Residential Wind Load Garage Doors
Transforming your garage door into a wind-rated door doesn’t mean sacrificing the curb appeal and beauty you have come to expect from Overhead Door. Our industry-leading wind-rated garage doors are the pinnacle of high-wind protection and stylish designs. As the largest point of entry, your garage door offers the largest opportunity for high-pressure havoc. When high winds hit, a reinforced garage door is one of your home’s most-important safeguards against nature’s fury.
Featured Wind Load Products
Wind Load options are also available on the following Collections:
- Traditional Steel (170, 180, and 390 Series)
- Thermacore® Collection (490,190, and 290 Series)
- Courtyard Collection® (160 and 370 Series)
- Carriage House Collection® (300 Series)
- Durafirm Collection® (870 Series)
- Impression Collection® (980 Series)
- Modern Aluminum Collection® (Model 521)
Review our WindStorm™ product brochure.
Wind Structure Interaction
- High winds first create pressure against the windward side of the structure.
- During high wind events, debris can become powerful projectiles that can damage the garage door, reducing the door’s ability to protect the home against damaging winds.
- Pressure increases when the wind moves around the corner and down the side of the building.
- Garage doors with no reinforcement can buckle under the pressure, giving the high winds access to the interior of the structure.
- This often results in the roof members and wall panels being blown apart, allowing rain, wind and debris to have easy access inside.
Hurricane Areas Across the U.S.A.
- The information on this page is to be used for reference only. Consult your building department or a registered engineer or architect for site specific applications.
- Values are nominal design 3-second gust wind speeds in miles per hour (m/s) at 33 ft. (10m) above ground for Exposure C category.
- Linear interpolation between contours is permitted.
- Islands and coastal areas outside the last contour shall use the last wind speed contour of the coastal area.
- Mountainous terrain, gorges, ocean promontories, and special wind regions shall be examined for unusual wind conditions.
Wind Load Frequently Asked Questions
How can I determine the wind speed requirements for my location?
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has developed standards covering wind loads on buildings and other structures. This is the base standard for most wind provisions used in U.S. building codes. The basic wind speed maps from ASCE 7-05 or ASCE 7-10 can help an individual to determine the proper wind speed delineation zones for their area. In addition, some states such as Florida provide a listing of wind speed maps by county. For the specific requirements for your area, contact your local building official.
How do I know if my door is compliant with the wind requirements of the Florida Building Code?
The Florida Building Code has specific design pressure requirement for garage doors (table 1606.2E). Overhead Door goes through the Florida Building Commission Product Approval system for many of its doors. Additional information about the Florida code can be found through the Florida Building Commission./
What is the difference between design pressures and test pressures?
Design pressures are the pressures required by code that a door is designed to withstand and are calculated using variables taking into account wind speed, structure configuration, and site location. Test pressures are the pressures that a door has been tested to in controlled laboratory conditions. Test pressures for garage doors have a 50% safety factor making test pressures one and a half times higher than design pressures.
What is the difference between wind speed and wind pressure?
Wind speed is a velocity measured in miles per hour (mph). Wind pressure is a force measured in pounds per square foot (psf). Wind speed alone cannot be used to determine the wind pressures on a structure. Wind speed is one of many variables used in calculating design wind pressures that take into account the structure configuration and site location.
Can I add reinforcement to my door to make it a wind load door?
A wind loaded garage door is designed with specific components, such as track, jamb brackets, hinges, rollers and reinforcing struts that meet designated design wind pressures. All of these components, along with the door sections comprise a complete wind resistive system.
You cannot add components to a door that are not part of the original door installation. By adding reinforcement to the door this does not mean it will increase the wind resistance of the door. It is also extremely dangerous because the components add weight, which can overload the counterbalance system resulting failure and possible injury.
What does “Exposure Category” mean?
An exposure category (B, C, or D) is a condition that adequately reflects the characteristics of ground surface irregularities for the site where a structure is located. Exposure category is used in calculating the required design wind pressures for a structure with exposure B yielding the lowest wind pressures and exposure D yielding the highest wind pressures.
Exposure B applies to urban and suburban areas, wooded areas or other terrain with numerous closely spaced obstructions having the size of single-family dwellings or larger. Exposure B is typically associated with site locations in a residential subdivision. Most site locations are assumed to be Exposure B unless the site meets the definition of another type of exposure.
Exposure C applies to open terrain with scattered obstructions having heights generally less than 30 feet extending more than 1,500 feet from the building site. Exposure C includes flat open country, grasslands, and shorelines in hurricane-prone regions.
Exposure D applies to flat, unobstructed areas exposed to wind flowing over open water (excluding shorelines in hurricane-prone regions) for a distance of at least 1 mile. Exposure D includes shorelines in inland waterways, the Great Lakes, and coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Exposure D extends inland from the shoreline a distance of 1,500 feet or 10 times the height of the building or structure, whichever is greater.
When you select a standard garage door from the following collections, you can upgrade with the beauty, quality and durability of an innovative wind-resistant door from Overhead Door.
Our Windstorm™ wind load-rated garage doors, with properly selected wind load options, are tested and designed to provide additional reinforcement in pressure conditions caused by strong winds from extreme weather. As the homeowner, it’s important to check with your local building code official for your home’s specific wind load requirements and appropriate design pressure (PSF − pounds per square foot) to help in determining the best door option for your home’s demands.
