Due to their size alone, garage doors must be strong enough to stand up to all weather conditions. Who said that mild climates won’t experience their share of bad weather? Or that a region, where the weather is nice without extreme conditions, won’t face some terrible storms? Don’t forget that the climate has changed and we are waking to new conditions each day. Now, if you already live in an area, where storms are a reality, having a suitable garage door is not only a must for your own safety but also mandatory by law.
Why garage doors become vulnerable during storms?
The garage door opening is large enough to cause severe damage to the entire structure should the storm hits the area and the garage door fails. When there’s a heavy storm – let alone a hurricane, the pressure of the wind is beyond imagination. High pressure on a big opening such as that of the garage door can easily lead to disaster. The garage door will fail, leaving room for the wind to rip off the roof, tear down walls, destroy the entire structure. It’s all due to the pressure changes.
The extent of the structure’s damage depends on the garage door’s vulnerability. That’s what you have to battle against, your overhead garage door’s vulnerability. You see, the garage door will fail when it’s weak, not equipped properly, not maintained, not prepared for a storm. Why go through all that and truly pay the price when there are ways to avoid damage – unless the hurricane passes straight through your home?
Can your garage door stand up to the storms?
Check it. If you live in a region, where storms are a common phenomenon, or in a hurricane-prone area, you most likely have a hurricane garage door. That’s great, but not enough. Getting a hurricane proof garage door and believe that ten years later, it will still have the strengths to protect you is not right.
Your garage door should have the parts, features, and strengths to protect you during the worst storm and hurricanes, high winds, pressure changes, tornados, flying debris. In other words, the garage door parts and the panel must be truly durable so that they won’t break down or buckle.
What should you do for your garage door…?
…so that your garage door can do for you?
Assuming you have a hurricane rated garage door, you need to check all its parts from time to time. Naturally, the safest way to ensure its good condition is to have it regularly maintained by a professional technician. Whether you do that or not, it’s good to pay attention to its parts and the panel. Obviously, if you hear a noise that wasn’t there before or deal with any problem, it’s best to have it fixed quickly.
While all parts play a vital role in the overall performance and resistance of the garage door, focus on the brackets. Check the garage door tracks. Make sure the springs are not rusty.
If your garage door was retrofitted to meet the local codes, you need to check even more closely. Perhaps, get new tracks and brackets, make some changes, focusing on getting parts which are more durable than the existing ones. Hurricane garage doors already have low-gauge, truly strong and resistant parts and additional components for extra resistance to the storms – like braces. Whether this is a storm ready garage door or an add-on door, you need to be certain that it’s ready to resist impact and high wind pressures. That’s the bet, to keep the garage door in place, even if seriously worn. The bet is to keep it in place so that the high wind pressure won’t enter your garage, where it will clash with the trapped indoor pressure. If it does, the difference and force of pressure will cause severe structural damage. That’s what you want to avoid.
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