Building The Right Garage for Salty-Air Climates
The warmness of coastal towns plus the beach is appealing for vacations and relaxing. However, the salty air, high moisture in the atmosphere and heavy winds might prove to be a problem. The salty air is very problematic to garage doors and other metallic elements in the surroundings.
This salty air might also cause the paintwork of your house to get ruined within a short time. Even maintenance of the premises might not help you. One needs to know the desirable kind of materials to use for various areas in your surroundings. The following are some of the points that you should consider when choosing the right garage door for salty-air climates;
1. Corrosivity
The salty air of the climate is corrosive. This means that it will eat away certain materials that you choose to make the garage door and its opener. Although steel is quite strong and also a desirable material it is not suitable because you have to ensure its painted well and not dented.
This is because the salty air will cause the paintwork to flake and as a result, it will rust once it’s exposed. Timber is also a choice; however, it also needs to be treated constantly to stop it from getting spoilt. This might prove to be quite costly and untimely. Therefore, you must choose a substance that will not be easily corroded by the salty air of the coastal climate.
2. Materials
As discussed above some of the most common and desirable materials are easily corroded by the salty air and they will not last long.
Fiberglass is one of the best materials to use for the garage door. The material used to make the fiberglass is glass resin polyester and it is resistant to salty water and air. This is because when it’s exposed to the salty air it’s not easily corroded. Glass Resin Polyester or GRP is the substance contained in the fiberglass. The material is also strong and resilient.
Aluminum is a desirable material to use for a garage door opener in salty air climate. This is because aluminum is a resilient material that doesn’t corrode in salty air climate. In addition to this, the material has a great aesthetic quality. Steel can be fine in this application as well, as long as it’s the right quality.
3. Insulation
Fiberglass is a poor insulator. This means that it will also not absorb the heavy salty air and absorb the bright sun rays that are common in the seaside. Consequently, the garage door will not heat up and become extremely hot. Such that when you want to open the door it becomes impossible right away and you have to wait for it to cool down before you attempt to touch it. Fiberglass is also available in an insulated version for areas that have extremely cold weather.
4. Painting
Paint prevents rust from getting to any material that you choose for the garage door opener. However, you must consider the frequency that you have to redo the paint job. In wood and steel the paint job will easily flake and allow the salt air to work on the garage door opener then soon it will just rust and fall off.
However, when you paint fiberglass or aluminum then it’s harder for the salt air to get to the garage door. This is because when they are painted particularly with a light colored shade, these materials can sustain them for long. Aluminum can also be anodized in addition to being painted and allowed to have the appearance of grain texture.