less wear on the equipment, so it lasts longer.

2. Reduced Maintenance Costs: In a warmer garage, you’ll experience fewer cold-weather car troubles, including longer battery life and consistent tire pressure. You’ll spend less money replacing faulty batteries, spark plugs, and other components.

3. Preserving Stored Items: Your transmission, engine, and brake fluids will maintain better consistency. Any other fluids you store in your garage, including paint, motor oil, and cleaning supplies, will last longer too. You’ll waste less money throwing out and replacing these items prematurely.

4. Increased Home Value: The average homeowner recoups 94.5% of their garage door’s value at resale. Insulated garage doors are in high demand thanks to their improved energy efficiency, which can add to your home’s value. Even if you’re not quite ready to sell your home, consider investing in a durable insulated overhead door.

When choosing an insulated garage door, you have a range of options. You can weigh the level of energy efficiency you want to achieve against your budget. The two types of insulation are available at various thicknesses to suit your needs.

Choose a 1 3/8-inch thick polystyrene-insulated garage door for moderate insulation at a lower price point. Or go with a 2-inch thick spray-foam polyurethane door for maximum energy savings and insulation properties. Polyurethane foam expands to fill the entire cavity of your garage door, providing increased R-value and durability alongside quieter operation than polystyrene.

MW Door Service offers insulation options on most of the styles in our residential overhead door selection. Choose from polystyrene or Intellicore insulation in several thicknesses and 2- or 3-layer construction. Find your stylish, energy-efficient garage door from MW Door Service – we’re a locally owned business in West St. Paul, MN, with over 50 years of experience delivering reliable overhead doors and helpful customer service to our community.

Maintaining Your Garage Door for Year-Round Comfort

You likely don’t spend much time thinking about your garage door. It can be easy to forget that, unlike the other doors in your home, the garage door is an electrical appliance. As such, it’s as much in need of occasional maintenance as any other appliance in your home. But how often do garage doors need to be serviced? If it’s been more than a year since you had it checked, you may already be behind.

Even if you never notice any problems with it, it’s a good idea to get your garage door checked on a yearly basis. It’s hard to overstate the importance of annual garage door maintenance. As your garage door remains in place over time, it can start to accumulate various forms of damage that can prove both an inconvenience and a safety hazard down the road.

Rust and erosion are natural occurrences in a garage door mechanism. No matter how well-sealed the door is, water will still inevitably make its way inside and cause damage to the metal structure. It can also cause the door panels to swell and warp. Temperature can also play a role. In winter, for example, the metal parts of the mechanism can contract and tighten, preventing the door from opening. And in summer, the opposite can occur.

Water and temperature aren’t the only sources of damage, either. Even when there’s no external cause of damage, the door can still deteriorate from general wear and tear. As the door’s quality goes down, so does its safety. A door with a broken spring, for instance, could come crashing down on you or your vehicle with the force of its full weight.

You could also end up with a door that doesn’t stay closed, which leaves your garage open to intruders. Alternatively, your door could not be able to open. If it’s your main point of entry into the house, you could find yourself locked out of your own home. All of these problems can occur if you don’t properly maintain your garage door.

The Importance of Professional Garage Door Maintenance

Ideally, you don’t want to wait to get your door serviced until after the problems have already manifested. At that point, you’ll have to live with the inconvenience until it’s fixed, and the process of repairing it will probably be much more complicated than it could have been.

It’s better to have the door checked early and often so you can catch any damage before it becomes an issue. The maintenance process for a garage door involves touching on all the areas where damage is most likely to occur.

If you want, you can do an initial inspection on your own, checking for signs that damage has already occurred. Following that, though, you’ll need to call a professional to run the actual maintenance. During a professional inspection and tune-up, the technician will:

1. Lubricate Moving Parts: This includes the rollers, hinges, and springs, ensuring smooth, quiet operation.
2. Tighten Hardware: They’ll check and tighten any loose nuts, bolts, or screws to maintain proper alignment and prevent further damage.
3. Inspect the Balance: Professionals will test the door’s balance and make any necessary adjustments to the springs, ensuring it opens and closes easily.
4. Check the Safety Features: They’ll verify that the automatic reversal system and other safety mechanisms are functioning correctly, protecting you and your family.
5. Clean and Maintain the Door: The technician will clean the door’s surface, tracks, and components, removing any accumulated dirt or debris.

It might seem counterintuitive that getting annual maintenance service will save you money, but that’s exactly what it will do. The cost of an inspection is far less than the expenses it prevents. When you don’t have your door inspected, damage is sure to accumulate over time. The longer it goes without being addressed, the worse the damage grows until it causes a complete breakdown of the mechanism.

With an annual inspection, a faulty spring will be caught and replaced – without one, it will eventually snap and send the door crashing down on whatever lies in its path. Even if the damage doesn’t destroy the entire system, it will still force you to replace whole parts of the mechanism if you let it get to that point.

It’s much less expensive to have a professional periodically clean a roller or tighten a bolt than to have to replace them entirely every couple of years. Investing in regular maintenance is the key to extending the life of your garage door and avoiding costly, unexpected repairs.

Are you hoping to have your garage door serviced but aren’t sure where to look? MW Door Service has you covered. As the Upper Midwest’s top choice for commercial and residential doors, we offer service throughout the Twin Cities area. If your door’s giving you trouble, we’ll be there to look into it. To start the process of fixing up your garage door, just get in touch with us today.

Preparing Your Garage for Winter: A Comprehensive Checklist

As winter approaches, it’s time to gear up and prepare your garage for the chilly months ahead. While California may not experience extreme winter conditions, it’s still important to ensure your garage is ready to withstand the cooler temperatures and potential weather changes.

