Month: November 2021

Winter is fast approaching. And it’s usually the time of the year when we get to experience harsh weather conditions such as bitter cold and storms, heavy snowfall, icy rain, and strong winds. The harsh weather conditions during the winter season can easily cause damage to your home, including freezing water lines and pumps. As such, it’s always best to prepare your home ahead of time for the long, cold season. And the best way to ensure your comfort and safety throughout the cold season is by winterizing your garage. 

A well-insulated garage can help protect your car and costly equipment inside your garage as well as significantly reduce your home’s heating costs throughout the winter season. Here are some of the best ways to protect your garage in the winter.

How Do I Keep My Garage From Freezing? 

Some of the best ways to prepare your home’s garage for the long, cold season and save huge on heating costs include;

• Install New Weatherstripping

Weatherstripping usually becomes brittle or wears down over time, leading to air leaks and cold drafts. So, it’s always best to check the weatherstripping on your garage window and door for cracks or broken parts. If you find any worn-out or cracked parts on your garage’s weatherstripping, consider having them fixed or replaced with new ones immediately.

For your garage door, be sure to correctly measure and install your new weatherstripping so that it creates a secure seal. This will prevent cold air from getting into your garage while also allowing the proper functioning of your garage door. It’s also advisable to replace your weatherstripping after every five years, which can help winterize your garage door.

• Insulate Your Garage Walls

Besides replacing worn-out and old weatherstripping, you may also consider insulating your garage walls and door to help retain the warm air inside. Keeping your garage toasty warm can be beneficial, especially if you use your garage as your home gym or workshop, so you won’t freeze while busy working or exercising.

Ensure you use the right thickness that matches that of your walls and follow the instructions carefully when replacing the insulation on your garage walls. Fiberglass batt is often the most recommended insulation material for garage walls during the winter season. Not only is it affordable but also durable and easy to install by yourself. It’s also effective at keeping cold air out, which helps improve your home’s energy efficiency and thermal performance during the cold season.

• Insulate Your Garage Door

On top of installing new weatherstripping, it’s also great to insulate your garage door to reduce the likelihood of heat loss further and ensure your garage remains warm throughout the winter. To ensure proper insulation of your garage door, consider using insulation materials such as foam boards, fiberglass, and reflective barriers. Your insulation material should perfectly fit your garage door panels and be adequately secured using an appropriate adhesive to ensure it stays in place.

However, if your garage door is over 25 years old or has dents, you may want to invest in a new garage door to save on heating costs. This is crucial as old doors tend to lose their insulation over time. Find a newer garage door model with insulation, so you won’t have to add insulation after installing it. A new garage door will help improve your home’s energy efficiency and add curb appeal.

• Install a Garage Heater

Apart from weatherstripping and installing insulation, installing a unit heater is another excellent way to keep your garage toasty warm during the winter. It’s also a superb way to heat your garage with minimal construction costs and space requirements. The good thing is that there are many types of heaters out there. If you’re looking for a cheaper and incredibly easy-to-operate heater, consider getting a gas heater.  However, gas heaters are usually quite challenging to install since they require an exhaust venting and gas supply. 

Electric heaters, on the other hand, are more costly yet easier to install and more reliable. This makes electric heaters more effective at heating your garage during winter. Apart from helping keep your house warm, a garage heater can also help melt off any ice accumulated on your garage door, ensuring the proper functioning of your garage door at all times.

• Waterproof Your Garage Floors

During the winter, road deicers, road salts, snowmelt, and other debris usually attach to the bottom of your vehicles and later get deposited on your garage floor. This creates a messy sludge on your floor and can potentially damage your concrete. 

One of the easiest and quickest ways to protect your garage floor from winter is using containment mats. These mats help collect snow melts, road salts, and other debris deposited from your vehicle so they won’t damage your garage floor. They also help insulate your feet from the cold concrete floors.

If you want a more permanent solution, you may want to apply a finishing coat such as an epoxy coating or one made of liquid stone. This will give your floor a nice, clean finish, creating a barrier that prevents hard salt, caked-up mud, and road slush from getting from penetrating through your concrete floor.  This will also ensure a better grip and provide extra traction for your vehicle.

• Create Ventilation

With snow and ice melting off during the winter months, you should ensure proper ventilation of your garage to allow moisture to escape through evaporation without condensing on the doors and windows. Proper ventilation is particularly crucial if you have a heater in the garage because heat will cause excess condensation.   Add at least two vents to your garage walls for adequate ventilation.

Should I Leave My Garage Door Open in the Winter? 

In winter, it’s not uncommon to find many homeowners leave their garage door open, especially when warming up their vehicles in the morning. While it sometimes makes perfect sense due to gasoline fumes, leaving for garage door open for too long can make adjacent rooms to your garage feel drafty and cold, which can significantly increase your cost of heating. Also, open doors allow snow and debris to blow into your garage, making your floors messy and rusting anything made of metal.

Is it bad to leave your garage door half-open?

While leaving your garage door half open can help vent some air; it may not be a good idea since even the smallest gap allows the warm air inside to escape. This will cause your heater to work harder to keep your garage warm, which ends up increasing your energy bill. Besides, leaving your garage door slightly open puts strain on the garage door system and, over time, causes your door to stop working. It also reduces your garage door’s lifespan.

Work with a Garage Door Company Near You

Are you looking to winterize your garage and want a reliable company that can help with your garage door repairs and maintenance or installation? Look no further. At Whitaker Garage Doors, we’ve been offering the best garage doors in the market for Putnam residents and the surrounding counties, including Westchester, Rockland, and Fairfield counties, since 1949. Since inception, we’ve earned an enviable reputation for providing top-of-the-line quality products and services to homeowners.

Contact us today, and we’ll be more than happy to help you prepare your garage for the long winter season. Whether it’s regular garage door maintenance or want a new garage door, we’ll ensure your garage door keeps you warm all winter long.