How to Protect Your Garage Door from Hail Damage
Hailstones come in all shapes and sizes. Whether pea, quarter, or golf ball-sized, hailstones wreak havoc on anything that gets in their way during their plummet to earth. Garage doors are no exception and, if you’re not prepared, an unexpected hailstorm can wind up costing you a small fortune.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, so it’s important to protect your garage door from hail to avoid any unnecessary expenses. But first, let’s take a closer look at what kind of damage hail can do to a garage door.
How Does Hail Damage a Garage Door?
The most common types of hail damage suffered by garage doors include minor dents, scuffs, and scratches. In extreme cases, hail driven by heavy winds can even punch a hole straight through your garage door.
Checking your garage door for holes after it’s been battered by a hailstorm is extremely important. In addition to compromising the strength of your garage door, holes in your garage door can eventually grow in size if left unchecked. This, in turn, creates a larger opening for water and insects to enter your garage and possibly even your home, leading to other damage down the line.
Minor damages, however, are usually cosmetic and won’t affect your garage door’s function. If your door has windows and many of them were broken it can affect the structural integrity of that door section. In such a case, do not keep operating your door until the windows are replaced. Do not attempt to repair it yourself. Attempting any type of DIY garage door repair is not only dangerous but can cause further damage. Leave it to the professionals.
Protecting Your Garage Door from Hail
As with many things, the most important thing you can do to protect your garage door from hail damage is to hang a heavy blanket over your door when you first realize a hailstorm is on its way. It’s best to attach it to the wood frame around the door, not to the door itself so you don’t cause damage. Beyond that, there is little else that can be done, but this simple step will usually make the difference in having to replace your door or not. Alternatively, you could add a protective screen to the front of your garage door to absorb the bulk of the damage during a storm. These types of screens are often installed by people who have kids who play sports in front of the door (especially hockey. If you live in an area prone to hailstorms, you might be better off upgrading or replacing your garage door with one made from a tough material built to withstand hail damage.
Repairing Hail-Damaged Garage Doors
Unfortunately, there is little that can be done to repair hail-damaged garage doors and they will usually need to be replaced. Repairs to hail-damaged garage doors can range from simply repainting to replacing individual door sections. Most often if the damage is significant it will warrant a full door replacement. Consider installing a garage door specially built to withstand severe weather if you need to replace your garage door after a hailstorm.
If you’re in the Calgary area and need help repairing or replacing a damaged garage door after a hailstorm, reach out to the Door House. Our expert garage door technicians have decades of combined experience and are committed to providing honest, cost-effective solutions. Contact us today to request a quote.