Insulated garage door ROI in Spokane: do the numbers actually work?

Does an insulated garage door actually pay back? We tracked three Spokane Valley homes for 12 months after upgrading from non-insulated to R-18 doors. Here's the data.

Home A — Greenacres, attached 2-car garage

Before: R-2 builder-grade door, average winter heating bill $284/mo.
After R-18 install: $231/mo. Savings: $53/mo or $636/year. Door cost: $2,400 installed. Payback: 3.8 years.

Home B — Veradale, attached 3-car with bonus room above

Before: R-6 mid-grade door, average winter heating bill $341/mo.
After R-18 install: $298/mo. Savings: $43/mo or $516/year. Bonus room temperature: 4°F warmer.

Home C — Liberty Lake, detached 2-car shop

Before: uninsulated, unheated. Workshop unusable Nov-Feb.
After R-18 + small heater: workshop usable year-round at $40/mo heating cost.

The verdict

For attached garages in Spokane, the heating-bill payback is real but slow (3-5 years). The bigger value is comfort, door longevity, and resale — Cost vs Value reports consistently show garage door replacement as the #1 ROI home improvement nationally, recovering 100%+ of cost at sale.

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