Here it is August in Atlanta, temps. reaching into the 90s everyday with high humidity and it’s time to think of Fall?

Well, yes.

I stepped out onto my back deck this morning with coffee in hand to enjoy the morning and believe it or not, I could feel the early Fall in the air. Just an ever-slight coolness and smell of fall in the air. Ah, yes!

Home improvements done in the fall to ready the house for winter. Proper house prep to handle the winter months and keep the cold out does require the same amount of planning that is done in the spring to prep your house for summer. This includes sealing up places that the cold air can get in including bad siding, caulking cracks, maybe even a fresh coating of paint. This can also involve replacing your doors and windows with more energy efficient ones.

Often times when doing this planning the garage doors are overlooked.

The garage doors cover the largest opening in your house, so it makes sense to include these in your planning. The obvious advantage to replacing your garage doors in the improved appearance to your home. But the biggest advantage to replacing them is the increased energy efficiency to your home.

There are two basic types of insulated garage doors that you can choose from. An insulated door with a “vinyl backer” and then a steel back style. The vinyl back door is a metal door that is filled with a polystyrene insulation and then the part of the insulation that is exposed inside the garage is covered in a material that is similar to a real thick wallpaper. The purpose of this is just to provide a covering. These doors have a lower “R” energy rating that is between 6.0 to 9.0. The second type is the steel back. It is just like the vinyl backer doors except that the part that is facing the inside of the garage is covered in another layer of steel. This is also called a sandwich style door. These doors are tougher and more durable than the vinyl back doors and carry a much higher “R” rating that is between 10.0 – 15.0. These doors also qualify for the energy tax credits.

In future blogs I will discuss the steps you should follow when getting door estimates. I will also discuss doors that are high “R” value doors that contain polyurethane insulation.

Call us at 770-720-7828.