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Protecting Your Property from Wind Garage Doors If you aren't sure whether your house is at risk from hurricanes or tornadoes, check with your local building official, city engineer, or planning and zoning administrator. They can tell you whether you are in an area where these high-wind events occur. Also, they usually can tell you how to protect yourself and your house and property. What You Can Do Hurricane and tornado protection can involve a variety of changes to your house and property -- changes that can vary in complexity and cost. You may be able to make some types of changes yourself. But complicated or large-scale changes and those that affect the structure of your house or its electrical wiring and plumbing should be carried out only by a professional contractor licensed to work in your state, county, or city. One example of hurricane and tornado protection is reinforcing garage doors to protect them from damage by high winds, or replacing them with doors that are more wind-resistant. These are things that should be done only by a trained door systems technician. Reinforce or Replace Garage Doors High winds from hurricanes and tornadoes can damage garage doors or even blow them in. If wind enters a garage it can cause dangerous and expensive structural damage. Reinforcing your garage door helps you protect not only your garage but its contents as well. The garage door industry strongly recommends that any determination concerning the need to reinforce or replace a garage door be based on an inspection by a trained door systems technician or a qualified professional engineer. Adding weight to a garage door in the form of reinforcement may require an adjustment to or replacement of the door's counterbalance system. Only a trained door systems technician should perform the adjustments or replacement. An inspection may find that other improvements should be made to an existing door, and if the door is old or damaged, replacement with a stronger door system may be recommended. Tips
Read your homeowners insurance policy carefully and be sure to have coverage for this hazard, especially if you live in an area prone to wind damage. If you hire a contractor to reinforce an existing two-car garage door, you can expect to pay about $600. However, this cost can vary depending on the size and type of door. Brace Gable End Roof Framing If you aren't sure whether your house is at risk from hurricanes or tornadoes, check with your local building official, city engineer, or planning and zoning administrator. They can tell you whether you are in an area where these high-wind events occur. Also, they usually can tell you how to protect yourself and your house and property from the effects of high winds. What You Can Do Hurricane and tornado protection can involve a variety of changes to your house and property -- changes that can vary in complexity and cost. You may be able to make some types of changes yourself. But complicated or large-scale changes and those that affect the structure of your house or its electrical wiring and plumbing should be carried out only by a professional contractor licensed to work in your state, county, or city. One example of hurricane and tornado protection is adding bracing to gable end roof framing. This is something that only a licensed contractor should do. Brace Gable End Roof Framing Gable end roofs are more susceptible to damage by high winds than hip roofs or flat roofs. The gable end presents a large obstacle to the wind and receives its full force. If the framing of the gable end and the rest of the roof is not adequately braced to resist the wind, the roof can fail. Roof failures, especially in unbraced gable roofs, are a common cause of major damage to houses and their contents in high winds. If your house has a gable roof, you should check to see whether the roof framing is braced. The figure shows a cutaway view of an unbraced gable end roof. This is a truss roof, but some gable end roofs are constructed with rafters rather than trusses. Both types should be braced. If you are unsure whether your gable end roof is adequately braced, check with your local building department. After inspecting your roof framing, a building official can tell you whether bracing is required and if so, how it should be added. Tips If you have a building official inspect your roof framing, ask about other changes you may be able to make to your house to protect it from high winds. Estimated Cost If you hire a contractor to brace a gable end roof, you can expect to pay about $75 for each gable end. This figure is for a gable end about 30 feet long. Bracing longer gable ends may be slightly more expensive. Trees and Potential Windborne Missiles Are You At Risk? If you aren't sure whether your house is at risk from hurricanes or tornadoes, check with your local building official, city engineer, or planning and zoning administrator. They can tell you whether you are in an area where these high-wind events occur. Also, they usually can tell you how to protect yourself and your house and property from the effects of high winds. What You Can Do Hurricane and tornado protection can involve a variety of changes to your house and property -- changes that can vary in complexity and cost. You may be able to make some types of changes yourself. But complicated or large-scale changes and those that affect the structure of your house or its electrical wiring and plumbing should be carried out only by a professional contractor licensed to work in your state, county, or city. One example of hurricane and tornado protection is clearing the area around your house to remove trees and materials that can be hazardous during high winds. Removing debris and small trees are things that many homeowners can probably do on their own. Remove Trees and Potential Windborne Missiles If the area immediately surrounding your house contains trees, outbuildings, trash cans, yard debris, or other materials that can be moved by the wind, your house will be more likely to be damaged during a hurricane or tornado. The wind can topple trees onto your house and can pick up smaller objects and drive them through windows and glass doors. You should ensure that all trees are far enough away from your house that they can't fall on it. So the distance between your house and any nearby tree should always be greater than the height the tree will reach when it is fully grown. All storage sheds and other outbuildings should be securely anchored, either to a permanent foundation or with straps and ground anchors. Smaller objects, such as trash cans, barbecue grills, and outdoor furniture should also be anchored or, if you have adequate warning, moved indoors. You should also clear away any debris, such as fallen tree branches. Tips
If you hire a contractor to remove a large tree, you can expect to pay about $300 to $500. Having a contractor anchor storage shed with straps and ground anchors will cost about $100 to $200. To obtain copies of these and other FEMA documents at http://www.fema.gov.
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