Question on plywood protection

[Cookiely]

I have a three bedroom (two bedrooms and computer room), one bath, living room dining room combo and kitchen. I have limited income to buy plywood and clips for three windows. The back of the house is east. There are grand oaks on the sides of the bedrooms on either side of the house. We are not in an evacation zone. My question is should I board up the windows in the living room dining room combo, bathroom and kitchen and shut the doors to the bedrooms. This seems logical to me since the trees are not reaching as far as the center of the house. They have been trimmed except for one large limb which is going to be trimmed soon. Any advice appreciated.

[Aquawind]

Well one of the bad things about leaving any possible openings for air to get into the house is the pressure can build and still lift the roof off. This is one of the biggest problems with garage doors in that they often get blown in and the air gets in and under the roof and can cause some real damage..even with shutters installed. IMO I would avoid the possibility of wind freely entering the home altogether but if the windows are small and few I suppose you could take that chance if you had to The water damage alone could be severe and if the doors blew out who knows what else may..including the roof.

[Cookiely]

Well one of the bad things about leaving any possible openings for air to get into the house is the pressure can build and still lift the roof off. This is one of the biggest problems with garage doors in that they often get blown in and the air gets in and under the roof and can cause some real damage..even with shutters installed. IMO I would avoid the possibility of wind freely entering the home altogether but if the windows are small and few I suppose you could take that chance if you had to The water damage alone could be severe and if the doors blew out who knows what else may..including the roof.

Thank you for your advice. What I wish I could do and what I'm able to do physically and financially make things difficult. At least I'm trying which is more than I can say for the rest of my family. Its like hitting my head against a brick wall.

[O Town]

I thought the purpose of plywood was to keep windows from shattering with the force of wind and also from flying debris. Correct me if I am wrong. Air can always get in the attic area of a house because most have vents to the attic. If it were me I would just plywood the areas of the house from which the winds are the strongest, and also the windows of the rooms you plan on hunkering down in.

[SouthFloridawx]

Well one of the bad things about leaving any possible openings for air to get into the house is the pressure can build and still lift the roof off. This is one of the biggest problems with garage doors in that they often get blown in and the air gets in and under the roof and can cause some real damage..even with shutters installed. IMO I would avoid the possibility of wind freely entering the home altogether but if the windows are small and few I suppose you could take that chance if you had to The water damage alone could be severe and if the doors blew out who knows what else may..including the roof.

Thank you for your advice. What I wish I could do and what I'm able to do physically and financially make things difficult. At least I'm trying which is more than I can say for the rest of my family. Its like hitting my head against a brick wall.

Got ya on the brick wall part. They always regret not getting prepared when it does happen then they will learn... maybe...

[Cookiely]

I thought the purpose of plywood was to keep windows from shattering with the force of wind and also from flying debris. Correct me if I am wrong. Air can always get in the attic area of a house because most have vents to the attic. If it were me I would just plywood the areas of the house from which the winds are the strongest, and also the windows of the rooms you plan on hunkering down in.

How can you tell ahead of time in which direction you will have the strongest winds?

[SouthFloridawx]

I have prepared a crude picture of how I can explain it.


Does this sound about right to everyone?

[O Town]

I have prepared a crude picture of how I can explain it.


Does this sound about right to everyone?

Exactley.

[HurryKane]

Yeah but...

Local geography can subtly or greatly change those wind directions for your immediate area. Best to go ahead and cover them all if you can....ditto to what Aquawind said.

[Cookiely]

If I understand this correct, it would be better to do the bedrooms on each side and the bath. Thanks for the info. I really appreciate the help.

[SouthFloridawx]

If I understand this correct, it would be better to do the bedrooms on each side and the bath. Thanks for the info. I really appreciate the help.

I always board up all the doors and windows cause you never know what can happen during a storm and what may come flying at one of the windows you didn't board up.

[GeneratorPower]

I have prepared a crude picture of how I can explain it.


Does this sound about right to everyone?

No, it doesn't sound right. It sounds dangerous.

Living on the coast means you never know which directions wind is coming from. It could come from all four. If the storm passes south of you, you'll have winds from the east. To the north, and winds will be from the west. If it hits you directly on, you'll get winds from the north and then the south after the eye passes.

The talk about boarding only certain windows is pretty silly. If you're not boarding them all with the right size plywood correctly installed, you're just wasting your money and your time.

See the sticky on this board about HRD Shutter Pages....

