why board windows?
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why board windows?
I used to think people boarded windows to keep water out of the home in case the windows break. I have to pay someone to put up the plywood and pay them to take it down. My question is --- is boarding windows really necessary if I live 40 miles from the coast --- no flooding potential. I have insurance to pay for new carpets etc. My question is --- are there other advantages to boarding up other than to protect from water damage? I am considering purchasing a product to make this process easier, but don't want to spend the money if I'm just protecting something that insurance would cover to replace --- like the carpet. Since I'm in Mobile I'm trying to get everything ready now for future storms because I am tired of the day before panic.
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GalvestonDuck
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HurriCat
There are quite a few reasons beyond water concerns. I'm sure others will get more into the dynamics of air pressure blowing your home to bits. I can offer these other thoughts: Prevention of broken windows, period. Even far inland, the winds can easily throw things hard enough to break glass. Replacements can really add up. Plus, the flying glass is an obvious hazard for human and pet occupants. Also, after a storm, you might have to literally wait MONTHS for someone to do repairs. With smashed windows and no screens, the bugs and other critters will be all over the place. I recall seeing a S. FL woman on the news, showing us her many spider bites, as they were invading the damaged homes. There is a psychological element, too, for feeling more secure behind fortified window openings. Obviously, this shouldn't be a false sense of security - people on the COAST really should evacuate if told to do so! Finally, I'll mention the subject that is always left-out of prep-tips and such, save for the "Looters wil be Shot" sign photos. Boarded or shuttered windows are just more protective from non-storm elements in a time in which the police are really a non-factor in many areas for days or even weeks. Evil doesn't respect hardship, and it seeks every advantage. You don't have to be a GUN-NUT (cough) 
but you should at least have a club or spear handy. Even a tiny mouse fights for its' life.
but you should at least have a club or spear handy. Even a tiny mouse fights for its' life.
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Thanks Galveston Duck,
With Ivan I paid to have every single window (even small ones) boarded. This time I just had the larger windows boarded. The wood has kind of warped since Ivan because I didn't paint it. Do you know of an easier product that I can purchase. I need something that I can do myself since I don't have family in the area and I hate to ask friends since I'm sure they have enough to do themselfs.
I also have another question ---- I have lots of large (heavy) and small potted plants. Do I need to move the large ones as well of the small ones into the carport --- its almost impossible. This year the guy I was paying told me I only had to move lighter objects in, because the wind can't pick up the heavier dirt filled pots. Is there a weight limit I can estimate when I am moving all this stuff into the carport.
By the way --- I graduated from Clear Creek HS in league City when that area was still very small - we were just a 3A HS and it was the only HS in the area.
With Ivan I paid to have every single window (even small ones) boarded. This time I just had the larger windows boarded. The wood has kind of warped since Ivan because I didn't paint it. Do you know of an easier product that I can purchase. I need something that I can do myself since I don't have family in the area and I hate to ask friends since I'm sure they have enough to do themselfs.
I also have another question ---- I have lots of large (heavy) and small potted plants. Do I need to move the large ones as well of the small ones into the carport --- its almost impossible. This year the guy I was paying told me I only had to move lighter objects in, because the wind can't pick up the heavier dirt filled pots. Is there a weight limit I can estimate when I am moving all this stuff into the carport.
By the way --- I graduated from Clear Creek HS in league City when that area was still very small - we were just a 3A HS and it was the only HS in the area.
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HurriCat
I figure board 'em up. Even though small, they can still be hit and broken, then here come the spideys. Man, Wolf Spiders especially make my skin crawl! Anyways, I think that the people getting bitten up were in a pretty woodsy area, and the displaced spiders were just looking for new homes (howdy, room-mate!) 
. The smaller windows are easier to board, anyways (panel sizes, etc.). I'm going to look at the vinyl fence panels - at their thickness and construction - and see if there are possibilities for their use as panels. I think that it might work, maybe using the barrel-bolts pop-riveted onto the panels. Stay safe!
