What You Should Know About a Garage Door’s Wind Resistance

Whether you live in an area highly prone to extreme weather, or you only occasionally get hit by strong storms, the durability of your garage door is vital. Not taking your garage door’s wind resistance into consideration could lead to thousands of dollars-worth of damage to your home.

Garage doors are rated for their ability to withstand various wind speeds, and it can be an important factor to keep in mind when you’re deciding on what to buy for your home.

What You Should Know About a Garage Door’s Wind Resistance

The Importance of Garage Door Wind Load

According to Jack Stumpff, president of Secure Enterprises, nearly 80 percent of monetary damage during hurricanes can be attributed to garage doors (source). He claims, “If the garage door fails, the roof is likely to be damaged and then the damage to the home is severe.” Without the proper garage door wind resistance measures in place, you could end up spending thousands of dollars on home repairs.

In addition to protecting your home, having a structure that can handle the proper garage door wind load will save you money on insurance premiums. You could save up to 30 percent just by securing your garage door wind resistance (source). With those kinds of savings, why not take the necessary steps today and give yourself peace of mind?

Precautions for Extreme Weather

In areas prone to high-wind storms like hurricanes and blizzards, it’s important that your garage door is at least impact-resistant, but hurricane-proof is best. Just one inch of water or ice can result in thousands of dollars in damage. That much water and more can easily be let into your garage if the door is broken, which is likely to happen during a storm if you don’t take the proper steps to prevent it. Be sure to:

  • Check city building codes for wind resistance requirements. In some areas (especially hurricane prone ones), a garage door must be able to withstand high winds, sometimes up to 130 miles per hour or more.
  • Purchase and install either a hurricane-proof or impact-resistant garage door. Impact-resistant doors are built to withstand strong forces being hurled against them, while hurricane-proof doors feature framework that is twist-resistant. The latter is the stronger of the two.
  • Install a bracing kit designed for garage doors. No matter what kind of door you have, this is the most important step you should take. If you’re handy, you can install the bracing kit yourself; just be sure to exactly follow all directions.

Precautions for Normal Weather

Even if you don’t live in an area that experiences hurricanes or blizzards, you’ll likely see occasional severe thunderstorms. These storms are sometimes enough to cause minor (or major) wind damage, so it’s always best to keep wind resistance in mind when you’re buying a new door.

In addition, doors that aren’t wind-proof can be an energy concern as well since they risk letting cold winter air into your home.

Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.