Hurricane-Rated Garage Doors on the Grand Strand

On most Grand Strand houses the garage door is the largest opening in the building and the weakest. When it blows in during a hurricane, wind gets into the house and pushes up on the roof from inside.

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Why the garage door is the weak point

A sixteen-foot door is a large flat panel held at its edges by tracks and rollers. Under strong wind it bows inward, the rollers pop out of the track, and the door folds. Once it is open, the house is no longer a closed box: wind pressure inside adds to the suction on the roof outside, and that combination is how roofs come off houses that otherwise held. Engineers who study storm damage have pointed to failed garage doors for decades, and it is why building codes on hurricane coasts now treat them as a structural component rather than a convenience.

Storms this coast has actually had

Hugo in 1989 is the storm older residents measure everything against. Floyd flooded Conway and the inland side of the county in 1999. Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 both set record crests on the Waccamaw at Conway, and Florence left the Rosewood area of Socastee underwater for weeks. In 2022 Hurricane Ian made landfall near Georgetown and took down part of the Cherry Grove Pier in North Myrtle Beach. Wind is not the only issue: surge and river flooding put salt and brackish water into garages, which is hard on the bottom of a door and everything electrical at floor level.

What a wind rating means

A wind-rated door is tested as a system: panels, struts, hinges, track, brackets and fasteners together. It carries a design-pressure rating, in pounds per square foot, positive and negative, and the house needs a door at least as strong as the pressure calculated for its location, exposure and height. Some doors are also impact-rated, meaning they have been tested against wind-borne debris. Whether your house needs impact rating as well as wind pressure depends on where it is; close to the ocean the requirements are stricter. The person to confirm what your house needs is the building department that would issue the permit, and a company that installs along this coast deals with that question every week.

Retrofit bracing for an existing door

If the door is sound but not rated, bracing is a cheaper middle step. Vertical braces that bolt to the floor and header, or extra horizontal struts across the panels, stiffen a door against bowing. They are not the same thing as a rated door, and some types have to be installed before each storm and removed after, which is a job nobody wants to do as a hurricane approaches. For a second home whose owner is not here in September, a permanently rated door is usually the more realistic answer.

What to ask before buying

A few questions sort out the companies that install for the coast from the ones that do not.

What design pressure does my house need, and what is this door rated for?
Is the rating for the whole assembly, including the track and fasteners you will use?
Does the door need a permit here, and who pulls it?
Will the wind label stay on the door? Insurers and buyers ask for it
Are the springs being sized for this door's weight? Rated doors are heavier

Some homeowner's insurers along the coast offer wind-mitigation credits for protected openings, and a documented rated door can count. Ask your insurer what paperwork they want before the old door goes in the trailer.

Ask about a rated door before the next named storm is on the map. Lead times stretch out once one is, and installers are busiest when everyone has the same idea in the same week.

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Common questions

What does a hurricane-rated garage door cost?

Expect a wind-rated door to cost noticeably more than the same size standard door, commonly in the range of 20 to 50 percent more, because of the heavier construction, reinforcement and heavier springs. Impact-rated glass adds more.

Do I have to replace my door with a rated one?

Not because a new code came out; existing doors are generally allowed to stay. The question comes up when the door is replaced, and the permit office decides what the replacement must meet. Check with the city or county for your address.

Are garage door braces worth it?

For a sound door that is not rated, they help. They do not turn an unrated door into a rated one, and the removable kind only works if someone is there to put them up.

Will a rated door lower my insurance?

Possibly. Some insurers give credits for protected openings after a wind mitigation inspection. Ask your insurer what documentation they need.

Should I close the garage door during a hurricane?

Yes, and lock it if the door has a manual lock, because that helps stop the door being pushed up in its track. Do not park a car against the inside of the door as bracing; if the door flexes the car is the first thing it hits.

Other garage door work in Myrtle Beach

Also serving

Hurricane-Rated Doors is available beyond Myrtle Beach, across Conway , North Myrtle Beach , Surfside Beach and Georgetown .

Request a visit for hurricane-rated doors

Tell us what the door is doing and a local garage door company will call you back, usually the same or next business day. Answered Mon–Sat, 8am–6pm · after-hours messages returned the next morning Or call (843) 891-3790 if the door is stuck open or a car is trapped inside.