From protecting your vehicles and garage floor to creating a functional workspace, this ultimate guide will walk you through the necessary steps to winterize your garage in California. Plus, we’ll highlight the importance of a garage door tune-up – a critical step in winter preparation.

So, grab your toolbox and let’s dive into the tips and tricks that’ll help you maximize the comfort, functionality, and efficiency of your garage space during the winter season.

Why Winterize Your Garage in California?

Preparing for winter in California may seem unnecessary, especially considering the generally mild climate in the region. To keep your garage comfortable, however, requires taking the time to make necessary preparations can still offer significant benefits.

Here’s why it’s important to prepare your garage for winter in California:

1. Protect Your Belongings: Winterizing your garage helps safeguard your vehicles, tools, and other stored items from the elements, ensuring they remain in good condition.
2. Maintain Comfort: A well-prepared garage provides a comfortable workspace, allowing you to continue using the space throughout the colder months.
3. Prevent Costly Damage: Taking proactive measures can help you avoid expensive repairs or replacements down the line, such as burst pipes or damaged equipment.
4. Improve Energy Efficiency: Proper insulation and sealing can enhance the energy efficiency of your garage, leading to potential cost savings on your utility bills.

We recommend being proactive in getting your garage ready to safeguard your belongings and vehicles and ensure a safe and comfortable environment all winter long.

Step-by-Step Garage Winterization Checklist

Follow this comprehensive checklist to prepare your garage for the winter season:

1. Declutter and Organize: Begin by removing unnecessary items and giving your garage a thorough cleaning. Organizing your space not only simplifies finding your winter tools but also helps prevent accidents and frees up more room. A tidy garage is less appealing to pests looking for a warm refuge during the colder months.

2. Insulate the Space: Effective insulation is crucial for keeping your garage warm and energy-efficient. Utilize materials such as fiberglass or foam board to insulate the walls and ceiling, forming a barrier that blocks cold air and prevents heat loss. Ensure that all gaps and seams are tightly sealed to enhance the insulation’s effectiveness.

3. Seal Cracks and Openings: Address any cracks or small openings in the garage’s walls, windows, or foundation to eliminate drafts. Use caulk or a weather-resistant sealant to effectively seal these areas, creating a more airtight and energy-efficient environment.

4. Inspect and Maintain the Garage Door: Regularly inspect the seals on your garage door for any signs of wear, cracks, or gaps. Test the effectiveness of these seals by closing the garage door and checking for visible light from the outside. Replace any damaged seals with new stripping or door bottom seals to ensure a tight closure, preventing heat loss and drafts.

5. Weatherstrip the Garage Door: Applying weather-stripping to your garage doors is an effective way to seal off gaps and prevent cold drafts from entering, which helps maintain a consistent and comfortable temperature inside. There are several types of weather-stripping available, such as adhesive strips, door sweeps, or bottom seals, which are straightforward to install and economically priced.

6. Insulate Pipes and Plumbing: Ensure your garage’s pipes and plumbing are well-insulated to avoid freezing and subsequent damage. Use quality pipe insulation or heat tape for extra protection. If your garage isn’t heated, consider placing a space heater or heat lamp near vulnerable pipes to provide additional warmth.

7. Install a Garage Heater: A garage heater provides consistent and controlled heating, maintaining a comfortable temperature. When choosing a heater, consider the size of your garage, energy efficiency ratings, and heating capacity. Options include electric heaters, propane or natural gas heaters, or infrared heaters.

8. Manage Humidity Levels: Use a dehumidifier to manage humidity levels and prevent condensation, mold, and mildew, which can harm tools, equipment, and stored items. Reducing moisture on surfaces also decreases the risk of slips and falls due to ice.

9. Maintain Ventilation: Check and clean your garage’s vents and exhaust fans to ensure proper airflow. Adequate ventilation is crucial for preventing the accumulation of harmful gases and controlling humidity, creating a safer, healthier garage environment.

10. Upgrade Lighting: Regularly inspect your garage’s lighting fixtures for any signs of flickering bulbs or damaged wiring. Replace any faulty bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs, which use less power and last longer. Consider adding motion-sensor lights or timers to optimize energy use.

11. Prepare Outdoor Equipment: As winter approaches, take the time to clean and properly store outdoor equipment, such as lawnmowers and garden tools. Apply protective coatings to metal surfaces to prevent rust and corrosion, and store these items in a dry, sheltered place or under weather-resistant covers.

12. Assemble an Emergency Kit: Create an emergency kit for your garage that includes essential items such as a flashlight, extra batteries, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, and emergency contact information. Having these items readily available can help you handle unexpected situations and potentially prevent costly emergencies.

By following this comprehensive checklist, you’ll ensure your garage is well-prepared to withstand the colder months, providing a comfortable, efficient, and safe workspace for all your winter needs.

Conclusion

Preparing your garage for winter is crucial to maintaining a comfortable and functional space while safeguarding your belongings. The tips outlined in this guide, such as insulating walls and ceilings, upgrading garage door insulation, sealing cracks and small openings, and protecting pipes and plumbing, can help you improve energy efficiency, reduce heat loss, and avoid expensive repairs or replacements.

At MW Door Service, we understand the importance of a well-prepared garage for the winter season. Our expert team is dedicated to providing top-notch services and solutions to help optimize your garage’s functionality, energy efficiency, and safety.

Whether you need assistance with garage door insulation, weatherstripping, or testing and replacing garage door seals, we’re here to help. Don’t let winter catch you unprepared – contact us at MW Door Service today to schedule a consultation and ensure that your garage