What an NOA is, in plain words
NOA stands for Notice of Acceptance. It is Miami-Dade County's written approval of a building product, such as a garage door model, stating that the product complies with the Florida Building Code, including the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. That zone, the HVHZ for short, covers two counties: Miami-Dade and Broward.
Each NOA lists the door's design pressures, meaning how much wind pressure the door is approved to resist, pushing in and pulling out. Each one also carries an expiration date.
So when people ask about a Miami-Dade NOA for a garage door, the useful question is simple: is the door on the house still the door that was approved? Fixing a worn part with one that matches leaves that door unchanged. A different door, or a different panel, starts the approval question over.
Why the garage door gets so much attention
FEMA's hurricane guidance calls garage doors one of the largest openings in a building. Because they are so large, wind can blow them in, pull them out, or twist them off their tracks, and then wind and rain can get inside.
FEMA's drawings of a failed door show where it gives: bent and twisted brackets, rollers pulled out of the track, and the edge of the door bending under the load. Brackets, tracks and rollers are moving parts and hardware. A door can only perform the way it was tested when those parts are straight, tight and in place.
That is why a look at the door before hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, is time well spent. Our hurricane prep and storm repair visit checks the parts that carry the load and fixes what is bent, loose or worn.
Repairs that leave the approved door as it is
Most garage door trouble has nothing to do with the approval. A broken spring, a frayed cable, worn rollers, a cracked hinge, a bent track or an opener that quit are parts problems. We fix them on the existing door, using parts of the same kind and size as the ones that came off. That means a spring sized for the door's weight, rollers that fit the track and hinges of the same type.
None of that touches the door's panels, its struts or the way it was built. The door stays the door that was approved, and the repair puts its moving parts back in working order.
A panel or section change is a different matter: it alters the approved door itself, so it follows the permit route described below. For the full list of what we fix, see garage door repair.
When a door change brings the NOA into play
Taking the old door down and putting a new one up is done under a building permit for your address. It is work we do, as our pages on installing a new garage door and impact-rated doors explain.
The building department wants to see that the product is approved for this zone. The City of Doral's permit checklist, for example, asks for proof of approval for every product on the job, either a Miami-Dade NOA or the state's product approval, along with building, structural and floodplain review. Bigger jobs also need a notice of commencement.
For the door you choose, we help you through the permit paperwork and collect its NOA. When no repair can put a door right, we say so plainly, price the options, and the choice stays with you.
What you can check on your own door
You don't need tools to learn a lot about your door. Look and listen, and keep your hands off anything under tension.
- From the driveway: the door should sit level and meet the floor evenly, with no bowed or creased panels.
- From inside, with the door closed: look for bent track, loose track brackets and rollers sitting outside the track.
- While it runs: grinding, scraping or a jerky start often points to rollers or hinges that need attention.
- After a storm: if the door was pushed in or pulled out of shape, don't run it. Keep the opener off and call us.
The springs, lift cables and bottom brackets hold heavy tension. Look at them, but never loosen, pull on or adjust them yourself.
Getting your door looked at in Miami-Dade
We work on garage doors across Miami-Dade and Broward, from Hialeah and Coral Gables to Miami Beach, Hollywood and Dania Beach. Before storm season, after a storm, or whenever the door acts up, contact us and describe what it is doing.
If the door itself took damage, read Repair or replace? next. If your home is in a homeowners' association, our page on HOA rules for garage doors covers what Florida law says about hurricane protection.