Should You Reinforce Your Garage Door?

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If you’re facing down a storm in your area, or even a hurricane, then you may need to reinforce your garage doors. Here’s what you should be looking out for, and how to reinforce those doors if you need to.

Why Are Garage Doors An Issue In Storm Season?

First of all, you’ll need to why your garage doors need reinforcing. The problem with them is that they can account for 80% of residential wind and storm damage. When you think about it, they’re the largest entry point to your home. As well as this, they’re lightweight by design, on held in place by the tracks that move it up and down. As you can imagine, when a big storm hits, they’re the worst affected.

Does Your Door Need To Be Enforced?

So, how do you know if your door is strong enough to stand up to a storm? The answer may lie in when you had it installed. Take a look at the door itself. If it was installed after 2002 by a Tamarac garage door repair company, then there should be a seal on it that guarantees it meets requirements for wind load in your area.
If you know it’s an older door, or it doesn’t have the seal, then you know you’ll need to reinforce your door.

Replacing Your Garage Door

Some people find the simplest thing to do is to replace their garage door. If you’re not sure, a Tamarac garage door service can come and take a look at it for you. They can then decide whether the door itself can be reinforced, or if it needs to be replaced entirely.

There’s a lot to be said for replacing the door. If you get a new door, you can ensure that your door meets the wind load requirements for your area. New garage doors are made with strict safety guidelines in mind, so you’ll know that your door will be able to stand up to anything the weather throws at it. As well as this, you can have a door that’s made to suit your home, so it’ll fit in perfectly.

Reinforcing Your Door

Maybe your door doesn’t need to be replaced entirely, but it does need to be reinforced against bad weather. How do you do that?

The best way to do this is to have horizontal trusses fitted to the door itself. Then, on the day a storm or hurricane approaches, you should be able to add a vertical post as well. These will help the garage door stand up to wind better, and stop your home from becoming damaged.

Be aware though that you do need the horizontal trusses for this to work. Some people just buy the vertical post to use when bad weather hits, but that’s not a good plan. If the weather is bad enough, the garage door will simply bend around the post. Having both installed means the door can stand up to the weather.
Doing this to your door will put extra pressure on the springs and change the way the counter balance works. If you want to do this, then the best way will be to call on a professional to fit it all for you. They can make all the necessary changes, and then change the calibration so your door still works once it’s been reinforced.

Tips To Protect Your Door

Don’t be taken in by the myth that parking your car inside the garage, and having the bumper touching the door, is enough to protect it. Many a garage door repair company has seen damage to both car and door from this tactic.
Also, avoid simply attaching plywood to your door. It sounds like a good plan in theory, but it can actually invalidate your warranty. As well as this, you can actually cause the door to break, as it will not be unbalanced. If you want to reinforce the door, it’s much better to call in a professional.

As you can see, it’s a good idea to check your garage door now, before any bad weather come in. Look to see if it’s wind resistant, and if not, call in an expert to replace or reinforce it for you.
Meta description: Does your garage door need to be reinforced? Check out this guide to see how to protect your garage door from storms and hurricanes.