Wind-Resistant Small Project List

Category -- Less than $300

Gather outdoor furniture, garbage cans, potential debris, etc., and move them inside. Encourage your neighbors to do the same.
Replace gravel/rock landscaping material with shredded bark.
Keep trees and shrubbery trimmed. Cut weak branches and trees that could fall against the house. When trimming, try to create a channel through the foliage to the center of the tree to allow for air flow. Keep climbing roses and vines trimmed back.
Screened porches and other similar areas are usually first to suffer damage, so make sure the porch is properly attached. (The industry has no standards yet for adequate performance of porch screens in hurricane winds.)
Reinforce the double-entry doors with heavy-duty door and head bolts, and use a security dead bolt lock with 1-inch minimum bolt throw length.
Reinforce the double garage door and tracks.
If you find that the roof sheathing is not adequately attached:

Category -- Between $300 and $1,000

Cover all large windows and patio doors with securely fastened storm shutters made from plywood.
Replace double garage door with hurricane-wind load-tested garage door.

Category -- More than $1,000

Install hurricane clips/straps connecting roof rafters/trusses to the side walls.
Install tester/manufactured hurricane shutters.
Check to see if the exterior walls are connected to the foundations properly if you have a wood-frame house. If your house has masonry construction, you will need professional assistance, which will increase the costs considerably.
Replace roof covering. During reroofing:

Strip off the old roof coverings to expose existing sheathing.
Inspect existing sheathing to make sure it is properly attached and refasten as necessary.
Remove bottom row of sheathing to inspect wall-roof framing connection and install hurricane clips/straps as necessary (adds only a slight extra cost to a reroofing project).
Replace the sheathing.
Apply a double layer of felt paper underlayment or a single layer of adhesive-backed rubberized asphalt sheet waterproofing underlayment.
Install roof covering shingles that are rated for hurricane-force winds based on the manufacturer's recommendations. Apply additional adhesives as needed.

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