Building An Eco Friendly Garage Extension

There are many reasons why you might be considering adding a garage extension to your home.  Perhaps you need somewhere to store your car overnight, or some extra space for the kids to play.  It could be you’re going to be working from home and are looking for a home-office space!  Or maybe you simply want to add value to your home, before you put it on the market. 

Whatever your reasons for building a garage extension, one of the key things to bear in mind is that you should think about the environment and ensure you’re choosing green materials and building processes to construct your new extension.

The Joy of Concrete

Concrete may not be the first material that springs to mind when you’re thinking about your new garage extension – its grey finish is not for everyone, but the light colour of this popular building material actually brings with it many green benefits!  Light grey concrete reflects light and helps to reduce the ‘urban heat island effect’ which is commonly found in built-up areas of the city.

You’ll usually notice that cities are hotter in summer than rural areas – this is because buildings absorb and reflect heat and radiation, and the problem is compounded by heat and fumes from traffic and heat emitted by air conditioning systems.  So do your bit to reduce this effect by installing a concrete garage extension! 

You’ll also find your energy bills reduced, particularly if you use special insulated concrete to construct your extension, and your home will be more energy efficient as a result, which could reduce your overall energy rating, making your property a more attractive purchase for buyers. If a concrete garage is what you’re looking for, you can buy concrete garages from LM concrete garages.

The Finishing Touches

Of course, there’s no point in building an eco-friendly garage extension if you don’t spend as much time choosing energy efficient garage doors to finish off your project.  Did you know that by adding an insulated garage door to your extension, you can reduce the overall energy consumption of your household? Obviously this will save you money in the long run, but it will also reduce your carbon footprint and help to protect the future of our planet.  Here are a few facts you probably didn’t know about insulated garage doors:

• Windowed insulated garage doors will usually come with insulated glass that ha a UV coating to prevent it becoming discoloured
• Insulted garage doors are made feature a triple layer ‘sandwich’ construction – this usually consists of a layer of polystyrene or polyurethane insulation which is sandwiched neatly between two layers of heavy-gauge, hardwearing steel
• Some insulated garage doors will have a thermal break – this prevents hot and cold air from transferring to the inside or outside environment
• Insulated garage doors will come with a weatherproof seal to protect the bottom of the door and keep heat in and cold air out – this seal is usually replaceable

So there you have it, some of the benefits of installing an insulated garage door – it’s the perfect way to finish off your sustainable concrete garage extension project!

Taking the time to research eco-friendly alternatives to traditional building methods and materials will not only help to protect the environment, it will also help you to save energy and money in the long term, and could also help to add even more value to your home when you come to sell, particularly for buyers looking for property which boasts green credentials!