Hurricane proofing your exterior home can protect it from costly damage, notes real estate management company, MHN Property Management professionals. Start by clearing away anything that could become projectiles during a storm – such as garbage cans, trellises or freestanding fire pits. However, there’s so much more to do – so let’s get into it.
Window Replacement
Window replacement is an integral component of hurricane proofing. Impact-resistant windows by Paradise Exteriors can be utilized as they will withstand strong winds, pressure changes and flying debris without shattering, thus protecting your house and reducing risks such as water intrusion or structural damage. They typically consist of laminated glass, tempered glass or polycarbonate reinforced with metal frames – more expensive options but they will help secure it further and reduce risks from water intrusion or structural damage.
Your doors play an integral role in how much wind can penetrate into your home, so consider installing double doors if you live in an area prone to extreme weather events and make sure they’re secured to their frames with steel hinges and solid core locking mechanisms for increased wind protection. In case of hurricane season, cover sliding glass doors with plywood or shutters as additional protection.
Implementing impact-resistant windows into your home can significantly lower homeowners’ insurance premiums, but remembering to have them installed and inspected professionally by professionals as well as paying any additional materials fees required to complete this project may be costly.
Garage Door Replacement
According to this link – doors are another vulnerable component of your home during a hurricane, but impact resistant doors are designed to withstand strong winds and flying debris, protecting them with reinforcement options to further increase their strength. You can protect these entryways by replacing them with double or fiberglass impact resistant models – double doors being especially advantageous in protecting from flying debris – that also come equipped with reinforcement options.
Hurricane shutters or panels are another effective way of safeguarding entry doors, often available for purchase at hardware stores and offering additional security features. Made from sturdy material like fiberglass, they can even be customized to match the look and style of your home.
Before any storm arrives, it is wise to remove loose items around the home that could become projectiles in its path – items like patio furniture, outdoor decor and light weight storage structures may all become potential projectiles, potentially causing extensive damage.
Preventing hurricane damage is always preferable to dealing with it later, and one way of doing that is taking proactive steps throughout the year. Point offers financing solutions that enable homeowners with lower credit scores to fund proofing projects without incurring new monthly payments but you should really visit their site to see if you qualify and if so it’s a great way to ensure your home is ready for whatever storm comes Florida’s way next.
Foundation Repair
Your home’s foundation is essential in keeping it upright and stable; any weak points must be reinforced to protect against hurricanes’ high winds. Cracked or gaps outside should be filled in with silicone caulking to stop rainwater entering and further damaging it during a storm.
Outside of fixing leaks, you may also need to replace damaged wood in the foundation of your home. While this task is costly, it could help protect against hurricane damage during an onslaught.
Hurricane force winds can also have devastating effects on roofs. To guard them against this potential risk, install gravel or rock landscaping materials instead of regular lawn and garden waste to provide extra support and protect your roof, while trimming trees and bushes to keep them from breaking off during a storm.
While some individuals attempt to protect their windows by boarding them up, this approach should not be recommended as hurricane winds will quickly remove the plywood boarding from your house, leading to dangerous and life-threatening fluctuations in pressure inside of it. Furthermore, no insurance company offers discounts for doing this during a hurricane event.
Before making the leap and purchasing your dream home, it’s essential that it qualifies for hurricane and flood coverage. While proofing your house can be expensive, protecting your investment with proper hurricane and flood coverage should always come first.
Point offers financing solutions that enable homeowners with a 500+ credit score to pay for proofing their entire home without incurring new monthly payments. Visit their website and see if you qualify; though the costs associated with hurricane proofing your home can seem costly, their investment is well worth the risk when considering what a strong hurricane could do to both property and lives.
Storm Shutters
Hurricane shutters provide an invaluable buffer between storm-driven winds and your home’s contents, and debris falling onto windows and doors during tropical storms or hurricanes. Without shutters in place to cover windows and doors during such events, they would become vulnerable to further damage as any broken window or door might lead to massive pressure inside, potentially leading to extensive property damage or even exposure of family members and pets to the elements – something exterior hurricane shutters are designed to alleviate.
As an alternative to shutters, homeowners often rely on plywood storm panels that can be cut to size and secured in place over windows and doors for less costly protection. You can buy them from hardware stores or home improvement centers; however, their level of protection doesn’t compare to professionally installed shutters.
Before every hurricane season it is essential that these shutters be tested thoroughly to ensure proper functioning as well as check for any warping or other damage which might compromise them in terms of function and close securely be wary of warpage as this may compromise them as their performance compromising their purpose compared with professionally installed ones!
Other steps you can take to proof your home include adding hurricane straps or clips that strengthen the connection between roof trusses or rafters and wall framing, making it more resistant to uplift during a storm. Furthermore, garage doors should be securely attached to their foundation with heavy-duty hinge screws anchored into place; dead branches that could fall on your house during a storm should also be cleared away and electrical outlets, switches, and circuit breakers elevated at least one foot above flood levels should also be elevated accordingly.