Strengthen Your Garage Door

05/03/2023

More than 90% of damage to homes during hurricanes begins when garage doors fail. Garage doors are typically the largest and weakest openings in a home.

What makes a garage door stronger than another?

• Metal thickness (gauge) of the door to resist pressure and windborne debris impacts
• Number and strength of mounting brackets and connectors holding the track to the wall and the ceiling
• Strength of the horizontal reinforcements on the door to resist buckling

What type of doors are best for high-wind locations?

• Wind- and impact-rated doors that are tested and approved. Wind-rated is good. Impact-rated is better.
• Single-car garage doors usually resist wind forces better than two-car garage doors.
• Doors without glass, or glazing, are better than those with glass or windows (unless the glass is impact-resistant).

How do you know if your garage door is impact-rated or wind-rated?

It can be difficult to determine if garage doors are impact- or wind-rated without proof of compliance labeling (typically yellow or white sticker listing pounds per square foot, or PSF).

If you do not have a sticker, contact your builder or manufacturer.

How can you strengthen your existing garage door?

• Check the mounting brackets and connectors and make sure the screws are tight and the track is not loose.
• Add mounting brackets and connectors if you only have three or four on each side.
• Replace rusted pins or worn-out rollers, and make sure they are balanced.
• Consider a bracing kit if the door is strong. If it is not, it may fail and wrap around the bracing.