Kinda Technical--garage doors and HURRICANES!!!

I live in Angleton, TX, about 30 miles from where they think Hurricane Rita will hit (either way, if it hits Galveston, or Matagorda, I am right between the two!)

I have boarded all my windows and doors, and will be heading out tomorrow afternoon or the next morning, to the north side of Houston, maybe College Station (I have two Aggies tickets and two rooms for two nights on Friday an Saturday, they were to be a birthday gift for the wife???) where the wind and rain will be a little gentler.

My TECHNICAL question is, how can I reinforce a two-car aluminum garage door, that will get the direct wind since it faces East. I live about 25 miles inland, so whatever wind the coast gets, we will likely get.

The door is 16' wide, and typical height. I have the whole house "battened down" except for this door.

My Mav is just inside there, with the heads taken off and all the "innards" exposed. I just don't want the garage door to cave in and make a mess. Mess=shattered rear window, water on all my tools, and all exposed parts, probably drywall damage on all three walls.

Any suggestions will be appreciated, and followed. We need to get out of town soon.

Thanks in advance.
Scott

 

The only thing I can think of is that there are steel braces available. They are required on new garage door installs down here (west central FL).

 

I was kind of (desperately) thinking of putting a couple large chunks of plywood on the inside, and literally putting a 2x4 at at 45 degree angle to it and propping it to the floor. Just something to hold it up for a bit.

If anyone knows garage door engineering, would a 12-year old door in this area be 'cane proof?

I just worry about it coming off the tracks and landing on my car...at 80 mph! (I couldn't find a "smiley" that quite conveyed my feelings on this.)

 

well i can tell you this.....if the 'cane wants to go through it, it will. BUT....

i would take some l angle steel ......drill some holes through it and the door and bolt it in place....that way it cant fall off.... put this at an angle going from one bottom corner to the opposite top corner... etc....

2 x 2 angle will be best i think


good luck

and i hope you and your home fare the weather ok

 

I like stmanser's idea, although you probably don't have pieces of angle iron laying around that are long enough to do the job. I guess you could always use wood but that's not as strong. Is there any way you could secure sheets of plywood to the OUTSIDE of the opening? If it's a 16' door, you could get 4 4x8 sheets and stand them on end and nail to the frame? You could use lumber on the inside to stiffen it maybe. Sort of create a door outside of the real door? Plywood is cheap and easy to come by. Just thinking out loud here.

Sam

 

Considering the reason for your post I agree it's technical but would normally be "offtopic" Good Luck hope you "weather the Storm"

 

Your door facing east is good.
South is bad.
25 miles from the coast is a world away in regards to getting the wind the coast gets.
You have to worry more about tornados and maybe flash flood if the storm is a slow mover.
My door faces south, and I am only 5 miles from the coast. We got the east side of Ivan.
The door caught the wind head on. I was worried about it for a while. It shook and moaned all night. Rain poured in through the joints in the panels, wind driven.
Ivan hit us at 140 mph... we were just lucky enough to be above sea level.

You might know, but I'll give it to you anyway:
The storm going to your east = Good
The storm going to your west = Bad
The storm going to your west within 30 miles = Terrible
Hurricanes spin CCW, so the strongest winds are those that have no obstacles, straight off the water. That is on the east side.
If you are on the west side, the wind has been over land for many miles and has lost strength.
N.O. got off easy, believe it or not. They were on the west side of the storm. What sealed their fate was that wind from the north pushing Ponchartrain over the levees and eventually through the levees. If you look at the pics, N.O. is just flooded. The houses wiped from the earth are in Miss. Because they were on the east. Miss also lacks barrier islands and protected waters compared to some other parts of the GC.
Good luck
We hope the best for you.
I recommend:
Get a generator
Stock gas (no less than 30 gallons on top of all your vehicles full)
Stock water for utility use (large container, or barrels)
Stock bottle water, or milk jug water, for drinking
Stock cigs if you smoke
Keep cash, lots of small bills
Stock can food
Wash all laundry/dishes just before
Secure all outside items... I can't stand folks that leave their grills and roll-outs out in a hurricane!
Btw: If you have a wood fence, kiss it goodbye. That is the first thing to blow away!
Then pine trees are next. If you have pine trees outside your house, you might not ought to. They bend to amazing lengths. The wind whips them around like the bristles on an electric toothbrush. Then, suddenly, crack/crash.