. The smaller windows are easier to board, anyways (panel sizes, etc.). I'm going to look at the vinyl fence panels - at their thickness and construction - and see if there are possibilities for their use as panels. I think that it might work, maybe using the barrel-bolts pop-riveted onto the panels. Stay safe!
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KeyLargoDave
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The easiest shutters, roll-down and accordion type, of course are the most expensive.
Steel or aluminum storm panels are a good alternative. Very easy to put up and to store. Aluminum is much lighter than steel, but make sure they aren't too thin or they won't do much good. The panels fit into tracks or over bolts that are permanently installed around the window.
Plywood is a major pain to store and put up, and as you know it warps and can get infested with bugs if left in contact with the ground.
Steel or aluminum storm panels are a good alternative. Very easy to put up and to store. Aluminum is much lighter than steel, but make sure they aren't too thin or they won't do much good. The panels fit into tracks or over bolts that are permanently installed around the window.
Plywood is a major pain to store and put up, and as you know it warps and can get infested with bugs if left in contact with the ground.
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Re: why board windows?
jes wrote:... I live 40 miles from the coast... I'm trying to get everything ready now for future storms because I am tired of the day before panic.
Jes, you might do okay with solid "shutters." The kind that attach permanently to your house on hinges--and then when there is a storm, you fold them over your windows, lock them with barrel bolts, perhaps drop a 2x4 in a holder across the middle, and your windows are covered. Think old-fashioned "shutters"--but not with louvers, but solid wood. They will not be as "pretty" as the louvered ones, but if you paint them to match house trim, etc. you can make them look pretty good and if you know someone who is artistic, you can paint or stencil a flower or pinecone or sailboat motif or something on them to make them more "decorative." You can make them of plywood, but since it is sort of "framed" it won't look bad. PM me and I'll see if I can send you pictures of what I have in mind. This way you won't have to lift plywood into place for each storm, but just pull the shutters closed and fasten them. I'm not sure what you would do for small decorative windows that do not open if they are high off the ground or oddly shaped, but a local handyman type should be able to devise something to solve the problem. While these shutters may not be quite as strong as the "approved" systems for protecting a seacoast house, they should be pretty good--and protect against most flying debris, etc. and keep your windows from getting broken, spiders and other critters from coming in, intruders from gaining easy access, etc. For an idea of what these would look like, look at pictures of old houses on the Maine and NH seacoast (1800s) and other old houses. My daughter's house has such shutters--they have been there since early 1800s and still protect the glass. They do cover entire window area, secure in place quickly, etc. They would be more expensive than plywood initially because you'd have to find someone to make them for you--but you could do one or two windows at a time. Once they are made, they are made "forever." My daughter's are almost 200 years old, and except for periodic painting, they are still fine and still work. And these would still be significantly cheaper than the commercial shutter systems. I'd try to find an old, retired carpenter type who knows what you want and would make them for you.
My recommendation for these types of shutters would be that those of us who are older, who can't handle large sheets of plywood, etc. CAN handle shutters of this type. No emergency stuff is any good if you can't USE it! Just as a life jacket won't save you if you aren't wearing it, plywood panels that you can't put in place yourself are no good! It's better to have less than optimum window protection that you CAN and WILL use than it is to have sheets of plywood sitting in the garage because you can't put them in place. And well-made solid panel shutters are better than no protection at all. My daughter's shutters protected successfully against Indians, against storms, etc. and her antique glass in the windows is still intact... So I think you might be okay with similar shutters. While they might not protect against a 2x4 flying at your house at 200 mph (from a laboratory test gun), they would protect from a hurricane-driven pinecone flying at your windows!
One advantage to shutters of this type is that you can quickly open one or more windows when the storm is over for light, etc. without "removing" them in case there are two storms threatening in a row as there were last year. And I tend to think they are "safer" than screwed on plywood because you can open them fairly quickly from inside the house in case you need a fire exit, etc.
