No one wants to face the possibility of a natural disaster and a lack of resources, but many homeowners like to prepare for different situations like weather events or other major impacts like earthquakes. If you do not have the basement space to store emergency disaster products, then you may utilize your garage to hold the items.
A garage has a lot of open space to store excess food, water, and emergency supplies like flashlights. When you decide to use your garage for an emergency preparedness area, the garage door you have on the space matters. A new garage door installation can make a big difference in the quality and longevity of items.
Check out some of the garage door features ideal for an emergency storage area and what to seek out when you work with professional installers.
1. Insulated Garage Doors
When you decide to store food and beverages in a garage, you likely want to control the temperatures as much as possible. You probably do not want outdoor weather or pollution to impact the quality of your emergency supply. Garage doors made of steel already provide a lot of strength, but insulated steel doors can provide even more protection.
The insulation will keep cold and hot air out of the garage depending on the season. The insulation can protect the garage area from high levels of humidity. In the winter, the insulation can protect the items from too much frost or frigid air. The insulation allows you to offer the garage better climate control without heavy increases to electric or heating bills.
If a disaster does occur and you have no power, the garage can provide an ideal location with better temperature control due to an insulated door.
2. Windowless Garage Doors
As you choose a garage door design, you may want to opt for ones without windows. If you let sunlight in the garage, the sun can spoil the food and beverages you keep in storage. For example, you likely would not want plastic cases of water bottles exposed to excessive sunlight. The sunlight could cause chemicals to come out of the bottles and change the taste of the water.
The sunlight could increase the natural heat inside a garage and also cause food to spoil. The best storage for emergency food is in a cool and dark room. A windowless garage door will provide the ideal setting. You can keep the food in storage for longer.
You also don't need to worry about UV light exposure causing labels to fade. The faded labels could make it hard to read exactly what certain products are. Windowless doors can also protect you better from strong winds, rains, or other natural disasters.
3. Seal Strips and Edge Protection
The last thing you likely want to worry about is a rise in water levels or excess weather causing damage to items inside your garage. When you purchase a garage door, you can request seal strips for the ground and additional edge protection on the bottom of the garage door.
When the garage is fully closed, you do not need to worry about water getting in and ruining supplies you keep on the floor level. The extra seals will also help keep insects and rodents out of the garage. You probably do not want a rodent chewing through boxes of products and ruining your disaster supply. The seals offer extra layers of protection.
Plan out the ideal garage door installation with our trained professionals at Edgemont Garage Doors. The garage door you choose will provide a vital step in creating an area ideal for emergency storage needs. If a disaster does occur, you can count on a secure garage door to help you when you need it.
