Overhead Garage Doors and Weather Damage

We last saw what a boon a garage door is to your wellbeing in keeping out everyday weather occurrences, i.e. your rains, winds, snows, etc. There are other types of weather though right? There are tornadoes, hurricanes, monsoons, blizzards and more. And while these are mostly only once a year type occurrence not having to worry about one less thing, your garage door, is nice. So what type of things do a simple garage door really keep you safe from, besides worry and the investigative gazes of your neighbors? Well it depends on what sort of natural disaster is brewing in your area, but we can see just what you might be dealing with if you had a broken garage door in these instances, and what a lovely life you will be leading if you have a good solid garage door protecting your garage. So lets get to them and get ready to enjoy all of the things you won't have to be dealing with because you got your garage door installed professionally the other day, and just in time.

A storm is looming, it turns from tropical storm to "the hurricane" of this year. You have got the television tuned in to the local news station and they are covering the whole thing extensively. Preemptively you have been told not to come into work. There are a few ways you can handle things from here. If all your windows and doors, including your garage door, are secure you can maybe hit the stores before the storm really starts and get some supplies and you are in for a free day off from work with little to no worries. You can rest assured your house is safe from most damage that could occur and so you sit back, unwind and switch the local news to an old movie that's on tv and you should be fine. If you managed to grab some wine or beer on your shopping trip go wild, you're not going anywhere. You can sit cozy, warm, and worry free in your nice dry house while the storm really comes down enjoying Jurassic Park 2 on TNT. However, if you didn't go for the professional garage door installation things will look a bit differently. Your shopping trip will include cleaning supplies maybe an extra mop head and some buckets for clean up. You will be moving anything that can get ruined out of your garage, making your house crowded and musty. You will be working against the clock to get everything done before the storm really falls and will have to continually check the garage for water. You won't be sitting down for too long at a time with all the things you'll be doing. In the end you will probably be just as tired as you would be at work, and potentially dirtier. That isn't the worst case however...

It's tornado season in your area and you have just gotten a warning, you have enough to worry about, but you know that your garage is relatively safe from any high winds unless the tornado should hit your house exactly. While it can be a bit of a nerve-wracking time waiting to see what will happen you can breathe a tiny bit easer that you shouldn't have too much damage. On the other hand again, you might not be confident with your garage door because you did it on the cheap, or your garage door has been broken for the past few months. Well then you can be sure you will be worrying more than usual because there is a good chance you are in for some extra damages. Your garage door may not be as secure as it should be and so it can be torn down by intense wins if installed incorrectly. This means scratching your car and breaking any fragile things you may keep in your garage is extremely likely. You also risk having things sucked out and lost from your garage, in addition to a generally unsafe environment directly after the storm.

Blizzards may not seem as extreme as a tornado or hurricane because they are generally slower and because many find them aesthetically pleasing, but they can still be quite dangerous if you aren't prepared. The weight of a few feet of heavy snow has collapsed roofs before, and that snow typically piles up and leans on your garage door. If you have had a professional garage door installation you are looking at a scenario very similar to a day with a hurricane. You can cozy up by the fire, or a space heater, with some tea and read your book while the snow comes down around you. Whether it is inches or feet you can be fairly sure that your garage is safe from caving in or letting any of the melting snow in. You pretty much have a relaxing day in with a bit of netflix on your schedule, as opposed to those who can't be so sure about their garage door security. If you can't be sure about your garage door you will most likely be checking the garage every fifteen minutes or so to make sure every thing is still intact. You could be greeted with water leaking under the door, which will then be turning to ice if the temperature falls again. You could also find your garage door buckling under all the weight. This means you will have even more water, and as more snow falls you will inevitably have more and more weight on the garage door. Anything in your garage that can be ruined by water will be, and if your car is parked near the garage door it could very easily become scratched and get snow on it. This essentially defeats the purpose of having any garage door at all.

So what have we learned? Garage doors can pretty much make a storm a relaxing day off or a nightmare. Depending on if you have got a well made and properly installed garage door or a broken or poorly installed garage door dictates pretty much if you will spend your day worried and checking on your garage and praying for the storm to be over, or if you will be sitting comfortably in a chair or couch somewhere. While these might be just some small few days a year that you get to enjoy these are really the extremes of how helpful a garage door can be. These days exemplify all the time you don't even notice how helpful something like having a good garage door is for you.