Winter is coming. Are you gearing up for it? Do you have all your layered clothing ready to go, are your tires changed? How’s the inside of your home feeling – toasty? Have you winterized your garage? Wait, you haven’t? To winterize, simply, is to live. Getting your garage ready for Edmonton winters is about being proactive and preparing for frigid temperatures, tough ice and lots of snow. Garages are the one part of the house people tend to forget when it comes to winter prep. Just because it’s cold outside in Edmonton doesn’t mean it needs to be cold indoors. Here’s some helpful tips from us, your friends at Overhead Door of Edmonton, on how to winterize your garage door for an Edmonton winter.
Insulation is your best friend
We cannot overstate this enough. Installing snug insulation will regulate the temperature, keep warm air in your garage and that awful moisture out. When it comes to insulation, here are your options; insulate the walls with polystyrene or polyurethane or focus your efforts on getting your garage door sealed up. For insulating garage doors, you can press layers of foam against the frames of your garage door to help prevent air from escaping.
One good thing to do before you start is to check the weatherstrip, the seal between the garage door and the door opening. Over time this strip can break down and crack, allowing air to drift between the door and frame and create cold drafts. If you can feel cold air in your garage, start by replacing the weatherstrip entirely, removing the existing seal with a knife. These changes may seem small but bring a huge impact to how you feel inside your garage!
The higher the R-Value…
How insulated is your garage door? You can check by gauging its R-Value. R-Values are a measurement of resistance against heat flow. Different materials and their effectiveness with trapping heat can affect the R-Value of your door. When it comes to insulated garage doors, the higher the R-Value, the better. Modern garage doors typically have a R-Value between 12 and 18. If you need to replace your garage door, we recommend upgrading to the Thermacore insulated steel door series – they’re ideal for cold climates thanks to their triple-layer makeup of steel and polyurethane.
Service service service
It’s always better to be proactive when winterizing – don’t wait until it’s too cold before you prepare for winter. So this is the best time to have a thorough check over your door and make sure every moving part is operating as it should. One helpful tip is to clean and lubricate your metal moving garage door parts such as your hinges, rollers alongside the cables and springs. As cold air and layers of snow surround your door, it’s absolutely important that it is able to open and close as smooth as possible. A well-serviced garage door is a happy garage door!
Hopefully these tips make a big difference in how you treat your garage this winter. We want to make sure you’re warm and snug, so don’t hesitate to contact us at Overhead Door Company of Edmonton if you’re in need of assistance with winterizing your garage door.
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