Hurricane Prep for Your Garage Door: A Corpus Christi Checklist

What to do at the start of the season, when a storm is three days out, on storm day and after it passes, based on DASMA, TDI and IBHS guidance.

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To prepare a garage door for a hurricane, close it, lock it if it has a storm lock, disconnect the opener, and never park a car against it. Real strength comes from a tested door or covering, not last-minute fixes.

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Why the garage door matters in a hurricane

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) calls the garage door one of the most vulnerable parts of a home in a hurricane because it is the largest opening. If wind pushes it in, pressure builds inside the garage and pushes up on the roof and walls.

DASMA, the door manufacturers' trade group, adds a less obvious point in its TDS 192. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, investigators first assumed homeowners had left their garage doors open. Many hadn't: the wind itself had driven the doors up. The vertical track leans back slightly and the top rollers sit in the curve of the track, so strong wind on the face of a closed door creates an upward force that can lift it.

The Coastal Bend has firsthand experience. The National Weather Service calls Harvey (2017) the first Category 4, and first major, hurricane to hit the Middle Texas coast since Celia in 1970, and says the hardest-hit areas likely lost power for several weeks. Our Coastal Bend hurricane and wind history lists every tropical system NOAA has logged locally since 1996.

At the start of hurricane season

Find the wind label. IBHS says to look for a label inside the door showing pressure ratings in positive and negative pounds per square foot. No label, or a label without those numbers, means the door may not be wind rated. IBHS also notes that before 2006 there was no requirement for wind-rated doors on homes built outside Florida, so an older Corpus Christi door may predate any rating. Don't peel the label off.

Read the manual. DASMA's homeowner tips say to keep the door and opener manuals near the door. A door built for high wind may have its own storm instructions: a manual lock, a removable post, or both.

Get the annual check. DASMA recommends monthly safety checks plus an annual visit from a trained door systems technician. Before the season is the logical time. Ask about rust on the springs, cables and bottom brackets, and whether the struts and hinges are tight.

Plan for outages. DASMA's TDS 385 recommends an opener with battery backup where power outages are common, and says the battery usually needs replacing every two to five years. HomeAdvisor puts an aftermarket battery backup at about $50 to $150.

Decide on an upgrade, if any. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) describes two ways to strengthen a garage door: replace the door and track with a system designed for high winds and windborne debris, or use a tested and approved impact-resistant covering. HomeAdvisor puts a new door built for hurricane areas at about $800 to $1,500 installed, and a retrofit of an existing door at about $500. For ratings, TDI labels and the TWIA question, see our wind-rated garage door guide.

Braces and post kits: what they can and can't do

The door industry draws a clear line between reinforcement the manufacturer designed and reinforcement added later.

Type of reinforcement	What DASMA says
A post system built into the door design	The homeowner secures it as the manufacturer instructs, usually with a crank or lever
A post system supplied with the door	The homeowner installs it using the manufacturer's procedure
An aftermarket post bought separately	"May not result in a door that properly resists the wind." Contact the door manufacturer first; it may count as a component substitution
Extra bracing you add yourself	Avoid it. Added weight can overload the tracks and springs and "can create a dangerous situation"

Two more points from DASMA's TDS 153: posts send wind load into the header and the floor, so a qualified design professional should assess the opening before any vertical reinforcement goes in, and the opener should usually be unplugged while a post is in place so nobody runs the door into it.

And the car? DASMA's TDS 152 is direct: parking a vehicle against the door is not recommended. It doesn't reinforce the door and can damage both.

If you're replacing or retrofitting a door in Nueces or San Patricio County, TDI's storm-repair handout tells homeowners to ask their insurance agent whether the work needs to meet the building code. DASMA's TDS 168 adds that when retrofitting, it's worth asking insurers whether mitigation discounts affect which door to choose.

When a storm is about three days out

Fix what you can't live with. A door that won't close or a spring that's already broken won't get better in a storm, so ask for help now rather than the day before.
Clear the garage floor near the door so nothing blocks it from closing fully.
Find the red emergency release and make sure every adult in the house knows how to use it with the door closed. DASMA's TDS 385 says it hangs about six feet off the floor.
Charge or test the opener's backup battery, if it has one.
Photograph the door, inside and out. Before-and-after photos help any later insurance claim.

On storm day

DASMA's TDS 192 lists four steps:

Close the door and leave it closed.
Lock it with the manual lock, if your door has one built for higher wind resistance.
Disconnect the opener once the door is manually locked.
Unlock the door before normal use afterward. Running an opener against a locked door can damage both.

DASMA's TDS 152 also says not to operate the door during high winds at all, because the extra force needed can injure people and damage the door. Stay away from a door that's flexing in the wind.

After the storm

Look before you press the button. DASMA's TDS 174 gives homeowners a two-part check: first a visual inspection with the door closed (alignment, track and fasteners, rollers, hinges, cables, and dents or buckling in the sections), then a careful hand test with the opener disconnected. It says to stop at the first problem and call a trained technician, and never to touch the springs, cables or anything they're fastened to.

That warning is about real risk. A 1992 New Jersey workplace-death investigation, archived by the CDC, describes an overhead door mechanic killed when a torsion spring assembly's plate "spun explosively under the tension of the torsion springs," struck him and knocked him off a ladder.

If the storm damaged the door, our guide to garage door storm damage and insurance claims covers TWIA deadlines, photos and estimates. For bent track or a snapped cable, see cable, roller and track repair, and for prices, the garage door repair cost guide.

Common questions

Should I leave my garage door open or closed during a hurricane?

Closed. DASMA's TDS 152 says a garage door should be closed and secured before a high wind event, and that keeping it open leaves the interior walls, ceilings and roof vulnerable to structural damage and possible collapse.

Can I park my car against the garage door to brace it?

DASMA says no. Its TDS 152 states that positioning a vehicle against a garage door is not recommended: it doesn't reinforce the door and may damage both the car and the door.

Do hurricane brace kits work?

Some doors come with a brace or post system from the manufacturer, and those are meant to be used. DASMA's TDS 153 warns that an aftermarket post not bought from or specified by the door manufacturer may not result in a door that properly resists the wind, and recommends a qualified design professional assess the header first. Ask the manufacturer before buying one.

Can I make my existing garage door hurricane proof?

No door is proof against everything. TDI describes two ways to strengthen a garage door: replace the door and track with a system designed for high winds and windborne debris, or use a tested and approved impact-resistant covering. HomeAdvisor puts a hurricane retrofit of an existing door at about $500.

How do I know if my garage door is wind rated?

Look for a label on the inside of the door showing positive and negative pressure in pounds per square foot. IBHS says that if there's no label, or it lacks that information, the door may not be wind rated. IBHS also notes that before 2006, homes outside Florida had no requirement for wind-rated doors.

Sources (14)

Last updated 2026-10-24