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How to Fortify Your Windows, Entry Doors and Garage Doors
When wind pressure enters a home through windows and doors, pressure builds up inside the home, like blowing up a balloon. Combined with external pressure outside the home, internal wind pressure can increase the risk of your roof coming apart from the walls and forces trying to push out the walls.
To qualify for silver and gold designations, you’ll need to retrofit or install windows, doors and garage doors that meet IBHS standards. That’s because most windows, entry doors and garage doors have gaps that allow for hurricane-induced external pressures to build up, according to the IBHS. Even windows protected by shutters can fail due to wind pressure.
You can take steps to prevent the pressurization of your house and meet a “design pressure rating” for your windows, entry doors and garage doors. A design pressure rating is a rating assigned to a window or door based on testing and safety standards.
To qualify for a silver designation, it’s sufficient to protect your windows and doors to prevent pressurization. The windows must be able to resist or be protected from windborne debris. The level of debris-impact protection could vary depending on the area you live in.
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First Published: Mar 5, 2020, 4:33am