Living in a hurricane zone presents residents with choices that aren’t faced by those who live in other parts of the country. From June to November every year, their homes are subject to destructive wind and rain storms and their safety may come down to their impact doors.
Impact doors can protect your home from 200 mph winds. To safeguard your home here’s what you should consider when picking your impact doors.
The Glass
The glass in impact doors is specially designed to resist penetration by wind-blown debris. Your impact doors should have two layers of treated glass with a specialized polymer layer in between holding them together.
This polymer is usually polyvinyl butyral or PVB. PVB is both strong and flexible. When hurricane-force winds launch an object into your door, PVB makes it very hard for it to break.
The PVB also ensures the glass does not separate from the frame contributing to the overall strength of the door.
When purchasing your doors, make sure that the glass has these features.
There are some other glass ratings you may want to consider as well. One of these is the Design Pressure or DP rating. A DP is a measure of the glass’s ability to take wind pressure or water loads. High DPs mean that your glass can sustain much higher winds and wind-driven rain than glass with a lower DP.
For the best protection, try to select impact doors rated at DP 60 or higher.
The Frames
The frame surrounding your impact doors is important because they contribute to the overall structural integrity of your door.
Door frames assist in insulating your home which becomes critical in hurricane weather. During a storm, you want to keep the air pressure inside your home as low as possible. When air from outside gets through weak spots in your doorway, for example, the buildup of internal air pressure can make it easier for hurricane winds to remove your roof.
The materials your impact door frames are made of are also important. Try to select frames that are made of vinyl or aluminum. Both materials are lightweight but strong. They do not dent, bend, or break easily.
This is the kind of added support you are looking for.
Local authority building codes
Hurricanes tend to affect the US’s South Eastern and Southern coasts most severely. This is why local authorities in these areas have stipulated homes are to be constructed in certain ways.
For example, in the Miami-Dade and Broward county areas of Florida, residential construction has to meet the Notice of Acceptance or NOA guidelines before it can be approved. Several areas of Florida also fall under High Velocity Hurricane Zone designation and residents have to meet several safety standards if they want approval for their construction.
When you are thinking about installing impact doors, check to see what standards they have to meet under the various building codes in your area.
The company doing the installation
Using this guide to select your impact doors will go a long way to helping get the best protection for your home in hurricane weather.
However, improper installation of your doors can undo all the work you put into selecting them. Ensure that the company you select to do the installation is experienced with this type of work.
When door frames aren’t fitted properly or door fixtures aren’t properly aligned, this leaves spaces where air can enter. We’ve already talked about how air destabilizes the internal air pressure in your home and its overall structural integrity.
When you hire a company to install your impact doors, get one that has a record of satisfied customers.
Do you want such a company? Why not talk to us? Schedule a free consultation by calling 1 305 925 0818.