[Alladin]

I have prepared a crude picture of how I can explain it.


Does this sound about right to everyone?

No, it doesn't sound right. It sounds dangerous.

Living on the coast means you never know which directions wind is coming from. It could come from all four. If the storm passes south of you, you'll have winds from the east. To the north, and winds will be from the west. If it hits you directly on, you'll get winds from the north and then the south after the eye passes.

The talk about boarding only certain windows is pretty silly. If you're not boarding them all with the right size plywood correctly installed, you're just wasting your money and your time.

See the sticky on this board about HRD Shutter Pages....

While it is certainly desirable to board up all windows and sliding glass doors, as Cookiely mentioned, due to financial or other considerations, you may just have to prioritize your shutter placement. As for setting priorities, it depends upon the coastal area in which you live. Atlantic coast residents and gulf coast residents have completely different storm patterns and so must set their priorities differently.

In Tampa, FL, the most vulnerable portions of the house would be those that face to the south, west and east. The north side of the house will be less impacted. In the Florida panhandle, the most vulnerable areas would be east, south and north. The west side would be the safest area. On the Atlantic coast the south side of the house would encounter less wind.

However, as SouthFloridawx pointed out in his picture, if you're on the Atlantic coast and dealing with a storm coming from the Gulf of Mexico, it is then a horse of a different color!

The basic premise is that the northeast quadrant of the hurricane is the strongest and the northwest quadrant is much weaker. So, in Cookiely's situation, I would concentrate on shuttering windows to the south, west and east in that order. If Cookiely can do the north side too, that's great!

Another factor depends upon local terrain and other buildings. I selected my current house (in part) because the two other houses next door to me, provide excellent wind blocks. They block my house from a lot of wind in big storms.

[m_ru]

I have prepared a crude picture of how I can explain it.


Does this sound about right to everyone?

No, it doesn't sound right. It sounds dangerous.

Living on the coast means you never know which directions wind is coming from. It could come from all four. If the storm passes south of you, you'll have winds from the east. To the north, and winds will be from the west. If it hits you directly on, you'll get winds from the north and then the south after the eye passes.

The talk about boarding only certain windows is pretty silly. If you're not boarding them all with the right size plywood correctly installed, you're just wasting your money and your time.

See the sticky on this board about HRD Shutter Pages....

While it is certainly desirable to board up all windows and sliding glass doors, as Cookiely mentioned, due to financial or other considerations, you may just have to prioritize your shutter placement. As for setting priorities, it depends upon the coastal area in which you live. Atlantic coast residents and gulf coast residents have completely different storm patterns and so must set their priorities differently.

In Tampa, FL, the most vulnerable portions of the house would be those that face to the south, west and east. The north side of the house will be less impacted. In the Florida panhandle, the most vulnerable areas would be east, south and north. The west side would be the safest area. On the Atlantic coast the south side of the house would encounter less wind.

However, as SouthFloridawx pointed out in his picture, if you're on the Atlantic coast and dealing with a storm coming from the Gulf of Mexico, it is then a horse of a different color!

The basic premise is that the northeast quadrant of the hurricane is the strongest and the northwest quadrant is much weaker. So, in Cookiely's situation, I would concentrate on shuttering windows to the south, west and east in that order. If Cookiely can do the north side too, that's great!

Another factor depends upon local terrain and other buildings. I selected my current house (in part) because the two other houses next door to me, provide excellent wind blocks. They block my house from a lot of wind in big storms.

Alladin knows his stuff.

[Alladin]

Most of us buy the least expensive sheet of plywood we can find. After all, were not concerned with how the hurricane shutter looks. We just want the protection that plywood offers. Exterior grade CDX plywood will delaminate if it gets soaked and is not sealed with exterior paint or polyurethane.

Another problem too with less expensive plywood is that it will have more voids. After the plywood has been cut to the correct size, examine the edges all the way around the shutter. You will find gaps (voids) caused by knot holes or places where the resorcinol glue (the stuff they use to glue plywood together) did not fill.

It's a good idea to fill those gaps with Gorilla Glue or Plastic Wood and then paint or polyurethane the entire shutter. When painting the shutter, you want to use two or three thin coats and pay particular attention to seal the edges to prevent water intrusion.

You may have to keep those shutters in storage for many years before you need them. If your plywood shutters are protected with paint or polyurethane it will protect them from warpage, wood rot and insect infestation.