By the way, in your emergency hurricane kit, I would keep a few of those 3M plastic "instant" storm windows that go up with double-sided and truly removable sticky tape and about 6-12 feet of fiberglass "fabric" window screen. The 3M storm windows are sold for heat saving and are designed to go on the inside of your house. You put them in place, trim plastic with scissors and you have clear plastic "windows." Better than a hole in the house. The screening is sold in hardware stores (the old neighborhood kind--not the Home Depot kind) by the foot and you cut it with a scissors and can put it up with masking tape, duct tape, a staple gun, etc. and it beats not being able to open a window. You can also hang it over a door for an instant "screen door) If you can handle fabric, you can handle the instant storm windows and the fiberglass screening and while the stuff is not a permanent solution, it will buy you time until the repair people are available.
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HurriCat
Ah, Alicia, you're young!
There are many, many reasons people can't do this themselves... I can't speak for Jes' personal reasons--but I can think of many, many reasons...
It is really irrelevant "why" and a question many would probably feel they did not want to answer! This question is right up there with the woman who asked me in a restaurant why my grandchildren looked like me but not at all like my husband! I think she assumed they were my children and not my grandchildren! While the question has a logical explanation (he is not biologically related to the children), it was a shock to be asked by a stranger!
I have two windows on my house I could not possibly handle by myself because of the height off the ground and the size of the two windows in question.
While I can still (but for how long?) board up windows at ground level, there is no way I can climb an extension ladder with 4 x 8 sheets of plywood! In my case it is "old age" and consequent loss of strength, stamina, sense of balance, etc. What I would not have thought about twice 20 or 30 years ago, I now think about long and hard. There are a lot of things I realize that I can no longer do "by myself" safely that I used to be able to do. I can also see that when I am 75 or 80, I'm probably going to have to hire people to do lots of stuff that I can still do today.
For others it might be simply factors such as physical size (my daughter is only 5' tall and her ability to handle large sheets of plywood is limited), physical condition, strength, etc.
Lots of injuries, disabilities, or problems like arthritis, having had polio as a child with consequent weakness or loss of function, etc. would also limit an individual's ability to put up plywood--even small pieces of precut plywood on relatively small windows.
You also have to be handy with tools, own the tools, have the knowledge and skill, etc. or buying, handling, cutting, drilling, and all the other tasks involved with boarding up are totally daunting. Lots of men and women just do not have the skills to do this properly, safely, etc. So, yeah, the best path may be to pay someone to perform the task.
I suspect, in fact, that a lot of the people who don't prepare may not do so because they simply cannot do so &/or have not figured out the "workarounds" that they need to do so. Also (and this is part of the point I was trying to make in my posting earlier) most of the storm preparation stuff presents preparation as a sort of "all or nothing" proposition. While this is done to protect people from inferior products (I'm sure there are things sold as "protective" that, in fact offer little to no protection whatsoever--there are certainly "snake oil hurricane protection products") or to prevent people from thinking that if they put masking tape on their windows that they are somehow "safe," the result is to make people believe that either they do it 100% or they don't do anything at all. And I suspect that there are some intermediate steps. For example: cutting down any/all trees that threaten your house may not be practical--but trimming dead branches off them may be. Bringing in "everything" in your yard, including the 300 pound concrete planter bench may be impractical, but you can bring in the aluminum chairs, the loose coconuts, the little pots of herbs, etc. If you can't handle your picnic table enough to bring it in, just turning it upside down (legs up) makes it less of a "sail." Evacuation may be the right answer for many--but buttoning up the house as tightly as possible before leaving may still help to have something to return to. Shutters that pull across windows and bolt from inside may not protect against Hurricane Andrew, but they will protect somewhat may be sufficient in less strong winds. And closed and locked shutters will deter looters, etc.
