Preparing Your Garage Door for Heavy Storms

Considering the extreme weather of Colorado’s climate, garage door storm protection should be on your list of annual home maintenance tasks. The most common natural disasters in the Centennial State are wildfires, droughts and floods, hail, wind and show storms, and tornadoes.

Preparing your garage door for heavy storms with high winds can reduce the risk to your house and garage.Learn more here.

Bracing the Door Against Heavy Winds

Tornadoes are synonymous with high force winds. Being one of the largest single spaces in your home, garages are also the most vulnerable to extreme winds. What’s more, manufacturers use lightweight materials to make it easy to close and open doors. Gales have the potential to breach your garage door, blast through the rest of your house and cause costly structural damage.

To protect your home, its contents, and your loved ones, a proactive approach is recommended. The last thing you want is to be exposed to the elements, hurrying to finish the job, as the storm and debris approaches.

Choose a garage door design that incorporates built-in reinforcing and robust installation hardware to increase resistance to impact forces and wind. The outer appearance can be whatever look suits your architectural aesthetic. The magic happens inside the door where there is insulation and wind load bracing features that secure the garage door in a storm. Modern doors are wind pressure rated so that you can check them against local building codes. Wherever possible, go for a garage door that surpasses the minimum regulatory requirements to save yourself time and money in the long run.

Locks With Steel Pins and Aftermarket Bracing

Should your existing garage doors not have reinforcement systems built into them, you can retrofit a bracing kit. Installing a garage door brace adds strength to help keep the door in place during severe weather storms. Kits include heavy-duty hinges and bars that run the length of the door to shore up weak garage doors. Braces are attached to brackets above the door, on the hinges, and into the floor. You can also buy pillars that bolster the middle of a double garage door.

Two points to bear in mind, though:

1. The performance of the system is related to the type, condition, and toughness of the existing door. The track of your garage door must be at least 14-gauge weight.
2. The hardware is often heavy. To accommodate the added weight, the tension/counterbalance of your garage door may need to be adjusted.

If the installation process is too time-consuming for you to do yourself, hire professionals. Tri-Lakes Garage Doors is a Colorado and Monument licensed and fully insured business - and we can help you with garage door storm protection.

Two-By-Fours Work in a Pinch For Garage Door Storm Protection

Although the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes recommends that homeowners prepare well in advance for storm season, there are ways to strengthen your garage door if you missed the weather forecast:

• Use cable ties to anchor the sections of the garage door to each other.
• Secure the top and bottom of the door against the frame with slide locks.
• Put two-by-fours horizontally across each section of your garage door.

With average hourly wind speeds of around 10.3 miles per hour, April is regarded as the windiest month in Colorado Springs and surrounds. That said, high winds continue until the beginning of June and start up again in November. It is not too late to increase the wind-resistance of your garage door. Drawing on over 20 years of experience in the business, Jim and the Tri-Lakes Garage Doors team knowa thing or two about garage door storm protection!Get in touch with us for expert advice, authentic customer care, and quality parts and service.