Choosing a garage door and opener in Florida
Two decisions, made once, that you live with for twenty years and through every hurricane season in between. This is the honest version: what each material and each drive type actually costs installed in Florida, and what each one is bad at.
For most Florida homes a wind-rated steel door is the right choice, installed from $950 for a single, and from about $1,800 for an impact-rated version. Within a few miles of either coast, aluminum or fiberglass avoids the rust problem. Every replacement door needs a Florida Product Approval, or a Miami-Dade NOA in Miami-Dade and Broward, and a building permit. For the opener, choose belt drive if anyone sleeps beside the garage, and add battery backup for $60 to $150, because the power goes out after every storm.
Garage door materials
Five materials, ranked here by how often they are the right answer in Florida.
Steel
Most Florida homes, from 1980s doubles in Coral Springs and Brandon to new builds in Wesley Chapel and Lake Nona, and anywhere the priority is meeting the code at the lowest cost and not thinking about the door again for years.
$950 to $3,000 installedAluminum
Waterfront and near-coast homes in Jupiter, Delray Beach, Cape Coral, Fort Lauderdale and Clearwater, and contemporary homes and remodels in Boca Raton, Miami and Naples that want a full view door with impact glass.
$1,300 to $4,000 installedWood
Period and architecturally specific homes in Coral Gables, Winter Park, College Park, Old Northeast St. Petersburg and historic St. Augustine, where the door is part of the elevation and the owner will keep up the finish.
$2,200 to $9,000 installedFiberglass
Coastal homes from Melbourne down to Jupiter and from Naples up to Palm Coast that want the appearance of wood without termites and refinishing, particularly on a north-facing or shaded driveway.
$1,400 to $3,800 installedVinyl
Golf cart communities like The Villages, 55 plus developments, and busy family garages in Riverview, Oviedo and Port St. Lucie where the priority is never thinking about the door again.
$1,100 to $2,800 installedOpener drive types
The drive type decides how loud the opener is and how it copes with a Florida garage in August.
Chain drive
Detached garages, workshops, and any Florida garage that is not under or beside a bedroom, especially where the door is heavy.
$275 to $450 installedBelt drive
Two-story homes with a bedroom or bonus room over the garage, and any attached garage where somebody sleeps near the door.
$350 to $600 installedScrew drive
Heavy or oversized doors in a single story home with nothing over the garage, and owners who will keep up the yearly lubrication.
$300 to $500 installedDirect drive
Attached garages where quiet and long-term reliability both matter, and owners who would rather pay once than replace a gear kit in year six.
$400 to $600 installedJackshaft
Low headroom 1950s to 1970s garages in Hialeah, Kendall, Hollywood and St. Petersburg, high ceiling garages with storage lofts in the newer subdivisions, and heavy impact-rated doors on a torsion system.
$450 to $800 installedBrands we service
The brands we see most in Florida garages, and what typically goes wrong with each.
Choosing questions
Which garage door material is best for Florida?
Steel for most homes, because it is the cheapest strong option and is available wind-rated and impact-rated at every price point, $950 to $3,000 installed. Aluminum or fiberglass within a few miles of the coast, where salt air rusts steel from the bottom section up. Wood only where the house genuinely calls for it, because termites, rot and daily water at the bottom seal are hard on it here. Vinyl where the garage takes abuse.
Which opener should I choose?
Belt drive if there is living space beside the garage, because the noise difference is dramatic. Chain drive if noise does not matter, because nothing lasts longer for less. Jackshaft if you have the low headroom of a 1950s to 1970s garage. Whatever the drive, add battery backup: after a storm the power is out and the manual release is not something you want to be finding in the dark.
How much should a new garage door cost in Florida?
A new wind-rated door installed starts at $950 and runs to $4,200 depending on size, material, insulation and hardware, with the permit included. A hurricane-rated door with Florida Product Approval or a Miami-Dade NOA runs $1,800 to $6,500, and impact-rated full view glass doors run to $8,000 and above.
What is the difference between wind-rated and impact-rated?
A wind-rated door is built to resist the design wind pressure at your site, which every replacement door in Florida must be. An impact-rated door is also tested against large missile impact, and it is what most homeowners mean by a hurricane door. Both come with a Florida Product Approval, or a Miami-Dade NOA in the HVHZ, and both are documented on the permit.
Not sure which one fits your garage?
Describe the opening and what is there now, and we will tell you what actually fits and what rating it needs before anyone quotes you a door.
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