Engineered Garage Door Vents

What Is A Flood Vent?

Smart Vent’s line of ICC-ES Certified, Engineered Flood Vents protect houses and buildings during floods by preventing hydrostatic pressure buildup that can destroy walls and foundations. This mitigation technique, referred to as Wet Floodproofing, allows floodwater to freely flow through an enclosure such as a crawlspace or garage.

Engineered Flood Vent

• Mass-produced flood openings are certified through the ICC-ES 

• Meet the required regulations, performance standards, and design guidelines 

• Designed and tested as flood vents and are given a flood coverage rating based on performance 

Non-Engineered Flood Vent

• Not created to be used as flood vents 

• Have not gone through any of the required testing to qualify as an engineered flood vent 

• Solely intended to use as an air vent 

• Rated at the assumptive method of 1 net sq. in. of opening per 1 ft. of enclosed are

 When Are Flood Vents Required?

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Regulations and Building Codes require: 

• Residential structures in Flood Zone A have their lowest finished floor above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) 

• Any enclosure (i.e. crawlspace or garage) below the BFE ​to have flood vents to relieve hydrostatic pressure off the wall. 

• Unlike residential buildings, commercial structures have the option to wet floodproof, dry floodproof, or a combination of both 

With commercial buildings, elevation and the use of wet floodproofing techniques is the suggested form of mitigation. This technique can be a more cost-effective solution, and reduces the impacts the building has on surrounding floodplain in comparison to dry floodproofing techniques. 

 Garage Door Insulated Flood Vents

Application

The Overhead Garage Door Models are specifically designed for standard garage doors and other entry doors that open and close on a daily basis. A built-in CAM system allows the garage door to function as normal, while the flood vent door stays locked in place.  This series is used for a garage or conditioned space where flood protection is required but air ventilation is not desired. For situations where a sealed crawlspace is being utilized in a floodplain, flood protection is still required and the Insulated FLOOD VENT series is the perfect fit for those applications.

With a back plate and through bolt system allowing for an easy installation, the 1540-524 is an ideal retrofit.

Flood Protection

The vent door is latched closed until it comes in contact with flood water. Entering flood water lifts the patented internal floats which unlatch and allow the door to rotate open. This allows the flood water to automatically enter and exit through the frame opening, relieving the pressure from the foundation walls. Certified flood debris clearance is demonstrated with a 3” diameter opening when the flood door is activated.

Insulation

The flood door contains a 2” insulated core that has an R-value of 8.34. There is also a felt weather stripping that lines the entire vent frame helping to keep the enclosure as insulated as possible.