Carriage Doors: Do not meet wind load requirements

[ron in sc]

The custom made Carriage Doors I had planned to use will not meet local building code for wind load requirements. Well I'll just have to use regular doors.

 

[bmwpower]

The custom made Carriage Doors I had planned to use will not meet local building code for wind load requirements. Well I'll just have to use regular doors.

Wind load requirements? I guess you live in a windy/tropical storm area?

 

[PAToyota]

That sort of *****. What you would need would be an engineer's drawings showing that it met the wind load requirements. You may be able to get someone to do it fairly cheaply - just a quick sketch with sized structural members. If you have some drafting skill, you may even be able to get the information from him, draw it up yourself with all his information on it, and have him stamp it. I forget how you were going to go about building them, but a steel frame like someone else recently posted would likely more than do the trick.

 

[ron in sc]

Wind load requirements for my particular area require garage doors be built and tested to withstand minumum of 110 mph sustained wind, with gust to 130 mph.

I might could get our structural engineer to review the plans for the doors but I think I'd be looking for trouble from the insurance company in the event of a loss that resulted from a garage door that was not built and test to meet the current code.

The doors I was going to use were to be made of mahogany.

 

[PAToyota]

Thinking about it some more, I realized it was more than just a stationary load issue - like proving something will withstand a snow load. You'd have to prove that the seal around the door would withstand the wind - and that the latch would withstand the wind - etc... So that it wouldn't blow open and compromise the structure.

 

[rodnok1]

It's hard to beleive a door that will open out(can you say garage doors get blown in) cannot be made to survive that wind speed. It would require some special hardware to secure middle of door to keep it from giving way.

 

[PAToyota]

Unfortunately, it isn't as much a matter of the fact that it can be done as the fact of getting the bureaucrats to accept that it fulfills the requirements that are written down in their little books...

 

[1320stang]

What about facing a roll up door to look like carriage doors? I've seen this done on This Old House....

 

[ron in sc]

What about facing a roll up door to look like carriage doors? I've seen this done on This Old House....

I wanted to avoid having tracks inside so that was part of the appeal of a carriage door. That said I may end up doing the fake carriage doors that roll up like a regular garage door.

 

[nova65ss]

I wanted to avoid having tracks inside so that was part of the appeal of a carriage door. That said I may end up doing the fake carriage doors that roll up like a regular garage door.

That will probably be your only option. The size of the door has alot to do with being able to windload it as well. Alot of the 18' Carriage doors cannot be wind loaded mainly because they haven't been tested yet. Some of them require a center post and that will not pass here in some NC counties. You should be able to get the exact same look from the overhead doors that you were going to get from the swing out doors and the same material also. The main difference in a WL door vs a non WL door is the amount of struts, jamb brackets and attachment points on the inside of the door.

 

[brownbagg]

I got a metal bar on the inside of mine. It take 200 mph to blow it down

 

[Ramblur]

10 years ago I had to have 150 mph wind loaded doors when I built. I
couldn't even pull a permit till they had the engineering on the garage doors.
IMHO its all a bunch of hooey. At 150 mph the "stuff" blowing in the wind
presents much more danger and the minute something solid hits your door
all their engineering goes right out the window...

 

[Gearhead_42]

Shameless plug... Yes I work for them, but no, I don't have any vested interest... I build commercial doors.

http://www.overheaddoor.com/Residential.aspx

Some very attractive styles, especially in the Rennaisance and Ranch House doors...

 

[kbs2244]

If you don't want tracks inside, check out the companies that make the horizontally hinged bi-fold doors. They are engineered, so you can have the permit guys happy. And they can be made to almost any look.

They make them for airplane hangers, big farm equipment barns, as well as smaller stuff. So you know they know how to protect some expensive stuff.

Look at Schweiss at www.bifold.com

Or an outfit called Hydroswing that has a hydraulic system to lift up a single panel door at www.hydroswing.com

Both of these styles do put quite a load on door header, so some renforceing may be needed. But the look is good and you even get a bit of "porch roof" effect with the door open.

 

[ron in sc]

Look at Schweiss at www.bifold.com

Or an outfit called Hydroswing that has a hydraulic system to lift up a single panel door at www.hydroswing.com

Very helpful links, so thanks.

I'm in contact with Jason at Hydroswing and he is to send me pdf file of installation instructions so I can reveiw them with my contractor. He will also send information regarding structual loading so my engineer can certify them or they have an engineer who can certify them but at a higher cost.

 

[nova65ss]

At 150 mph the "stuff" blowing in the wind
presents much more danger

That is the reason they are windloaded to keep them from becoming one of the things blowing around.