Protecting your Home During a hurricane, homes can be damaged by high winds and the debris they throw about like missiles. The most vulnerable areas of your home are windows, doors and garage doors. Once the powerful hurricane force winds enter your home, there is a great chance doors, windows walls and roof will be severely damaged. Here we will list actions and options of protecting your home from wind damage. While these projrcts, if done carefully and correctly, can make your home safer during a hurricane. There is no guarantee that your home won't be damaged or even destroyed, if you follow all or some of these suggestions. If authorities recommend you evacuate, do so immediately, even if you have protected your home. Outside Your Home Cut back tree limbs that hang over your house. They may provide shade and keep your home cool, but during a hurricane they will likely cause damage. Bring all loose objects (lawn furnature, decorative items, grills, plants, etc.) inside your home. Hurricane and Tropical Storm force winds will pick these items up and throw them about like missiles. Outdoor storage sheds need to be anchored down. Once strong winds break apart the structure, all objects inside will likely do damage to your and neighboring homes. To Protect Your Home, Start With Your Windows Windows MUST be covered during a hurricane. Windows alone offer little protection against wind-driven debris. And once a window is broken, the hurricane can not only destroy that room, but can lift the roof from its moorings and literally destroy your home in minutes. Do not put tape your windows for protection. You will waste percious time (not to mention tape) on something that offers little benefit. Here is a list of the various types of window converings. Some of these coverings will be installed by professionals, and may take weeks between ordering and installing. Plywood Plywood is the least expensive method of protecting your home from hurricane winds. It offers a high level of protection for a low cost, about $1 per square foot. It should be noted the plywood does not meet any building codes, yet may homeowners choose this method of protection who lack permanent storm shutter systems. The major disadvantage of using plywood is a lot of time and hard work is needed for proper installation. All supplies should be bought before hurricane season beings. When a hurricane threatens an area, you can expect long lines and the possibility of few supplies at local stores. This will not only increase the amount of time to prepare your home, but it will also use up valuable time may be needed for evacuations. Storm Panels These steel or aluminum shutters attach to the walls around windows and doors. They usually slide into place on tracks that are permanently installed around each window or door. Installation is much faster than plywood, because all you need to do is slide the pieces of metal into the track. Storm panels for large windows require two people for installation, due to the large size and weight of the panel. The cost is $4 to $6 per square foot. Before hurricane season, install your storm panels to ensure they fit properly and are undamaged. If you buy a home with storm panels, check them carefully, and immediately replace and broken or damaged panels. Accordian Shutters These are similiar to Storm Panels, except they are permanently attached to the window or door. The cost is between $13 and $14 per square foot. The major advantage in using accordian shutters is that it only takes 15 to 30 minutes to protect all the windows and doors of your house. This is extremely handy if you have little time to prepare for an approaching hurricane. They are available with locks and can be used as a deterrent to theft. Since accordian shutters glide on wheels they have the potential to break, so check them closely several times a year, especially before hurrican season, and repair them as needed. Roll-down Shutters These shutters attach above windows and doors. They roll up and store in a box when no in use. Just like accordian shutters, you can rapidly lower them and can also be used to as a theft deterrant. Roll-down shutters offer the best protection and are the easiest to use, but cost $26 to $40 per square foot. Some roll-down shutters are operated electrically, and require a battery backup system so they can be lowered or raised during power outages. Before hurricane season, make sure they are in a good working condition. Check the battery backup system and make sure you have extra batteries on hand. Garage Door If your home has a garage door, it is the largest opening in your house. Because of its large size, it is the most likely to be damaged by hurricane force winds. There are wind-loaded garage doors available on the market, but they are expensive. However, you can buy horizontal support bars for your garage door to help it withstand winds up to 120 mph. The cost of the support bars depends on the size of your garage door. Bars for a single garage door cost around $300, and you can expect to spend $500 to $600 for a double (two-car) garage door. Entry and Exit Doors The total wind pressure on a door is centered on the lock and latch. Most doors will need to be strengthened by latch systems or additional surface mounted slide bolts to distribute the pressure. If slide bolts are impractical, 2x4s bolted across the inside and outside of the door are an effective alternative. Most door manufacturers provide reinforcing kits for about $40. Reinforceing The Roof Before you begin to reinforce your roof, you need to determine what type of roof you have. A gable roofs are more likely to be damaged during a hurricane. A gabel roof looks like an A with the outside wall going to the top of the roof. The end wall of a home with a gable roof takes a beating, and those with insufficient bracing can collapse. Gabled roofs are built using manufactured trusses, with only plywood holding them in place. This may not be enough to hold the roof in place during a hurricane. Installing additional braces to the trusses will increase the strength of your roof. In gabled roofs, truss bracing consists of 2x4s that run the lenght of the roof. If you do not have truss bracing, it should be installed. To brace the end of a gable roof, place 2X4s in an X pattern from the top center of the gable to the bottom of the fourth truss and the bottom center of the gable to the top center of the fourth truss. Hurricane straps are designed to stregthen any type of roof. They are made from galvanized metal and hold the roof to the walls. Hurricane straps are difficult to install, so you may need to hire a contractor.
Hurricane Awareness -- National Weather Service Corpus Christi | Revised August 2000.