As homeowners and business owners that live in areas where hurricanes and heavy storms take place often, you should reinforce your garage door. You can even do this in preparation of a big storm if you know your area is going to be hit. We’ve seen many areas across the US go through hurricanes and major storms that have never experienced such tragedy.
Here’s what you need to do to reinforce your doors to protect your home:
Determine If Your Door is Already Reinforced
If you live in a newer home, then your door may already be reinforced. You can tell by looking at your owner’s manual. See what the model and brand of your door is. If the manual does not tell you specifically, you can call the manufacturer and ask them.
Check the door to see if there are any stickers stating the door is reinforced for wind and rain. Sometimes a manufacturer will put that information on the safety stickers on the door.
Before you bother reinforcing the door, determine if what you own is designed to withstand high winds.
Fit Horizontal Trusses on The Door
The fastest way to reinforce your door is to fit horizontal trusses on the door. A truss is a supporting structure that will help the panels withstand greater wind. You can add this support to your door permanently, but also, you can add additional posts on the day of the storm.
If you have ever had to board up windows in storm preparation, then you can understand this process. You are basically adding boards vertically and horizontally that will reinforce the panels. These posts are metal and sold at hardware stores. Be sure to install both horizontal and vertical for heavy storms.
What Not To Do
Some websites will recommend that you use your car as a reinforcement for your door. Some will say that you can put your car up against the door with a padded bumper of sorts between the two. Unfortunately, if the wind gets really bad, that can damage your vehicle as well as destroy your door.
Simply screwing in plywood to your door will not work either. This is not helpful like it is with boarding up your windows. What will happen is that the door will become unbalanced due to the additional weight. The wood can actually cause your door to break, even if the storm does not damage it.
Call Us For Help
If there is a pending storm and you want us to reinforce your door, call us right away. Our technicians are able to come out as soon as possible and take care of your needs. They will install the trusses for you and give you advice on how to weather the storm.
We aim to be at your home about an hour after you call. So, if there is a hurricane on the way, get in touch with us so we can handle the work for you. We will also come out and take down any supports if need be.
