All the Ways You Should Protect Your Home From a Hurricane

If you live in an area that traditionally suffers from terrible storms, your home was probably built to a high standard to survive the worst. But what if you’re in an area that is just now feeling the brunt of a climate change storm? There are several steps you can take to try and protect your home from the storm, ranging from relatively cheap and simple repairs to more complex repairs that will be costly but can ensure your home’s survival.

Inexpensive ways to protect your home from the weather

First, there are some pretty obvious things you can do to make your home more storm resistant:

• Be ready. Have a portable generator handy along with the fuel you need, or install a back-up generator that turns on automatically when the house goes out of power. Having electricity during the worst storm will allow you to do many things that can save it, from running drain pumps to charging devices to stay informed and connected.
• Update your windows. One of the best ways to protect your home is to install hurricane-resistant windows. They are not cheap , but they can withstand winds up to 200 miles per hour and will not break if something crashes into them. A cheaper option is to install curtains , which can be left open during normal operations and closed when a storm approaches. Don’t worry about the so-called “hurricane window film”. While this may reduce clutter if your window breaks, it won’t hold up against high winds or projectiles in any significant way.
• Take inflatable dams or sandbags. Flooding is one of the most obvious threats to your home during a storm. There are many options here, from inflatable dams , which can be used like sandbags to keep water out of your home, to real sandbags, so having one on hand can be very helpful. If there is land around your house, you might consider a large water inflatable dam . As seen recently during a storm in Texas , a properly installed and inflated dam like this one could just keep your home from flooding.

More Expensive Storm Protection Projects

If you’re worried about a big storm destroying your home and want to do everything you can to protect it, there are a few less obvious things you can do:

• Install windproof siding. Most homeowners only think about the look of their home when it starts to deteriorate with peeling paint or cracked plaster. But lining your home with weather-resistant materials can protect it from natural disasters. Installing fiber cement siding is a good choice as it is wind, impact and fire resistant, but you can find wind resistant vinyl siding and materials like brick are also effective against storms and fires if installed correctly.
• Create a storm-resistant landscape. To make your home as resistant to storms as possible, you need to carefully consider outdoor spaces. A good start is to clear open areas of debris and loose items (such as furniture) that can become projectiles during a storm. You should also check the level of your property – the clean floor of your home should be about six inches above ground level, and the level should be able to drain water away from the structure. Also, keep trees and other plants away from the house, which will prevent growth from gradually building up around the house.
• Reinforce the garage door. Garage doors are designed to be flexible and foldable, which also means they are a weak point that can easily bend in high winds or after being hit by debris. Having garage door brackets on hand will help, but you can also consider installing wind-loaded garage doors that are designed to withstand wind damage.
• Install hurricane protection straps. Reinforcing an existing roof without completely replacing it can be a challenge, especially in a finished home where the ceilings are sealed. But upgrading your roof with hurricane protection straps can make a huge difference in how well you weather a big storm. Hurricane straps essentially tie your roof to the foundation of your home, making it much less likely to be ripped off by strong winds. It can be a tough job, but if you’re worried about your roof, it might be worth it.