New garage doors are efficient, attractive, safe

Dear Jim: I want to replace my inefficient, leaky, noisy garage door with a new insulated one with decorative, yet secure, glass windows for natural light. What are the best designs, materials and features to consider?

A:Dear Martha: When it comes to overall energy efficiency and street appearance of a house, people often forget about the door on the garage. Keep in mind that on a typical home, the garage door covers more than 30 percent of the frontal area. With lifetime warranties on many new models, an efficient, insulated garage door can be a good investment in your home.

Even though an attached garage is normally not heated or cooled, its energy efficiency still has an effect on your monthly utility bills. Just think how many times each day the door from the house to the garage is opened. Each time, it lets a gust of cold or hot, humid air enter your house from the garage.

An efficient garage acts as a huge thermal buffer between your house walls and the extreme outdoor temperatures, as well as blocking the direct force of the wind against the exterior house walls. Also, if you restore old cars in the garage like I do, you may not need to switch on an electric heater while you are working out there.

The two primary design features that impact the energy efficiency of a garage door are the thickness and type of insulation and the air-tightness of horizontal weather seals between each of the panels. The number and quality of the glass, if you select a door with windows, is also important if you plan to work in the garage. For most activities in the garage, the natural light from a series of windows is adequate without having to switch on an electric light.

Since the panels constitute the majority of a garage door, their insulation level has the greatest impact on efficiency. Insulation levels in the top-quality, two-inch-thick doors range from about R-6 to R-18. Choose a door with a plastic thermal break between the indoor and outdoor steel skins. This blocks a direct path through the metal for heat to bypass the insulation.

Injected polyurethane foam provides the highest insulation value in the limited space between the garage door skins. Injected means liquid is pumped inside and expands as it begins to foam. The other effective

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insulation type is a piece of polystyrene foam (like a cooler) that is placed inside the door before the two skins are sealed together.

Check the joint design between the door panels for safety and efficiency. The newest designs are pinch-resistance joints that tend to push fingers out of the joint as the door closes (great around children). With the complexity of the mating surfaces, pinch-resistant joints also tend to be very airtight.

Several of the best standard seal designs to look for are tongue-and-groove, shiplap, compression and flexible polyurethane. Of these, tongue-and-groove and shiplap joints form an interlocking seal between the two panels for lifelong seals. There is no flexing or compressions as with the other two designs. Some garage doors use a combination of seal designs.

Although the garage door opener has an impact on the noise level when a garage door opens, the design of the door is most significant. High-quality rollers, hardware, counterbalance springs and adjustable tracks reduce the noise to where it will not wake you, even with a bedroom above. For do-it-yourself garage door insulation, consider a garage door with a safe counterbalance spring adjuster. Some can be wound up using a cordless drill and a socket.

The newest garage doors are carriage-styles. When closed, they resemble side-hinged carriage doors. They open upward though, like a regular section garage door. Some use insulated steel with wood trim while others use all real wood with insulation. Grained stainable steel doors also resemble real wood. Beautiful copper (resists salt air) and tough composite plastic door skins are also available.

Another recent improvement is the use of energy efficient windows in the garage door for natural light and decorative qualities. You can choose durable crystal clear acrylic plastic windows in attractive beveled and leaded designs. There are also optional inexpensive decorative snap-in panes that allow you to quickly change the look of the door whenever you wish.

Real glass windows are available in frosted and leaded (for privacy) and efficient double-pane styles. The newest styles have different window shapes across the door to create a sunset pattern.

Write for (instantly download -www.dulley.com) Utility Bills Update No. 894 - buyer's guide of 11 insulated garage door manufacturers listing insulation types/levels, styles, materials, colors, glass options, seals, panel contours and features. Please include $3.00 and a business-size SASE. James Dulley, Illinois Country Living, 6906 Royalgreen Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45244.

James Dulley is a mechanical engineer who writes on a wide variety of energy and utility topics. His column appears in a large number of daily newspapers.

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