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The best garage door types in the UK for insulation in order of their U value performance are:
There are many factors to consider here if your expectations are very high for insulation, but some basic advice is easy to explain for most requirements.
The first thing to remember is that if you require a specific 'U' value (measurement of insulation) achieving for your garage then you need the 'installed' 'U' value and not the quoted value of just the panel alone, this can be very misleading, so beware.
Many manufacturers can only quote the U value of a small section of the door panel and don't have figures tested for a complete and full installed door.
There are some good round the corner doors and also insulated sliding doors with excellent insulated panels too, but for mainstream garage doors we are looking only at the 3 above as a comparison.
Insulated Sectional Garage Doors
This type of door can be obtained in 40-67mm double skinned steel door panel sections with a foam core insulation. As the sectional door operated in a vertical plane the panels can benefit from rubber weather seals all around the fixing frame adding to the weather protection properties of this door. The only way however to get the full benefit of an insulated sectional door is to install the door BEHIND the structural opening so the door panels overlap the garage piers and lintel effectively giving a 'thermal break' and continuing the insulation offered by the garage walls itself. Carteck offer the widest range of sizes and colours in their steel insulated door range
Each panel on a good quality sectional door will have a rubber seal embedded in each of the profile joint sections to give the best possible seal between the individual panels and combined with seals on all sides including a large seal on the bottom panel you can achieve the best U value if installed correctly. Additional seals are now also available on Hormann LPU42 and LPU67 doors to increase insulation further by up to 15%.
Insulated Side Hinged Doors
Side hinged doors have always been capable of offering high levels of insulation, just think about a freezer door, what is it? hinged of course...
Up until recent years in the UK no manufacturer had put in the effort of a double skinned, foam filled steel door set with rubber seals on a rebates edge all round. With a bottom edge threshold also with a seal built in you stand a chance here of a pair of large garage doors effectively sealing an opening very well indeed.
There are the Carteck Side Hinged doors, all made to order, with an aluminium fixing sub frame included. We also offer our own extensive range of GDO Side Hinged doors in 20mm, 40mm or 51mm panels
Insulated Roller Garage Doors
The term ‘insulated roller door’ is used to generically describe most aluminium roller garage doors sold in the UK. As we make no apologies in constantly reminding people with roller garage doors that you really do only get what you pay for then you have to remember the same with insulation properties on these doors.
A good quality foam filled aluminium roller door will give good levels of insulation if installed behind the structural opening like the sectional door does. A cheap, poorly constructed double skinned roller door using inferior aluminium slats will not give much insulation and worse still will probably give you all sorts of headaches with rattling and motor problems - enough said, again!!
A roller door by its very nature is difficult to get a proper 'U' value for once installed as technically there is a gap, albeit small, between every slat and there are about 21 slats in the average height door. Install the door behind and add a full hood and you will definitely feel the benefits in the winter months however. Good sized guides and slats with a thickness of about 20mm is about as good as you will get for a domestic garage door.
If you are need advice or prices then contact us or give us a call on (01926) 463888
We offer several garage doors, although the choice in all is limited really to only three manufacturers ranges.
GDO
For a wide range of styles, some standard sizes, but mainly made to measure for optimal fitting then we have our GDO Range of steel garage doors. A key offering for these doors are the 32 standard colours specificalyl developed for the UK market and not available in other up and over door brands. Pre-assembled from the factory for the easiest installation and excellent prices. Manufactured in the UK.
Modern and traditional designs with and without window design options.
Hormann
The Hormann Series 2000 range is considered by most to be the best in the UK for totally standard size steel up and over doors, but a high price tag for anythign other than a white finish.
They are all available with or without a steel box section fixing sub frame and are supplied in a powdercoat white finish as standard with a small range of 5 colour options in selected sizes only.
The range goes from 6'6" wide up to 14'0" wide in various standard heights.
Garador
If you want a very wide choice of styles and also purpose made door sizes to optimise your opening then look at the Garador range of up and over doors. The operating gear is the Hormann gear and the same high quality steel construction is used apart from welded corners. Manufactured in the UK.
The range of sizes is larger - right up to 14 feet wide from 6'6" and many sizes inbetween for large single or small double garage openings. The same steel frame box section options are available with a range of colour options all powder coated.
Not necessarily, as delivery times depend on the specific garage door category, brand and model rather than the colour alone. GarageDoorsOnline offers multiple standard colour options across every category, with some ranges featuring over 40 standard colours, many at the same price as white.
Across most door types, White, Black and Anthracite are the most readily available finishes and are often held in stock or prioritised for the fastest delivery. We also offer dedicated Fast Delivery models across selected brands, giving you a choice of popular standard colours and even purpose made sizes on shorter lead times.
However, because many of our garage doors are made to order as standard, choosing a colour does not automatically add waiting time. On a made to order range, a White door can take just as long to manufacture as a colour such as Chartwell Green. Specialist laminate foils, woodgrains and printed finishes are also widely available, though lead times on these can vary significantly depending on the exact finish chosen.
For the latest brand and category lead times, please check our Delivery Information page. If your order is urgent or you have a specific door type and colour in mind, please call or email our team before ordering for up to date advice on current stock and lead times.
See our Delivery Times page for the latest information on various brands and door types for their delivery times: Delivery Page.