What are the good workarounds/alternatives for people who cannot handle "boarding up" by themselves and who cannot afford the zillion dollars for the motorized metal hurricane shutter thingies? Perhaps local church groups or other groups could organize a "buddy system" for hurricane preparation. If everyone who can put up their own plywood could also put plywood up for just one other person who was unable to do so him/herself, a lot more people would be protected--and if you've already got the tools out, etc. it's not that much in the grand scheme of things--and you could be making someone's life an awful lot better for a few hours of labor.
(edited typo)
There are many, many reasons people can't do this themselves... I can't speak for Jes' personal reasons--but I can think of many, many reasons...
It is really irrelevant "why" and a question many would probably feel they did not want to answer! This question is right up there with the woman who asked me in a restaurant why my grandchildren looked like me but not at all like my husband! I think she assumed they were my children and not my grandchildren! While the question has a logical explanation (he is not biologically related to the children), it was a shock to be asked by a stranger!
I have two windows on my house I could not possibly handle by myself because of the height off the ground and the size of the two windows in question.
While I can still (but for how long?) board up windows at ground level, there is no way I can climb an extension ladder with 4 x 8 sheets of plywood! In my case it is "old age" and consequent loss of strength, stamina, sense of balance, etc. What I would not have thought about twice 20 or 30 years ago, I now think about long and hard. There are a lot of things I realize that I can no longer do "by myself" safely that I used to be able to do. I can also see that when I am 75 or 80, I'm probably going to have to hire people to do lots of stuff that I can still do today.
For others it might be simply factors such as physical size (my daughter is only 5' tall and her ability to handle large sheets of plywood is limited), physical condition, strength, etc.
Lots of injuries, disabilities, or problems like arthritis, having had polio as a child with consequent weakness or loss of function, etc. would also limit an individual's ability to put up plywood--even small pieces of precut plywood on relatively small windows.
You also have to be handy with tools, own the tools, have the knowledge and skill, etc. or buying, handling, cutting, drilling, and all the other tasks involved with boarding up are totally daunting. Lots of men and women just do not have the skills to do this properly, safely, etc. So, yeah, the best path may be to pay someone to perform the task.
I suspect, in fact, that a lot of the people who don't prepare may not do so because they simply cannot do so &/or have not figured out the "workarounds" that they need to do so. Also (and this is part of the point I was trying to make in my posting earlier) most of the storm preparation stuff presents preparation as a sort of "all or nothing" proposition. While this is done to protect people from inferior products (I'm sure there are things sold as "protective" that, in fact offer little to no protection whatsoever--there are certainly "snake oil hurricane protection products") or to prevent people from thinking that if they put masking tape on their windows that they are somehow "safe," the result is to make people believe that either they do it 100% or they don't do anything at all. And I suspect that there are some intermediate steps. For example: cutting down any/all trees that threaten your house may not be practical--but trimming dead branches off them may be. Bringing in "everything" in your yard, including the 300 pound concrete planter bench may be impractical, but you can bring in the aluminum chairs, the loose coconuts, the little pots of herbs, etc. If you can't handle your picnic table enough to bring it in, just turning it upside down (legs up) makes it less of a "sail." Evacuation may be the right answer for many--but buttoning up the house as tightly as possible before leaving may still help to have something to return to. Shutters that pull across windows and bolt from inside may not protect against Hurricane Andrew, but they will protect somewhat may be sufficient in less strong winds. And closed and locked shutters will deter looters, etc.
What are the good workarounds/alternatives for people who cannot handle "boarding up" by themselves and who cannot afford the zillion dollars for the motorized metal hurricane shutter thingies? Perhaps local church groups or other groups could organize a "buddy system" for hurricane preparation. If everyone who can put up their own plywood could also put plywood up for just one other person who was unable to do so him/herself, a lot more people would be protected--and if you've already got the tools out, etc. it's not that much in the grand scheme of things--and you could be making someone's life an awful lot better for a few hours of labor.
