Hurricane-rated garage door installation replaces your door with one tested and approved for Florida's wind and impact requirements: a Miami-Dade NOA door in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, or a Florida Product Approval door elsewhere. In Florida it costs $1,800 to $6,500 installed, permit included, with impact-rated glass doors running to $8,000 and above. A rated door may qualify you for a wind mitigation credit on your homeowners insurance.
The garage door is the largest opening in the house. When it fails in a storm the house pressurizes, and the roof is the next thing to go, which is why the Florida Building Code treats the garage door as structural. Every door installed in Florida has to be rated for the design wind pressure at the site. Miami-Dade and Broward counties are the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ), where the door needs a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA). In the rest of the state it needs a Florida Product Approval, an FL number, for your wind zone and exposure.
Two ratings get confused. A wind-rated door is built and tested to resist pressure, and it is the minimum the code allows anywhere in Florida. An impact-rated door is also tested against large missile impact, the 2 by 4 fired at the panel, and it is what most homeowners mean by a hurricane door. Inside the HVHZ and along the coast where openings have to be impact protected, the practical route on a garage door is an impact-rated door, and it is the version an insurer's wind mitigation form (OIR-B1-1802) records as rated opening protection. We pull the permit as the licensed contractor, the rating is documented on it, and you keep the paperwork.
Timing matters. Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November, and order books fill from May. A stock rated steel door typically takes 2 to 6 weeks; impact glass and custom colors take longer, and after a named storm lead times on everything stretch. The best window is March to May. Insurance is the other reason people call: a rated door with the paperwork can contribute to a premium credit under Florida's mitigation discount rules. We say it may qualify, we give you the documentation, and you ask your insurer for the credit schedule. When the My Safe Florida Home program is open it has offered grants toward opening protection, including garage doors.
What moves this price
The starting price above is for a standard single garage door in normal condition. These are the things that put a job above it, and we tell you which ones apply before we start rather than after.
- Wind-rated versus impact-rated, and the design pressure at your address
- Single versus a 16 foot double, and the heavier springs and struts a rated double needs
- Windows: impact-rated glass doors run to $8,000 and above
- Material and finish, from stock white steel to aluminum, wood look and custom colors
Why customers pick us for this
The right approval for your county
A Miami-Dade NOA door in Miami-Dade and Broward, a Florida Product Approval door everywhere else, matched to your wind zone and exposure.
Permit and inspection handled
We file the permit with the approval number, schedule the inspection and close the permit. The fee is in the quote.
Wind-rated or impact-rated, explained
We tell you which one the code requires at your address and what the impact upgrade costs, so you choose with the numbers in front of you.
Documentation for your insurer
Approval number, permit and photos in one file for your wind mitigation inspection. A rated door may qualify for a credit; your insurer sets the schedule.
How the job runs
- Site check and wind zone. We measure the opening, confirm your county, wind zone and exposure category, and check any HOA style rules.
- Door selection and written quote. Wind-rated or impact-rated, material, windows, color, all itemized with the permit fee.
- Permit and order. We file the permit with the approval number and order the door. We tell you the real lead time, not the hopeful one.
- Installation and inspection. Old door out, rated door, track, struts, springs and brackets installed to the approval drawing, opener reconnected, inspection passed and the permit closed.
Hurricane-Rated Door Installation questions
How much does a hurricane-rated garage door cost in Florida?
$1,800 to $6,500 installed for most homes, permit included. A wind-rated steel single sits at the low end, an impact-rated steel double in the middle, and impact-rated full view glass doors run to $8,000 and above.
What is the difference between a wind-rated and an impact-rated garage door?
A wind-rated door is tested to resist the design pressure at your site and is the minimum the code allows anywhere in Florida. An impact-rated door is also tested against large missile impact, and it is what a hurricane door means to most homeowners and to your insurer's wind mitigation inspector. Impact-rated costs more and is the one we recommend near the coast and in the HVHZ.
What is the difference between a Miami-Dade NOA and a Florida Product Approval?
Both are proof that a door was tested to the code. A Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance is the approval Miami-Dade and Broward require in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, and it is accepted statewide. A Florida Product Approval, the FL number, is the statewide approval and is what the rest of Florida uses. Outside the HVHZ either works; inside it, you need the NOA.
Will a hurricane-rated garage door lower my insurance?
It may. Florida's wind mitigation inspection records whether openings, including the garage door, have rated protection, and a rated door can contribute to a credit under the state's mitigation discount rules. We give you the documentation and you ask your insurer for their credit schedule. We do not promise a dollar figure because every policy is different.
Can I brace my existing door instead of replacing it?
Outside the HVHZ a retrofit bracing kit with a Florida Product Approval can bring an existing door up to a wind rating for a lot less than a new door, and we install them. In Miami-Dade and Broward the accepted route is a rated door. No kit makes a door hurricane proof, nothing does, and a kit does not make an unrated door impact-rated.
