Severe storms and their affects are in the news each day this year. This years hurricane season has been pretty quiet this year but tornados and straight line winds associated with thunderstorms have destroyed a lot of homes across the country.
The opening into your garage is the largest opening into your home and is the homes weakest point when it comes to security from both intruders and bad weather. Never the less most homes are built with what is called a contractor garage door system. These doors systems are designed to look good and meet the minimum construction code standards. However if you live in Southern Florida or other locations that have adapted high wind codes your garage door must be able to withstand winds to 140 miles per hour. If you live elsewhere that does not mean you do not need a secure high wind code garage door.
If you have the minimum code garage door the risk of your home to lose its roof and be destroyed increase greatly during any severe storm. There are hundreds of videos on line taken during severe storms and hurricanes showing the collapse of a homes garage door followed very shortly with the loss of the homes roof. Once a roof is removed it is almost always guarantees the destruction of the entire home.
If you check local garage door pricing you will find that it will cost an average of 25% more for a high wind code door. In some locations the cost could be higher but given the number of people that have large deductions of $15,000 or more on their homeowners insurance a high wind door may be a great investment. In addition if you and your family are sheltering inside your home during a tornado or severe thunderstorm you certainly do not want to lose the integrity of your roof as a result of a garage door security failure. All of which could lead to injury and even death to you and your family.
As you can clearly see in these test pictures that a high wind code garage door can withstand winds in excess of 175 mph. Wind velocities from straight line winds often exceed 100 mph. Also note that a quality high wind garage door must withstand the suction of a tornado as well the impact of a straight line high wind. These door flexed rather than broke under the force of the test winds and as a result maintained their integrity.
The bottom line is that if you are building a home or are considering the purchase of an existing home you should probably should include the additional garage door costs of a high wind code garage door. It is a sound investment into the security of your home and your family. Check out garage doors pricing for more tips on finding the right door for your home at garagedoorspricing.com
