In this day and age, we all know sustainability is important, and finding a 'sustainable' garage door is the responsible thing to do. But in coastal and other high-velocity-wind areas, that takes on a whole new meaning- a garage door can literally save your home during a hurricane or intense storm.
Garage doors are unusually susceptible to wind damage than most other openings on the exterior of a home- this is due to sheer surface area. Two-car garage doors are at even higher risk. Unless you pay for the tested, approved reinforced doors, very high winds can easily pop it out of the garage opening, splaying open your home and making it easy for the wind to damage other parts.
This can lead to a chain reaction of internal pressure, blowing out the roof, supporting walls, or other windows in your home. If you're thinking to yourself "that's not really possible" think about Hurricane Andrew in 1992. With 150-mph winds, Andrew destroyed more than 130,000 homes, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. And according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the failure of garage doors directly contributed to the damage of homes and buildings.
And international building code has been instituted in the meantime, requiring that at-risk homes have additional bracing on their garage doors, in addition to heavier gauge tracking and other kinds of hardware designed to keep everything in place in the face of hurricane-force winds.
These newer, more exacting building rules were sorely tested in 2004 and 2005, two unusual, record-breaking hurricane seasons. And they will continue to be tested, as global warming adds to the severity of each new hurricane season. It has been proven so far that homes that comply with the codes are better able to bear the load of back-to-back storms, and that homes that didn't obey the codes (or hadn't been remodeled since their institution) took much more damage. IN many cases, the garage doors were blown out completely.
It may not seem to make sense, since reinforced doors use more parts and often environmentally unsound materials to secure a home, but in the end, it is more environmentally responsible, sustainable, and cost-effective to invest a little extra money in securing an at-risk home beforehand. Otherwise, you're left having to rebuild after a total loss, wasting time, money, and resources. If you live in a place that sees frequent storms or is within hurricane range, you should consider getting a garage door replacement to protect your home and ensure your safety.