A garage door that has to handle cyclones
Townsville is in Wind Region C, the cyclonic region, on the map in the 2011 edition of the wind loading standard. A report in the Australian Journal of Emergency Management says buildings there should be designed to resist a Category 4 cyclone, with gusts of about 250 km/h.
The Queensland Reconstruction Authority says homes there get a cyclone classification of C1 to C4 depending on the site, and that every window and garage door must be rated to the classification shown on the plans. So the first question for a new or replacement door is its wind rating.
What Cyclone Yasi showed
Yasi was reported as a Category 5 cyclone in 2011, yet homes in Townsville felt Category 1 or 2 wind speeds, the Reconstruction Authority says. Along the coast surveyed between Cairns and Townsville, 29% of roller doors and 6% of sectional doors were damaged.
The Cyclone Testing Station found most roller doors failed by coming out of their tracks, and that wind locks were able to stop it. That is why wind-rated roller doors lock the curtain into the side guides.
Around Townsville
Wind ratings on the plans
Ask for the wind classification of your home before choosing a door, and keep the door's rating with your house papers.
Older homes
Plenty of older Townsville homes still have their first roller door. Ask whether it is rated for your site, and whether wind locks can be added.
Licences
In Queensland, door work valued over $3,300 needs a QBCC licence, so ask to see it.
The grant
The Household Resilience Program is closed: it stopped taking new applications on 2 October 2026.
Before the door specialist calls
- Whether you want a new door, a replacement, a motor or a repair
- The wind classification on your house plans, if you have them
- Whether it is a roller door, a sectional door or a tilt door
- Whether there is a power point near the ceiling for an opener
Openers and wiring
Plugging an opener into an existing power point is not electrical work under Queensland law, but a new power point or hard wiring is, and a licensed electrical contractor does that part.
What we would do
If your roller door is older than the house's last roof job, ask for a wind-rated replacement quote alongside any repair quote. In a cyclone region the door is often the weakest part of the house, and it is worth knowing both prices before deciding.