(edited typo)
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your last paragraph addresses my question. isnt there a kind-hearted soul out there who would do it for nothing, at most a 6-pack?
i know my 23 year old came over friday morning to help the 17 year old put the wood up on ours. (my husband was travelling back from Tucson...)
and we have helped numerous folks board up in the past and will continue to do so in the future....
i know my 23 year old came over friday morning to help the 17 year old put the wood up on ours. (my husband was travelling back from Tucson...)
and we have helped numerous folks board up in the past and will continue to do so in the future....
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Hi Persepone --- I haven't talked to you since Ivan --- thanks for the information.
Alicia --- the plywood is 3/4 inch large panels --- I can't even lift it. I have to pay to have it taken down also. I have neighbors who have offered to help, but I would rather pay someone to do it. People are worried and very tired from their own home preparations before a major storm and I don't want them worrying about doing the heavy work at my house as well as their own houses.
I did some research today and found a new product that has been tested in Florida and was found to work well. It's a heavy mesh and you can see through it. Two companies make it -- Armor screen and Force 12. There is a 12 week back order wait for Force 12 so if I go that route it won't help until next season.
As far as all the pots in the yard -- I guess I'll just stop so much gardening and go for the clean look in the back yard --- they are just too much trouble to move and many again are way too heavy for me to move.
Alicia --- the plywood is 3/4 inch large panels --- I can't even lift it. I have to pay to have it taken down also. I have neighbors who have offered to help, but I would rather pay someone to do it. People are worried and very tired from their own home preparations before a major storm and I don't want them worrying about doing the heavy work at my house as well as their own houses.
I did some research today and found a new product that has been tested in Florida and was found to work well. It's a heavy mesh and you can see through it. Two companies make it -- Armor screen and Force 12. There is a 12 week back order wait for Force 12 so if I go that route it won't help until next season.
As far as all the pots in the yard -- I guess I'll just stop so much gardening and go for the clean look in the back yard --- they are just too much trouble to move and many again are way too heavy for me to move.
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Hurricaneman
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HurryKane
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alicia-w wrote:your last paragraph addresses my question. isnt there a kind-hearted soul out there who would do it for nothing, at most a 6-pack?
i know my 23 year old came over friday morning to help the 17 year old put the wood up on ours. (my husband was travelling back from Tucson...)
and we have helped numerous folks board up in the past and will continue to do so in the future....
To some people, it's worth the money to have it done for them for whatever reason (the majority of which were addressed by Persepone). We have a small group of able-bodied pals who help to board each other's homes but some people just aren't so lucky. Particularly in a neighborhood like mine where a lot of people are retirees.
Or, some people just don't have the equipment, like ladders that reach three stories high, power tools, etc. Or they have oddly shaped windows that they need special cuts for. Or they don't know how to create a boarding system for their particular home exterior.
My still-unscientific neighborhood survey revealed yesterday that there are even more homes still boarded up than I thought. I'd love to do the shutter method but I have some very wide windows where, were they shuttered, the shutters would hang off the sides of the house when open. Not that attractive
I'm not a fan of the two-shutters-hinged-together look either.
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stormie_skies
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Are there actually people who will board your windows for you? Are they well equipped? Do they exist in the Houston metro?
I was just gonna ask y'all a bunch of questions about window boarding, because I am not quite sure how I would go about it... I live in a two-story townhome that is elevated 2 stories (at least) above ground on stilts (its pretty much built on a floodway). I would gladly board my windows myself to protect my belongings (the building isnt mine, at least not yet), but I haven't the foggiest idea where I would get a ladder that would safely get me up 3 + stories.
I guess I will have to seek out some kind fellow with a really long ladder and no fear of heights...
