- The garage door is potentially the largest and
weakest opening of your home to a hurricane.
- According to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes,
about 80 percent of residential hurricane wind damage
starts with wind entry through garage doors.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has
identified the loss of the garage door as one of four
major factors in homes damaged and destroyed in
Hurricane Andrew.
- As the American Red Cross warns, if your garage door
fails, the full fury of the hurricane will enter your
house and in all probability blow off your roof and
destroy your home.
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Why Protect Your Garage?
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration took
the photograph below after Hurricane Andrew. Note the six homes
in the center of the photo. Of these, the four houses on the
right lost their garage doors and also their roofs. The two on
the left retained their garage doors, and while they experienced
some damage to the roof tiles, their roofs and overall
structures fared much better.
One popular stop-gap measure is to back an automobile up against
the door, but the photo below illustrates the reliability of
that option:
Hurricane-resistant garage doors are available, but a less
expensive option is Secure Door®.
Secure Door®
Product Information
Hurricane protection without replacing your existing garage door
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A Secure Door® vertical brace is pictured to the
left on the inside of a typical 70 mph non-wind
loaded steel door.
- Florida Building Code approved (FL6420); exceeds ASTM
E330 and SBCCI retrofit wind speed standards.
- Patented with a unique telescoping design that enables
the brace to fit almost all garage doors.
- Brackets attach to hinges to keep the door from blowing
in or being sucked out and are adjustable to permit the
brace to be installed on doors with horizontal braces.
- The brace is anchored into the wall above the garage
door, into the garage floor, and to each hinge, providing
the necessary reinforcement of the garage door tracks.
- Made of high-quality aircraft-grade aluminum that is
lightweight yet incredibly strong; each brace weighs less
than 15 pounds.
- Selected by the University of Florida for their
Windstorm Training Center hurricane-resistant model homes.
- Does not remain permanently attached to the garage door.
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Secure Door®
Product Benefits
- Provides protection against up to 180 mph winds
(dependent upon the quality, condition type of material
used in the fabrication of your garage door).
- Much less expensive than hurricane-resistant garage
doors and garage door shutters.
- More effective than retrofitted horizontal garage
door braces.
- Can be set up in three minutes or less should a
hurricane threaten.
- Does not attach permanently to the garage door;
stores inconspicuously and conveniently out of the way.
- Does not require a building permit for purchase or
installation.
- May qualify you for some type of homeowners
insurance discount.
- Fits almost all garage doors.
- Lightweight, requires no maintenance.
- Reinforces the garage door and provides an anchor
and support in addition to the garage door tracks.
Secure Door®
Testing Information
Florida Building Code approved (FL6420); exceeds ASTM E330
and SBCCI retrofit wind speed standards.
Can your braces be installed if I have horizontal braces on my
door?
Yes, the multiple holes on
the "deflection brackets" are designed to permit our
brace to be installed behind horizontal bracing up
to 6" thick.
Can a brace be installed in the center of the door
when an electric door opener is installed?
Yes, but the "hockey-stick"
shaped arm that connects the opener to the door must
be released before the brace is installed (and
re-attached after the brace is removed). This is
normally done by removal of a cotter key and pin.
Since you may do this several times during the
period you own the brace, you may want to consider a
quick-release cotter pin available for about $1 at
most hardware stores.
If my door is wood or fiberglass, will your braces
help?
Yes, our bracing system
will strengthen most every garage door. However, we
cannot determine how much our brace will improve
your specific door's ability to withstand hurricane
force winds. Our bracing system works in conjunction
with your door and cannot compensate entirely for a
door that is in poor repair or condition, improperly
installed, or built of flimsy material. Doors that
cannot withstand the impact of flying debris are
subject to failure for reasons other than just high
winds. Similarly, garage doors with windows are at
great risk as the windows are often the weakest part
of the garage door. Options to protect the window
range from replacing that panel of the door to
fabricating a shutter to cover them, or adding some
form of covering securely mounted inside the door to
cover the window area. Of course, the other options
are to replace the door with a hurricane-resistant
door or adding shutters to your garage to cover the
garage door but these latter two options are
relatively expensive and may require a building
permit.
How long does it take to receive your brace from the
time our order is placed on the Internet?
Normally we ship UPS ground
within ten business days after receipt of an order
and the brace then takes a day or two to arrive if
you live in Florida or two to three days in other
areas on the East Coast of the United States. In
peak times, it could take up to a month from time of
order. To obtain our braces quicker or to arrange
for professional installation, it may be best to
purchase through one of our distributors who
normally stock our brace and have trained personnel
available for installation.
What do you do if you have windows in the garage
door?
The windows must also be
protected for the Secure Door bracing system to be
effective. Some solutions we have seen utilized by
homeowners are to replace the top panel with a panel
that does not have windows. This approach would
require ordering a panel from your garage door
manufacturer that is compatible with your specific
model of garage door. A second approach is to cover
the windows with a "shutter" fabricated from ¾"
plywood and securing bolted to the top panel of the
door. A third approach we have seen utilized is to
permanently mount Lexan inside the top panel behind
the windows to provide added protection. Please note
that none of these homeowner solutions have been
laboratory tested to assess their effectiveness.
Is there an insurance discount for homeowners that
use your product?
Insurance discounts are
determined by individual insurance companies. Many
have granted discounts to Secure Door® protected
homes. Since Secure Door® is statewide Florida
Building Code approved and the only retrofit product
designed for the garage door that has been tested
and certified, it is more likely than any other
garage door retrofit product to be approved by your
insurance company.
What is the manufacturer’s warranty and return
policy?
Secure Enterprises
warranties the product to be free of defects. Simply
return the brace indicating the defective part and,
if the defect exists, your entire purchase price
will be refunded. If you are not completely
satisfied for any reason other than defect, simply
return the unused brace within 30 days for a refund
of the purchase price and associated taxes less a
$15 re-stock charge. Shipping charges both from our
warehouse to the purchaser and from the purchaser to
return the Secure Door brace are the responsibility
of the customer. Returns will not be accepted on
braces that have been installed, in whole or in
part.
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