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Your Garage And Extreme Winds

No matter where you live you will almost always have the prospect of high winds as a possibility. You may not live in a region known for high winds, or may in fact be right in an area known for their tornadoes, either way there is one thing that garage doors aren’t the best at in most cases and that is wind resistance. It makes sense that a sheet of metal or wood the size of two cars might have some problems with the brunt of the wind they catch, but garage door manufacturers of course have long been working to try and cut down on that. Manufacturers are constantly trying to balance strength, weight, and value in order to give customers the best garage doors they can. When deciding on what garage door might be best for you it is important to take into account the likelihood that your door might need to stand up against some high winds. If you live in an area that doesn’t have a great deal of wind then you might not really think about the amount of wind that your garage door can handle, however if you live in an area prone to high wind storms and extremely windy weather this should be one of your top priorities. One way to get the correct information on your garage door options for windier environments is to simply ask your local garage door technician as to what sort of garage doors they would suggest. Your local garage door professionals will have a fair bit of experience with garage doors in your region and so will know how to best cope with your type of weather.In this case there is really no accounting for experience, but you can also do some research on your own in order to prepare yourself for the purchase.

There are certain situations where having a stronger or more durable garage door can actually save you an incredible amount of money. Garage doors can protect your garage from a great deal of damage in a heavy storm that con have monstrous costs. Whether you have home insurance or not it is always easier to simply protect yourself in the first place from damages. If your garage door fails in someway that leave the underside of your roof and the rest of your home open to the full brunt of a storm or other weather, this means that things that would normally be protected would be especially vulnerable. For all of these reasons as well as the simple safety of your home it is a good idea to look into how to make sure your garage door can stand up to the winds in your area.

Many areas with high winds occurring rather often will have codes and ordinances making sure that your home’s garage door is of a certain wind resistance in order to keep yourself and others from unsafe garage doors during a storm. When choosing and installing a garage door make sure to be aware of these laws as you may get into trouble if you don’t. These laws or codes also help make your decision a bit easier as they pretty much tell you that you live in an area where your garage door needs to be of a certain grade in order to stand up to your winds. When just moving to a new area you may not know about how windy it is and so these laws are a good way to have your questions easily answered.

As far as garage doors go there are basically two types of grades for a garage door’s resistance to things like storms and wind. The first category is an impact resistant garage door. Impact resistant garage doors are graded to be able to withstand all sorts of impacts and not just wind. This means that your garage door should be able to handle things like basketballs, baseballs, light taps of a bumper and stronger winds. This type of garage door is certainly a good one to get for those in areas that don’t have the highest of wind speeds but still have some rough 

storms from time to time. It will mean that your garage door will be ready for nearly anything that is going to be thrown at it.

The second type of rating for a garage door is a hurricane proof garage door. These garage doors are specifically designed to stand up to the pressures that pelting hail or rain and high winds can play on a garage door.These garage doors will certainly be very strong and will hold up to other types of impacts well, but they are specifically designed to deal with high winds and weather related forces rather than cars and thrown balls. A well installed hurricane proof garage door can stand up to some of the highest winds despite having the ability to catch so much of it. For those in areas where wind is a real problem a hurricane proof garage door is really the only way to go unless you want to risk losing your garage door and doing damage to your garage during your first or second bad storm. In addition to being better suited for high wind situations a hurricane proof is also usually a very energy friendly option because it is designed to not let things like wind and air get through any cracks etc.

Another way to prepare yourself and your garage door for high winds is to install a bracing kit designed for garage doors. A bracing kit can probably be found at your local hardware store if you are lucky or can simply be ordered online. Many people could probably install a bracing kit on their garage doors without too much trouble, but if you are not mechanically inclined you could certainly talk to your local garage door professional and have them help you with the installation. A garage door professional would also be able to make sure that your garage door is in top working condition before a large storm so that you can sleep easy knowing that you are well equipped for any coming storms. If you think you might need to invest in a bracing kit do a bit of research, or simply call a professional.

High winds are usually not the thing we think of as the most dangerous to our garage doors, but because of how large and thing garage doors are it turns out that it can really cause a lot of damage to a garage door. If you are thinking about investing in a new garage door and think wind resistance should be one of your priorities then do some research to see what type of resistance you might need or talk to some professionals about what they would suggest for your area and situation. Higher quality doors are inevitably going to cost you more money, but with the amount you can save in damages there is a real possibility that it will save you a bundle more in the long run. When it comes to things like high winds the biggest concerns in your mind will most likely be the value and the safety. If you live in an area that can have high winds talk to a professional about how to best prepare your garage to keep you and your family safe.