A wind-rated garage door has been tested to withstand the force of the wind on its surface. Here in Houston, they are also known as hurricane garage doors. These garage doors can be critical here in Houston as high winds can cause garage doors to fail, allowing hurricane-force winds to enter your home. This can allow an unstable buildup of pressure, causing windows to blow out and the roof to blow off. Garage door wind speeds are rated at 140mph, 150mph, and 160mph. 140 mph rated garage doors are the most common in Houston. Some newer neighborhoods here in the Houston area actually require the home to have a wind-rated garage door by the Texas WindCode.
What is the Texas WindCode
The Texas WindCode measures the wind resistance capabilities of a structure based on numeric ratings. After hurricanes devastated homes and commercial facilities in past decades, building codes became more strict to ensure increased safety even under severe winds. Many modern building codes require structures to meet specific standards to withstand hurricane-level winds and other harsh weather conditions. WindCode ratings have rigorous operating standards to help protect properties from these risks. With increased reinforcement and secure locks, these doors can withstand extreme wind speeds and severe weather while safeguarding the rest of the building.
What is a Wind-Rated Garage Door Made Out of?
Wind-rated hurricane garage doors are designed specifically with high winds in mind. They are built as Impact-resistant garage doors and have a minimum of one layer of steel. The number and thickness of the steel layers can help improve the maximum wind speed the door can withstand. Now on top of that, they can have other different types of materials such as wood paneling or aluminum.
What is the difference between a Residential and a Hurricane Garage Door?
The main difference between residential garage doors and hurricane garage doors is that the wind-rated doors are built to take on high levels of pressure and resist all kinds of weather conditions. That is why they are built with extra layers of steel and sometimes aluminum and installation as well. Residential garage doors are usually lighter and cannot stand impacts.
The Advantages of a Wind-Rated Hurricane Garage Door
Garage doors are an important part of your home. Here in Houston, it seems like the frequency of severe weather is increasing. So keeping that in mind, the likelihood your home could be in a damaging storm here in the Houston area is high. The advantage of a wind Rated hurricane garage door is the protection of your home and property inside. It’s even possible it could save your life by preventing the pressure buildup in your home.
A wind-rated garage door can also save you on property damage costs. One inch of stormwater in your home can lead to roughly $25,000 in repair costs. A wind-rated garage door can also keep winds from getting to the interior of the home causing damage as well. If you had a normal garage door in a hurricane and you have a pressure build-up, it can blow out a home’s windows, roof, and supporting walls. Those are costly damages to fix on a home.
Will I have to sacrifice looks?
Some homeowners worry that wind-rated garage doors will make them sacrifice the look of the garage door. That is simply not the case. Reinforced garage doors still have the same beautiful facades of standard doors — to an observer, a reinforced garage door looks like any other garage door. The difference is yours can withstand hurricane-force winds while looking good.
Spectrum Overhead Door LLC has been installing wind-rated garage doors in Houston since 2006. If you are looking to upgrade your garage door to a hurricane garage door, or build a new home, call us at 281-748-9542 for a free consultation and quote.