When harsh weather strikes, it usually happens out of thin air. Even our own modern meteorology isn’t an exact science, although it can pinpoint when and what might strike. With this in mind, we must remain vigilant about what we can do to protect ourselves and our homes if dangerous weather strikes. To begin, here is a starter on how to protect your garage doors against harsh weather, as they are the main entryway into your home.
Brace and Shore Your Door
You will want to brace your door with anything you can find. Try to look for something preferably large with some girth and weight to it, like your trash can or something of that nature. The more you can brace against your door, the better chance your house will have at remaining intact. Sometimes storms are just winds and debris, but we can never know because hurricanes and tornadoes develop very fast. Therefore, we must be prepared for whatever may strike in the event of harsh weather.
Lock With Steel Pins
Most garage doors, whether they are automatic or manual, are fitted with manual or automatic locking systems. These are in place to lock the door and ground it to the house at night, but they also serve to protect the door from flying open. Winds could potentially be strong enough to rip the door off the frame completely if it were to fly open without the locks in place. For this reason, you can buy steel pin locks to replace what is already there for added security and strength. The pounds-per-square-inch required to put a dent in steel like that is something absurd, so you can rest assured that your door will remain secure after you lock it up with the steel pins post-installation.
Slide Locks and Two by Fours
Once you have added your slide locks in place, now you can use additional help to back up what is already there by bracing the locks in place with two-by-four wood. This will hold them no matter what, and it will also serve as another weatherstrip and mechanism to brace for impact if something disastrous hits. You would much rather have all of the junk metal and wood be destroyed than your house and the garage. You don’t even have to stop at adding two by fours. Anything you can brace with will work.
Cover Windows With Plywood
Many people might not think of this, but you can actually screw plywood into your windows. This will be a great idea if things get bad enough because broken glass flying around has the potential to be lethal. But many garage doors are also retrofitted with glass panels, which means that they need to be covered, too. Whatever you can do to lock up and preserve that garage door in the little time that you have before the storm hits, you need to ensure that you’re doing it. You can even do so in layers for added protection. You will need longer screws, but as long as you have a drill, there is no limit to how much coverage you put on your home.
Replace Weather Stripping
Of course, we spoke about this before, but the weather stripping is actually a huge component of garage doors because it keeps out debris, water, and air. And while it might seem like a very small and insignificant piece, it serves a huge function. Once air filters in through the bottom of your garage door, it can create a vacuum that can literally rip your garage door open if the winds and storms are powerful enough. Even against all your efforts, what could be worse is that you boarded yourself in from the storm, and water leaks in and floods out the garage, potentially flooding your house and harming you and your family. There are so many potential things that could happen, which is why it’s imperative that you stay on top of things in the event of weather like this attacking your house and garage.
Fill Cracks in Foundation
Just like the weatherstrip, the foundation could have cracks in it that lead into the garage. Why this could pose as a potential problem is similar to the incident with the weatherstrip. Any instance of an opening could result in there being a weakness in the seal of the door, which could let the elements in, leading to all your efforts being in vain.
Put Out Sandbags
Finally, the most practical of all things that you could possibly do is to put out sandbags, but not everyone has the amenity of having sandbags at their disposal. These are the ultimate help whenever the weather is bad enough to flood or when hurricane or tornadic activity may be around. Sandbags can prevent all of the issues that we just covered from happening, and they also serve as the first line of defense as a shield for your garage. What is truly beautiful about sandbags is that you can pile them as high as you want, just as long as you have the supply to do so.
And there you have it. If you need further assistance on this, there are garage door services that you can call locally to set you up with all of the information you may need. That is all you need to know about how to secure your garage doors in the event of harsh weather. Hopefully, you won’t ever be in a situation where you have to use this information, but if you are, you have it at your disposal. It’s good to remain as prepared as possible, simply because there is no special time when harsh weather can strike; it does so at its own convenience, at a moment’s notice. So, having the knowledge to protect yourself and others is something that everyone should know so that they can be prepared.
