Insulated garage doors are heavily in demand these days and the products are available to meet the demand.
The level of insulation given, as measured in the 'U' value, for the various doors available does vary considerably so if there is a specific requirmen you should check the 'U' value offered and make sure it is for the actual product as installed and tested and not a value based on a roller door slat section or a sectional door panel. Many manufacturers specifically of insulated roller doors will never have had their product tested so many of the performance claims will be made up.
What is the Best Insulated Garage Door?
Purely based on the 'U' values the double skinned steel sectional garage door performs the best and the Hormann range for example even has an additonal insulation kit, the 'Thermoframe'. Download ThermoFrame PDF >
This kit is a plastic profile that fits between the brickwork and the door frame to act as a thermal break increasing the insulation by up to 15%.
The sectional door has to be fitted inside the structural opening to ensure the insulated panels perform at their best and fitted inbetween the fixing frame is only single skin steel as is the infill head section so the insulation performance would be less. Most insulated sectional garage doors are a 42mm thick double skinned panel construction with rubber seals all round and seals inbetween each panel section too.
What else is Available?
The commonly used phrase 'insulated roller door' has to be taken with caution. Although all the insulated roller doors sold are called such as they are manufactured using aluminium double skinned, foam filled slats obviously there is technically a small gap inbetween each slat so a guaranteed and tested 'U' value is almost impossible but they will provide good levels of insulation in any case. Again for maximum effect they should be installed inside the garage opening and are best fitted with a full hood as well.
Double skinned steel insulated side hinged doors are readily available from Carteck and they are all made to measure doors supplied complete with a fixing aluminium sub frame for easy on site installation. Door furniture is already factory fitted too with stainless steel handles and locking.
The doors are actually constructed using the Carteck 42mm double skinned sectional door panel sections so have most of the choices of smooth, woodgrain or laminate foil coated finishes on the front face surface.
They offer excellent insulation and weathersealing with double rebated edges and built in rubber seals to give a product that is ideal for a garage used as a workshop, playroom, gym or other lifestyle purpose.
The Vertico and new Hormann HST round the corner garage door systems although manufactured from double skinned panels do have quite a large gap underneath the panels so will not seal like a roller, sectional or side hinged insulated door can but will offer a level of ventilation which for a garage actually storing vehicles inside is generally seen as a good thing. Insulated door panels but good ventialtion, a necessity in many European countries by law.
Of course timber and GRP will also provide good levels of insulation so a good many side hnged timber and GRP doors sold will offer insulation levels prefectly adequate for most. The up and over versions unfortunately always have to have gaps for tolerance in oepration all round so lose a lot through not sealing in the way a roller or sectional door can. Although the sides can be effectively sealed with rubber seals and the top using a door stop the bottom is always the weak point. However properly specified and installed a one piece up and over door can perform very well in timber and GRP. There is not a proper double skinned insulated one piece door in the UK s the alternatives offered perform so much better.
For adivce and details on the very latest developments in insulated garage doors please call us directly on (01933) 274276
