Here’s a statement that nobody in 2025 still needs to be told: hurricanes are dangerous and destructive! After weathering Helene and Milton last year, there’s absolutely no way anyone could deny the power and peril these storms represent.
With that in mind, here’s a statement that a shocking number of people in 2025 still need to be told: you should fortify your home against hurricanes!
The clock has started on getting prepped for the next hurricane season. We’ve got some thoughts on how our MagnaTrack® Defender series motorized screens can help with that, but we think you should listen to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) first.
Bracing for Wind and Water – FEMA Recommendations
The two biggest enemies to your home during a hurricane are damaging high winds and floodwaters. Increasing your home’s resilience against hurricanes will be an expense, but since you are in prep season, you’ll be able to space out these ideas to make a more economical use of your money and time. And the best thing you can do to fortify your home is make a phone call. But we’ll get to that later.
These are the tips recommended by FEMA.
- Replace gravel or rock landscaping materials with a fire-resistant material. Choosing materials that are lighter means less shrapnel and damaging debris to cause harm when the winds get serious.
- Trim weak branches, remove ailing trees, and keep the shrubbery trimmed. This reduces the damage trees and limbs can cause to your windows and roof. Trimmed shrubs will cause less damage to your paint, brick, or siding when they whip around in the winds.
- Install storm shutters. This will protect your windows from breaking, but in a pinch you can also affix plywood panels to your windows. This doesn’t protect your outdoor areas, like the patio or pergola, but don’t worry, we’re saving that until the end.
- Hurricane-proof your exterior doors. You want to ensure there’s at least an inch-long deadbolt lock and at least three hinges securing the door in place.
- Replace your sliding glass doors with tempered glass. But you should also cover them with shutters or plywood. Or, better yet, if they lead to an outdoor recreation space in your backyard, protect them with MagnaTrack.
- Check your garage door to ensure it’s approved for wind pressure and impact protection. If your garage door isn’t storm-ready, replace it. If your garage door was torn away, the amount of wind allowed into your home would cause additional destruction and put your roof in further danger.
- Seal breaches in your home’s exterior. We’re not talking about holes or cracks. You should be doing basic upkeep, so those should be taken care of. But vents, electrical outlets, hose bibs, or entrances for pipes and cables must be caulked with high-quality, urethane-based caulk to guard against water seeping in.
Bracing for Wind and Water – Additional Recommendations
We can’t argue with any of the FEMA recommendations, but we have a few other ideas about making your home more storm-resilient.
- Inspect your roof and make any necessary repairs. Get loose or damaged shingles nailed down or replaced and make sure a professional reinforces any vulnerable areas to avoid leaks and the structural damage leaks can cause.
- Clean your gutters. Water will have a hard enough time flowing in a flood situation, so make sure your gutters are unclogged to keep water moving and to protect your home from leaks that can undermine its structure.
- Check your yard’s drainage. Look for low areas of your yard because they’re prone to flooding. You may need to use grading, install a French drain, or add landscaping features that will help stop water pooling in your hard and intruding into your home.
- Remember to turn off your irrigation. Inspect and repair any damage you find to your irrigation lines so you’re not adding to the problem without realizing it. And, of course, if you know rainfall is going to be intense, just shut the system off.
- Store emergency supplies and add backup power to your home. Add a generator for when there’s a power outage and make sure your home is filled with non-perishable food, water, flashlights, batteries, and first aid kits.
- Secure outdoor furniture, tools, and loose items. Patio furniture, grills, decorative items, garden tools, lawnmowers, and more need to be locked down or stored to keep the wind from turning them into projectiles during a storm.
MagnaTrack™ Screens: Our Ultimate Recommendation for Storm Protection
When it comes to your patio, pergola, or any outdoor space, you want premium hurricane protection, the absolute best on the market. That’s where our MagnaTrack® Defender series motorized screens come in. Their patented design makes them smooth and easy to use during normal weather and reduces the need for 98% of service calls. Also, we have screens that can block glare, heat, UV rays, and even insects. But the Defender series has also been engineered to meet the specifications of the Miami-Dade building codes, the toughest hurricane-related building codes in the world. They include peerless impact absorbing materials that will protect you from CAT-5 hurricane winds.
Not only will it protect the investment you’ve made into your outdoor space, but they can also protect your home. If they’re absorbing the impact of wind and rain, it means that part of your house isn’t. You’ve created more stormproof area to store your outdoor furniture and items. You’ve likely covered some of your windows and at least one large glass door by screening your patio. The Defender series is truly the best protection you can buy for your outdoor areas.
And when it isn’t hurricane season, you can still use your MagnaTrack system to make it more pleasant outside and to help you enjoy your patio for more days and nights throughout the year.
Protect yourself from insects, UV, heat, glare, and even storms, all while enjoying the quality, durability, and reliability you expect from MagnaTrack.
Shields Up! (But Hurry!)
You’re not the only one thinking about how to fortify your home against hurricanes and there’s not an endless number of days before 2025’s hurricane season begins. Our professional installation teams work hard and fast, but our calendar is already filling up. Please contact Shutter and Shade Source today for a free estimate. Time is running out.
Bradenton, FL 34205
United States (US)
Phone: (800) 483-5404
Email: [email protected]
URL: www.shutterandshadesource.com
