Garage Doors and Wind: How Much Can They Handle?

Your Garage Door: How Much Wind Can it Handle?

Garage doors are typically the largest feature of a home, providing an enormous access point to your home. This is convenient when you need to bring a car into the garage, but less convenient when a storm hits, if your garage door can’t handle it. If your garage is not capable of withstanding the high winds that come along with a hurricane, it could compromise the safety of your entire home. Not only can windborne debris damage a weak garage door, but a door without the proper wind rating can be pushed or pulled by strong winds; the door can buckle, and its hardware can fail. This allows the wind and water to rush into the house, causing issues like broken windows, roof damage, and flooding. The average garage door can easily handle winds of about 20 miles per hour, but is that strong enough? In Florida, especially during hurricane season, this level of wind resistance is woefully inadequate. In fact, garage doors in Florida should be able to withstand winds between 120 and 180 miles per hour.

Garage Door Wind Tolerance

How do you know how much wind your garage door can withstand? Garage doors have wind code ratings, indicating how much wind and wind-borne debris they can withstand. Now, this doesn’t mean that if your garage door is rated for 120 miles per hour winds and the winds reach 121 miles per hour, the door will fly off of the garage. However, if the wind is often higher than the garage door’s rating, the door will weaken over time. Then, when a major storm hits, it is unlikely to be able to withstand the increase in wind pressure. Wind code ratings go from W-1 to W-9, with higher numbers indicating higher wind resistance. The code is based on things like the door’s size, position, and the PSF rating that shows how the door handles wind pressure. Fortunately, there are garage doors made to withstand even extremely windy conditions, with some rated for winds as high as 200 miles per hour! That is more than even a Category 5 hurricane will bring.

Can You Install a Hurricane-Proof Garage Door?

Ultimately, there is really no such thing as a hurricane-proof garage door, but when you are choosing a garage door, hurricane resistance needs to be at the forefront of your decision-making process. Of course, during hurricane season, wind will not be your only concern. Hurricanes and tropical storms can cause extreme flooding, even inland, but the right garage door can help keep water out of your home simply by standing up to the wind. So, how do you know if your garage door is properly rated for your area? If your home is a new construction build, your builder has probably given you information about your garage door’s rating. If not, it should still be clearly documented on the inside of the door. Somewhere on the door, you should see a yellow or orange sticker with this information. The sticker will typically indicate the wind speed the door can handle, as well as both positive and negative PSF numbers. The positive number represents the door’s ability to handle wind blowing against it, while the negative number shows how well it handles wind pulling it outwards. If your door doesn’t have a sticker, it could mean that the door is out of date and should be replaced. On the other hand, you may be able to find the garage door model number online, and that will give you the pertinent information.

What Are Your Next Steps?

When you are determining whether or not your garage door is adequate, there are a few steps to take.

• First, determine the wind rating. Do some research in order to ascertain whether it is appropriate for your area. If you need advice, consult with a garage door professional.
• Think about your budget. Doors with higher wind ratings can be more expensive, so you will not want to install a door that is unnecessarily strong. However, the damage done to homes during hurricanes because of garage door failures can lead to significant costs in repairs. Additionally, insurance premiums are often lower when the garage door is properly rated. Take these factors into consideration when you are determining whether it’s worth the cost.
• Consider reinforcing the door. A bracing kit won’t necessarily keep a weak door from buckling in a storm, but it can make a strong door stronger, and give you additional peace of mind. Further, if you absolutely cannot afford to upgrade your door right now, a bracing kit can work as a temporary measure to help protect against damage.
• Consult with the experts. A good garage door company will be able to help you decide between options in terms of upgrading your door or installing a new one.

Let A1A Overhead Door Help You Choose the Right Garage Door

As hurricane season approaches, ensuring your garage is fully prepared is essential. If you are concerned about the strength of your garage, call for an inspection by the experts at A1A Overhead Door Company. Our knowledgeable staff can help you determine exactly what’s needed and complete all necessary work efficiently and professionally, making sure you have a garage door that can stand up to whatever the weather brings. Family-owned-and-operated, A1A Overhead Door serves the entire metro Jacksonville area. In fact, we even go up to fifty miles into the outer countries. We are licensed and insured to cover both the client’s property and ours, and we’re proud to work with our clientele and will match or beat any competitor’s written estimate. We specialize in garage door installations, repairs, spring repairs and replacements, and inspections to meet the Florida Hurricane Code. For more information, you can call 904.579.1123 or contact us through our website.