Understanding Why You Should Close Your Doors During a Hurricane
During hurricane season, many Florida homeowners get to work preparing their homes for the incoming storms in as many ways as possible. Boarded-up windows and storm shutters are just a few of the many methods you might try to fortify your home. But one thing you should never forget to protect is your doors.
The doors of your home are extremely vulnerable to damage during hurricanes, especially if you don’t have a second layer door or storm door installed. It’s extremely important to keep all doors closed and sealed up tight to prevent the storm from getting in.
The importance of strong external doors
Your external doors are some of the most important things protecting your home from the storm that’s raging outside. Doors should never be opened during a hurricane, even if you have a storm door closed and an internal door open.
Closing doors means protecting your home against water, which can cause flooding. It also protects against very strong winds, which can wreak havoc within your home. Winds that are able to get into the home have the potential to cause structural damage, causing walls to collapse or even blowing out the roof as the wind looks for a place to exit.
Finally, external doors protect you from flying debris. Any number of objects on the street or from your yard can go flying in the intense winds of a hurricane, and opening your doors might lead to a severe injury if you get hit with debris.
If you don’t already have them, you should consider installing high impact resistant doors in Miami, FL. These doors are unlike traditional doors in that they resist cracking or shattering when hit by flying debris, making your home a safer place to be during a hurricane.
Don’t forget the interior doors
While exterior doors are crucial to shut because they protect your home from the outside elements, interior doors are very important to shut, as well—and the reason may surprise you.
Recent studies by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) have shown that closing the interior doors of your home during a hurricane can help protect your home from major damage, including roof blowouts.
If wind were to enter your home at any point, such as through an open window, a window that was shattered during the storm or even small leaks or holes allowing airflow, the pressure inside your home can increase the roof as the wind looks for an exit. This pressure is what causes roofs to blow out.
By closing interior doors, you help seal off the path wind has through your home, compartmentalizing the pressure and minimizing the force it has on your roof.
Protect your home inside and out
If your home needs additional hurricane protection, contact Greystoke Hurricane Protection LLC. Our team sells and installs a variety of hurricane protection products, from accordion shutters to hurricane proof windows to high impact resistant doors in Miami, FL. We have what it takes to keep your home safe from storms while still looking stylish. Call us today!
Categorised in: High Impact Resistant Doors