2026-03-24 7 min read
Ask anyone who's ridden out a serious storm on the east coast of Volusia County and they'll tell you: the garage door is the part of the house you lose sleep over. New Smyrna Beach sits right on the Atlantic, and while we're far enough north to avoid the most extreme wind-code zones, that doesn't mean a strong hurricane can't cause serious damage to an unprepared garage door. Given that summers here are long, hot, and wet. with August averaging nearly 21 rainy days. storm season isn't a brief inconvenience. It's a five-month reality check for every homeowner from North Beach and Bethune Beach to the mainland neighborhoods like Coastal Woods and Venetian Bay.
The stakes are real. Your garage door is typically the single largest opening in your home. If it fails during a storm, high-pressure winds can enter and cause the roof and walls to blow out. That's not an exaggeration. after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Florida enacted some of the most stringent building codes in the country, and the Florida Building Code now requires that garage doors in wind-prone areas meet specific wind-resistance criteria.
Before hurricane season arrives in June, the first question to answer is simple: does your garage door actually meet current standards?
Doors installed before 2002 are likely to fall short of today's wind-load requirements. If your door is original to an older home in the Historic Westside, a 1970s ranch in Glencoe, or a vintage cottage near Canal Street, there's a real chance it's not rated for what a Category 2 or 3 storm can throw at it.
Check the door itself. most manufacturers stamp the wind-load rating on a label near the hinge tracks. If you can't find a rating, that's a signal worth taking seriously. You can view our services to schedule a pre-season inspection, or reach out directly to have a technician assess your door's current condition and rating.
While you're doing that review, look for existing wear that would make the door even more vulnerable: rust on hardware, loose or missing bolts on the track brackets, panels that are dented or cracked, and weatherstripping that's pulling away from the door frame. A door that's already structurally compromised will fail sooner and more completely under high winds.
These two terms get used interchangeably, but they're different things.
Wind-rated doors are tested and certified to withstand specific wind-load pressures without buckling. The rating is expressed in pounds per square foot and corresponds to wind speeds. For Volusia County, you'll want a door rated for at least 110,130 mph wind loads. check with your local building department for the current requirement in your specific zone.
Impact-rated doors go further. they're also tested against flying debris, which is what actually punctures garage doors during a storm. An impact-rated door that has been tested and verified as strong enough to withstand certain degrees of wind and debris impact is the best long-term choice if you're replacing a door in NSB. Many insurance providers even offer policy discounts for homes with compliant, wind-rated garage doors. worth a call to your insurer before you decide on a replacement.
Our guide to choosing the right garage door for your Florida home covers what to look for in wind-rated models and which construction types hold up best in a coastal storm environment.
Even a solid, well-maintained door needs proper preparation when a named storm is approaching. Here's a practical pre-storm checklist:
Simply closing the door is not enough. Lock the garage door manually by sliding the lock bar into place, and disconnect the automatic opener. this prevents someone from accidentally activating the opener while the door is locked, which can destroy both the door and the opener motor in one move.
If your door has windows, board them up with plywood cut to size. Glass windows are a direct point of failure under debris impact.
Loose debris becomes a weapon in hurricane winds. Before the storm arrives, bring in or secure anything near your garage: trash cans, bikes, patio furniture, garden tools, potted plants, and children's toys. Anything that can become airborne at 90 mph can punch through a garage panel.
New Smyrna Beach homes near the Intracoastal or in low-lying areas along the Indian River are especially vulnerable to flooding during heavy rain events. Clear gutters and direct runoff away from the garage entrance. Consider a rubber flood barrier if your garage sits low or tends to collect water during regular rainstorms. a tropical storm can dump six to twelve inches of rain in a matter of hours.
Power outages are nearly guaranteed during a major storm. Locate the emergency release handle. it's typically a red rope hanging from the opener trolley. and test it now, not during a blackout. Make sure every adult in your household knows how to use it. If the door is hard to lift manually after you pull the release, your springs may need adjustment; call a technician before storm season to get that sorted.
If you can't replace your current door before the season starts, a garage door bracing kit is a meaningful intermediate step. These systems add horizontal and vertical steel braces to the inside of your door panels, significantly increasing resistance to wind pressure. They're not a permanent substitute for a wind-rated door, but they provide real additional protection on an older door that's otherwise in good condition.
Garage Door New Smyrna Beach can advise whether your current door is a good candidate for bracing or whether replacement is the smarter path given its age and condition. You can find answers to common questions like this on our FAQ page.
Once it's safe to go outside, inspect your garage door before operating it. Look for dents, misalignment, panel cracks, or track damage. A door that looks okay visually may still have bent hardware that makes it unsafe to run through the opener. If anything looks off, operate manually and get a technician out before running the motor. forcing a bent or jammed door through a powered opener can cause expensive secondary damage.
Daytona Beach to the north and Edgewater right next door deal with the same seasonal realities we do in NSB. Preparation isn't optional along this stretch of coastline. it's just part of owning a home here.
How do I know if my garage door meets Florida Building Code wind requirements? Look for a certification label on the door's interior, usually near the top section or along the track. It should list the wind-load rating in pounds per square foot or reference a Miami-Dade or Florida Building Code product approval number. If there's no label, or the door was installed before 2002, it's worth having a professional assess it. Volusia County building departments can also confirm the current requirements for your specific zone.
Is it safe to open or close my garage door during a hurricane? No. Once a storm is actively making landfall or producing high winds in your area, do not operate your garage door. either manually or with the opener. The suction forces created by wind combined with the lateral pressure on a moving door can cause catastrophic failure, damage the tracks, and destroy the opener. Lock the door shut and leave it until conditions are calm.
Will a hurricane-rated garage door lower my homeowner's insurance premium in Florida? Often, yes. Many Florida insurance providers offer discounts for wind-mitigation upgrades including compliant garage doors. The discount varies by insurer and policy, but it can be meaningful. Ask your insurance agent about a wind mitigation inspection. a certified inspector documents your home's wind-resistant features, and that report is submitted to your insurer to qualify for reduced premiums.