PROJECTS TO IMPROVE YOUR HOME

 

 

Question: Do my garage doors require any special treatment for hurricanes?

 

Answer: Yes they do. Garage doors in older homes are not built to be hurricane resistant. It’s a fact, garage doors are the most vulnerable openings in your house and the damage from wind is no longer restricted to the garage.

You have several options to protect your garage contents. There are three types of garage doors. The sectional, single panel and rolling. For residential use, the sectional is the most common. Single panel doors require operating space in front of the door. The rolling door is used more often in commercial buildings. Let’s concentrate on the sectional door.

Sectional doors are usually constructed of three to eight panels and glide up and overhead. The panels may be constructed from a variety of materials: steel, wood, Masonite, or fiberglass and may have glass panels in one section. Sectional doors have two advantages over single panel doors: 1. they do not require any space outside the garage to open, and 2. a car may park very close to the door. Each panel has its own connection to the track.

There are three means of protecting your garage door openings. (The costs for a single and double door are in parentheses.)

Option #1.

Rather than replace the entire door, there is a prepared brace that is attached in the center of the door to the garage floor and the door top frame. Install one brace on a single door and two braces on a double wide door. Once the brace is attached, the door cannot be opened. This is effective for our snow birds who vacate Florida at the mention of a hurricane. ($160 & $320) This option may also include having your door up-graded with all the metal bracing and connections by a garage door contractor.

This option allows you to use the door continually.

($350 & $500)

Option #2 is to replace the entire door.

The door will not appear to be different but steel braces are attached to the panels and can be seen from inside your garage. The frame is attached with hurricane resistant fasteners as well. The new door is heavier and your automatic opener may not be able to lift the added weight. ($900 & $1,500)

Option #3

is to install hurricane panels over the entire door opening. ($300 & $600)

JOKE

On the way back to Ohio as I was sitting in the Phoenix airport, they announced that the flight to Vegas was full. The airline were looking for volunteers to give up their seats.

In exchange, they’d give you a $100 voucher for your next flight and a first class seat in the plane leaving an hour later. About eight people ran up to the counter to take advantage of the offer.

About 15 seconds later all eight of those people sat down grumpily as the lady behind the ticket counter said, “If there is anyone else OTHER than the flight crew who’d like to volunteer, please step forward . . .