Best Practices for Designing Garage Doors in Coastal Areas

Coastal regions are known for high winds, heavy storms, rainy days and other environmental factors that can damage any part of a home’s exterior, including its garage door. That’s why it’s essential for designers and architects to make the right choices regarding material selection, finishing and other factors of a custom garage door’s design. These conditions have resulted in the creation of a few design best practices when it comes to designing doors for coastal homes. 

Choosing the Right Materials

The corrosive nature of air that is filled with saltwater can wreak havoc on many different materials, which is why aluminum and steel doors are not recommended for coastal homes. The constant barrage of moisture and saltwater can eat away at steel and even cause issues that range from rust to weakness in structural integrity. 

Wooden garage doors, when finished with the right stain, can withstand constantly being in contact with moist air and saltwater, making them an ideal choice for garage doors on coastal homes.  

Structural Integrity and Storm Preparedness

Hurricanes, high winds and severe storm conditions go hand-in-hand with living in many coastal areas in the United States. Because of these conditions, it’s important for architects to place hurricane rated garage doors on the homes that they build and remodel. These types of garage doors should be reinforced to withstand high winds and debris that can be kicked up during severe storms. The best hurricane rated doors will be able to meet strict standards like the Miami-Dade County Notice of Acceptance and the Florida Building Code product approval.  

Wood materials, unlike metals, allow for more customization options when it comes to shape, cutout, inlays, and custom millwork. This allows hurricane doors to be as beautiful as they are durable in harsh conditions. 

Choosing Colors

While the color of a garage door can be heavily dependent on the style of the home, it’s good to consider paints that are light in color, which will not soak up and retain heat like black and other dark colors will. This doesn’t always apply to doors being stained as many finishes are designed to bring out the natural color of the wood. 

Architectural Styles Common in Coastal Homes

The specific design of the door will always come down to the type of house in which it is being placed. In the US, there are many styles of homes that are prominent in coastal areas, including: 

• Colonial 
• Mediterranean 
• Cape Cod or New England Style 
• Chalet 
• Cottage 
• Victorian 

Make sure to work with your manufacturer to build a style of door that will fit the home best. 

Looking to build a garage door for a coastal home? Get in touch with Cambek for a free design consultation.

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