“Wind pressure is often the most devastating culprit in a hurricane. A category 3 hurricane with winds of 130 mph exerts pressures equivalent to the weight of a typical family car on a two-car garage door.” – Dr. Steve Lyons, The Weather Channel.
FACT: About 80% of residential wind damage starts with wind entry through the garage door.(1)
FACT: Less than 30% of homes in hurricane prone areas have adequate garage door wind load reinforcement systems.(2)
FACT: Fewer than 50% of consumers in hurricane prone areas know that their garage doors are required to meet building code criteria for wind pressures.(2)
FACT: Winds can stay above hurricane strength many miles inland. Hurricane Hugo (1989) battered Charlotte, North Carolina—about 175 miles inland—with gusts to near 100 mph.(3)
A hurricane rated garage door will help protect your home from much higher hurricane winds than a non-hurricane rated door. Your garage door opening is your largest opening your home and if the garage door fails, the amount of wind pressure entering your garage is capable of ripping the roof right off of your home. The roof is often not able to withstand the lifting force from underneath. Different counties have different hurricane code requirements for garage doors. We at Certified Garage Door Inc will take the extra time to explain what your code is and why, and which hurricane rated garage doors meet both your counties codes requirements as well as your personal needs.
A building code is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. The main purpose of the building codes is to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the construction and occupancy of buildings and structures.
• Link to Florida Building Code – wind load guide
• Link to map of Florida’s Wind Borne Debris Regions
• Articles on garage doors / hurricanes & your Home
Sources: 1. Copyright 2007, Federal Alliance for Safe Homes. 2. August 2006, Electronic Answers – Amarr Garage Door Hurricane Preparedness Study. 3. Revised August 2001, Hurricanes…Unleasing Natures Fury: A Preparedness Guide, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service.
