How To Cover Windows Before Hurricane

Hurricane film is an affordable transparent plastic that you can leave in place year round.

How to cover windows before hurricane.

Use clean hands to smooth your piece of hurricane film slowly over your window glass taking care to leave the 1 16 inch 0 16 cm margin around the edges. Consider plywood panels that will cover the window up to four inches in order to protect the glass. Make a mark on the home exterior through each of the holes you drilled to show the locations for the lag screws. Have a helper hold the plywood in place at the window to be covered.

Make sure the panels are roughly 15 inches apart from each other. The trim won t be stable enough to withstand storms. Remember that if you choose this option to protect your windows your home will be extremely dark when the power is out following a hurricane. Peel the film off its backing and stick it slowly to your windowpanes.

Use thicker 3 8 inch lag screws 3 inches long around large windows. Smooth out any wrinkles as you work with an edging tool to prevent air bubbles. Windows measuring 3 feet x 4 feet and smaller will use 1 4 inch lag screws 2 1 2 inches long. First place your plywood piece inside of your window frame.

Brace the panels together using 2 x 4s. Windows with vinyl siding for homes with vinyl siding make sure to measure the space you need to cover. Find a stud in the siding and drill holes into the siding not the wood or metal trim of the window. Make sure the boards overlap the windows by about 4 inches on all sides.

Apply your hurricane film. Make sure to drill holes into the studs of your home. Using 4 inch barrel bolts secure your panels to the frame. You ll want the plywood panels to overlap the window four inches to ensure your windows won t get blown out.

If covering particularly large windows create boards to line up across the window. Measure the perimeter of your windowpanes and buy enough film to cover each windowpane entirely. To secure this type of window you will need your tape measure to measure and record the area of a window that is required to cover. Cut your boards to size.