I was just gonna ask y'all a bunch of questions about window boarding, because I am not quite sure how I would go about it... I live in a two-story townhome that is elevated 2 stories (at least) above ground on stilts (its pretty much built on a floodway). I would gladly board my windows myself to protect my belongings (the building isnt mine, at least not yet), but I haven't the foggiest idea where I would get a ladder that would safely get me up 3 + stories.
I guess I will have to seek out some kind fellow with a really long ladder and no fear of heights...
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HurryKane
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stormie_skies wrote:Are there actually people who will board your windows for you?
Yes. Some of them charge a little. Some charge a lot. There's a dude around here who makes up the boards and puts them up for you. He goes by "Tater." No lie. These are the kinds of folks you find out about via word of mouth.
Are they well equipped?
Varies on the business/person.
Do they exist in the Houston metro?
Not sure, but you could always call around to some hardware stores (not the big box kind like Home Depot/Lowe's, but the local, one-off, locally owned kind) and see if they know of anyone. Or call businesses that install windows and see if they know of anyone. Or ask coworkers/acquaintances if they know of someone.
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Stormy-Skys
I used to live in El Lago as a teenager -- small world. Since there is no panic in Houston yet go ahead and purchase your plywood now, because if emily comes your way its first come first served. All you have to find is one of those handy man types. He'll have to cut the wood to fit the windows so its best to get ready early --- otherwise everyones in a panic and you might not find anyone to help. Also do the research now regarding how you want the wood installed. I didn't do that and my wood was cut wrong ---- I mean I would have loved to use those clip things (can't remember what they are called) Also I don't believe the wood is supposed to be nailed to the window frame which mine is. Since I spent $400.00 for the wood and more money to have it cut I'm going to do with what I have for now. Also, after the storm (or before if you have time) all the wood needs to be painted so it won't warp for next year ---- I never did that either.
I used to live in El Lago as a teenager -- small world. Since there is no panic in Houston yet go ahead and purchase your plywood now, because if emily comes your way its first come first served. All you have to find is one of those handy man types. He'll have to cut the wood to fit the windows so its best to get ready early --- otherwise everyones in a panic and you might not find anyone to help. Also do the research now regarding how you want the wood installed. I didn't do that and my wood was cut wrong ---- I mean I would have loved to use those clip things (can't remember what they are called) Also I don't believe the wood is supposed to be nailed to the window frame which mine is. Since I spent $400.00 for the wood and more money to have it cut I'm going to do with what I have for now. Also, after the storm (or before if you have time) all the wood needs to be painted so it won't warp for next year ---- I never did that either.
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stormie_skies
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Thank you guys for all the help! I think I am going to pick up some plywood this weekend, just in case .... the way this season is going, if its not Emily, it could very well be someone else...two friends of mine do maintenance work on other nearby townhome communities - I am sure they can help me cut the wood, and they might even have a ladder tall enough and the guts to use it.... 
One more question...
I have two skylights on my second floor that I have no idea how to cover - first of all, like I explained before, they are almost four stories up and I haven't a clue how to reach them, but more importantly, it looks like they bubble up on top - they arent in line with the shingles on the roof. Would using plywood on the inside do any good at all? Is there any way to cover these monstrosities, or am I just outta luck? I also have a little window garden thingy that juts out past the brick wall a good foot and a half.... do I board the inside of this, too, or just pray it doesn't fly off?
(damn, this townhome is a hurricane prep nightmare....its a wonder it made it through Alicia...
)
Thanks again...
One more question...
I have two skylights on my second floor that I have no idea how to cover - first of all, like I explained before, they are almost four stories up and I haven't a clue how to reach them, but more importantly, it looks like they bubble up on top - they arent in line with the shingles on the roof. Would using plywood on the inside do any good at all? Is there any way to cover these monstrosities, or am I just outta luck? I also have a little window garden thingy that juts out past the brick wall a good foot and a half.... do I board the inside of this, too, or just pray it doesn't fly off?
(damn, this townhome is a hurricane prep nightmare....its a wonder it made it through Alicia...
)
Thanks again...
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