Practical Hurricane Protection

[Alladin]

With all the big hurricanes that have hit the USA during the last two years, a lot of people have decided to beef up their hurricane protection efforts. Unfortunately most people do not prepare for a major storm until the last minute. That is why many stores are inundated with customers just prior to being threatened by a hurricane.

Frankly, people that rush out to buy batteries, plywood for hurricane shutters and other such items obviously don't have a clue how to properly prepare for a hurricane. It is imperative that you have all your needed supplies in place prior to the hurricane season. Although, if you're like me, you may wish to buy a box of fresh crackers (crackers don't store well) and a few bags of ice prior to the storm.

You should have all your needed supplies (such as hurricane panels, generator, extension cords, gasoline, nonperishable food, water, batteries, etc.) all ready in storage and easy to access.

I think the real question is, "How much am I willing to spend on hurricane preparation?" Obviously, if money was no object, we'd all have automatic back-up generators, metal roofs, steel roll down shutters and a private water supply to insure our safety through the storm and the aftermath.

However, money is an important factor. I have lived in Florida for about 30 years and I've bugged out for many hurricanes, yet only three storms have really caused me much of a problem. In all three cases (Andrew, Ivan and Dennis), I sheltered in place and survived them all with minimal damage. And the aftermath was good too, but only because I was fully prepared for each storm.

It would be cool to live in a "hurricane proof" house and if I ever win the Florida Lottery, I'll be sure to build one. Until then, I'll just have to settle for a more practical and affordable approach but still be safe when I shelter in place. After all, major hurricanes are still a very rare event so it doesn't make sense to spend a large sum of money for protection. You don't have to spend a lot to beef up your hurricane safety net.

Obviously, the first consideration is your location. Are you in a storm surge area? If you are, then you need to sell your house and move to higher ground! You can't do a thing to protect against storm surge. Your house needs to be 20 feet or more above mean sea level. The farther inland you are, the better.

Wind damage is your next concern. Naturally, you need plywood panels to cover all your windows, gable vents and you need to make sure your garage door is properly shuttered or braced. Of course, you can use metal shutters but they are far more expensive and not much better than plywood shutters. Remember, shutters only protect against wind driven debris and 1/2" plywood panels have proven themselves over the years to work just fine.

Your roof is a big concern too. Even if it stays on, many of the shingles may be blown off and allow rain to leak into your attic and your interior ceilings. You can do a lot to prevent this kind of problem. Make sure your shingles are glued down along all the edges of your roof. The best way to test is to pull up (or push up) on the shingle edge that overlaps the roof. If it moves off the roof, you need to glue it down with plastic roofing cement!

You need to put extra braces on the gable ends of your roof in the attic. Ten foot 2 x 4's work nicely. You also need to make sure that your roof has hurricane straps to keep the roof from being lifted off in high winds. If you don't have hurricane straps, then don't stay in the house or have the house retrofitted with hurricane straps.

If you have a vent ridge, it will most likely be blown off in 130+ mph winds. It's a good idea to glue the vent ridge down using plastic roofing cement. Also, while your up on the roof, it's a good idea to glue down all your shingles with plastic roofing cement as well. A couple of quarter sized dollops of roofing cement under each shingle will go a long way in helping to keep your roof intact during a big storm.

It's a good idea to caulk around all of your exterior windows and doors. When 100+ mph wind driven rain is hitting your window and door frames, leaks will occur unless they are well sealed with caulk.

After the storm you will most likely have some damage to the roof and perhaps some windows. You need to have lots of large tarps, roofing nails, plastic roofing cement and the tools (hammer, putty knife, caulking gun, etc.) to make temporary emergency repairs after the storm. It's going to take many weeks or months before you can get professional help.

Also, you're going to be without power, water, gas, cable and telephone service for weeks or months after a big storm. So, you either have to be prepared to do without those services or have a backup plan. In my case, I am concerned about an extended power failure so I have a 5,000 watt portable generator (and a heavy duty lock and chain) and 80 gallons of gasoline in storage. I'll be able to run my refrigerator and two small window A/C units.

Another thing to consider is self defense. After a major storm, police and rescue personnel are not going to be available. Heck, you won't have a phone, so you can't call 911 anyway! You need to have a good first aid kit and know how to provide proper first aid. You also need a firearm and ammunition. Looters and other criminals will always show up after a major storm. You've got to be prepared to defend yourself and your family until the police can regroup and you get phone service back!

What it all boils down to is the old Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared". Oh yeah, make sure you've got enough toilet paper and water to flush the toilet!

[HurriCat]

Depending on when the roof was installed, I'm betting that messing around with gluing the shingles down will void the warranty. Overall, a pretty good article, but is "preaching to the choir" as it were. Also, although good advice, the part about the four-letter-word (g-u-n-s) will probably get someone all riled up.

[Alladin]

Depending on when the roof was installed, I'm betting that messing around with gluing the shingles down will void the warranty. Overall, a pretty good article, but is "preaching to the choir" as it were. Also, although good advice, the part about the four-letter-word (g-u-n-s) will probably get someone all riled up.

Have you are anyone you know enforced a "roof warranty"? You're joking aren't you? The advice I gave is from Owens Corning which is one of the largest shingle makers in the world to wit:

"To hand seal, lift each tab of a 3-tab shingle and apply two spots of the cement under each tab. Each spot should be approximately the size of a quarter and placed 1" to 2" from each end of the tab and near the bottom. Laminated shingles require 4 spots of cement per shingle. After application, press the tab down firmly to start the bond. Be careful not to apply the cement too close to the bottom of the tab. This causes the cement to squeeze out when the tab is pressed down."


As a matter of fact, it would be a good idea for anyone to glue down their shingles. The Dade County building code requires shingles with self gluing tabs. However, some shingles just don't stick down right and need extra help by hand sealing.

Go outside and look at your roof. Do you see any shingles that are not flat and can catch wind in the next storm? They need to be glued down. While your up on the roof, see if you can pick up any other shingles. If you can pick them up, they need to be glued down!

Frankly, hand sealing of shingles with plastic cement works a lot better than the standard sealant on all 3 tab shingles.

As for firearms for self defense, would you prefer that I put a sign out on my lawn after a major storm that says, "Looters welcome. Steal my food, beer and generator and rape my wife"?

[HurriCat]

Sure, okay on the shingles. My observation on firearms is that you'd probably get the usual antigun rhetoric - the sort that criminals dearly appreciate. Myself, it felt great after Charley and company, to have Mr. Glock 30 (.45acp) and his associate, Mr. Tula Arsenal Russian SKS (7.62x39) staying with us for "pest control". You ARE spot-on with your advice, including the "boomers" as some call them - wasn't fightin' with you at all. Stay safe in the storm!