Edit: Just remembered, I had ceiling jacks against the top panel of my door, one on each side of the Mav, then the mammoth 75 bumper (still on the car) against the bottom panels... So I suppose my door was pretty well braced.

 

I can't say it any better than Ratio411. Heed his very wise advice and be careful...I wish you luck.

 

he said he was getting out of town....not sticking around....


the problem with ply wood....it is wood....no strength.....if you have the time to get the angle iron get it.....the wood will blow off on a large surface like the garage door...and with nothing to hold it together in the middle the wind will wear it out in no time and rip it off...leaving the garage door...which i am assuming is probably only 16 guage metal


you could always use some 2x8 and screw these into the wood on the inside of the garage going in a crossing motion over the garage door's surface...

 

Hey Scooper I agree the smart thing to do is get out . My wife has Family in Matagorda abd Brazora and they are all leaving . I Myself would use angle if you can get it but if not why not use4X4s and lag bolts to hold them to the frame and use 2x4 s to take up the space between the door and 4X4s.Better safe than sorry. Here is a link to a site on a retrofit kit .

Be safe and take care
Tim


http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/retrofit/garage_doors.shtml

 

Still need to stock up on stuff.
What happens when he has to come back and power is still out?
No power:
No gas
No groceries
No lights
No fans
Etc...

Spotty outages for weeks around the region can cause havok, even if destruction is minimal/moderate.
Ask me how I know...

 

well thats true

 

Scott; get out of town, and take care of yourself and your family. Don't take chances. BTW, will send the brackets when storm is over. Have them boxed up and ready to go.

 

OK guys, I slept on it, and decided that here is what I can do with the supplies at hand. Keep in mind that most hardware stores are empty. I had to drive to Spring, which is on the north side, outside, of Houston. A long drive, Before I found any plywood. And that was the day BEFORE they called this thing a hurricane. It was still at the east tip of Cuba!!!

As ratio said, I do have some obstacles blocking the wind. Mostly, other houses. But debris hitting the door is my fear. I feel somewhat relieved that his door made it through. But, since they are already talkinging Cat 4, and it is only halfway here, I am going overkill to protect my property.

Pic one is my door, just cheap flimsy aluminum.

But, pic two is the key to this project...a 2" deep, 2" wide space between the closed door and a cement "lip" that comes up into the garage floor.

I think that I will get 3 2X6X10s, and shove the bottom into that space so it fits tight between the lip and the bottom of the door. The ceiling is then 8'6" or so, so the last 1'6" of 2X6 will go on the ceiling, jamming the upright 2X6 against the door. I will be sure to hit a stud in the ceiling all three times.

Good thing is I can leave the 1.5' pieces in the ceiling for the next storm, and just jam the longer pieces back in when needed.

If I lose the door, it will not be for lack of trying.

Wish us luck. I have my laptop, and will be either north of Houston, or as far as College Station, and may still be able to check up on things via internet. As long as we have electricity.

And Earl, thanks for keeping me in mind with those brackets. The weather should cool down soon so I can actually work on the seats without sweating on them...

 

That should help. What kind of stuff do you have out back? If you had some chain-link fence you could put it on the outside of the 2x6's to really help.
Take a look around your property and use your imagination, you might find something else that you did'nt think of.
They are predicting this one to become a cat 5 possibly. Last I saw they are saying Sunday Morning at around 2am north of Corpus Cristy. I will keep all of you in my prayers.
It appears as if Texas is already on top of things miles above New Orleans. Hopefully we won't see all the bad come out in people after the storm like what happened down there.
We had Hugo come through here in the Charlotte area and I still remember the destruction it did and I'm sure it was nowhere as bad as when they hit right on the coast. It was a complete mess around here for quite a while.
Keep safe, property can be replaced, faimily cannot. If people get crazy do what you have to to protect yourself and family.
clint