Middle Keys
Hurricane Bracing in Marathon
Hurricane bracing in Marathon is simply horizontal steel struts on the door you already have. The struts stiffen the sections and they add weight, so the balance is checked after they are on. A strut is not a wind rating, and adding struts does not file any building paperwork. Track fasteners and jamb fasteners are a separate question from the struts themselves. The visit is the bars, the weight they add, and whether the door still travels safely.
What the struts do
Horizontal struts bolt across the sections to limit bowing in the middle of the door. They do not replace the track, the rollers, or the springs that carry the door. A door that already bows when the wind pushes it is the usual reason people ask. We look at whether the sections are straight enough to accept the struts. A creased section may need a panel before a strut can do any real good.
Weight and the balance
Each added strut adds weight, and the springs may no longer match the door. We check balance after the bars are on, with the opener disconnected and the door in hand. If the door is heavy, the springs are adjusted or replaced as part of the same work. An opener that struggled before the struts will struggle more after them. The goal is a stiffer door that the existing lift can still move safely.
A strut is not the rating
Bars on the old door do not turn that door into a tested assembly. The rating, when that is the real goal, belongs to door, track, struts, and anchors together. Track screws and jamb anchors are specified with that assembly, not borrowed from a strut kit. We do not file building paperwork for either the struts or a rated door. If you want the tested build, we measure for it instead of only adding bars.
Fasteners at the track and jamb
Strut bolts into the section are not the same fasteners that hold the track to the jamb. A loose track bolt is its own repair, whether or not bars are added. Jamb anchors for a rated assembly are chosen for wood or for masonry. We say which fasteners this opening needs after looking at the wall. Mixing those jobs without saying so is how a stiff door still pulls out of a weak jamb.
Wind on open and enclosed bays
Canal-front houses and interior blocks in Marathon do not see the same push on a door. Some homes park at grade under the living floor, leaving the door in the moving air. Humidity and salt on those bays still matter to the hinges after the struts are on. The struts are still fit to the door on that house. An open bay may show more bow, and an interior door can still need the balance checked.
Request this visit.
Call (645) 256-1794 about this door.
We answer any hour Sunday through Friday.
Saturday stays closed.
Keys Door Co is family-owned, local, and insured.
We have worked this coast for over ten years.
Common questions
Do horizontal struts make the door wind rated?
Horizontal struts stiffen the door you have and add weight at the same time. A rating is a tested set of door, track, struts, and anchors together. Balance is checked after the bars are on, with the opener disconnected.
Who files the building paperwork for this work?
We do not file building paperwork for struts or for a rated assembly. The label, when there is one, stays with the tested set at the house. Our work is fitting the struts or measuring the opening for that set.
Will the door feel heavier after the struts?
The door usually feels heavier because each strut adds weight the springs must carry. Balance is checked with the opener disconnected after the bars are on. Springs are adjusted when the door no longer stays where you set it.
Place reference: City of Marathon
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- Repairs and replacement parts
- Openers and controls
- New garage doors