When it comes to a potentially home-destroying natural disaster like a hurricane, it’s impossible to be over-prepared. Part of your planning should involve knowing when you’ll have to decide to stay or go and what supplies you’ll need. But before you evacuate, there are things you can do to protect your house, including one simple trick that a lot of people don’t know about.
The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) conducted full-scale wind tests on a house and have concluded that you should not only close windows and exterior doors, but that interior doors should be closed, too. If wind gets in through a broken window or open door, it creates strong upward pressure on the roof. If interior doors are closed, the pressure will confined to a “compartment,” reducing the overall pressure on the roof.
According to Julie Rochman, the head of the IBHS: “The roof is your first line of defense against anything Mother Nature inflicts on a home, and during a bad storm your roof endures fierce pressure from wind, rain, and flying debris that may be outside, but the roof also must withstand internal pressure if winds get inside. The pressure in your home can build like air in a balloon, eventually causing the roof to fail and blow apart, which — particularly in a hurricane — allows water to come pouring in.”
Unless your home is a concrete bunker, nothing will protect it from the peak winds of a really strong hurricane. But even if a category 4 or 5 beast is heading your way, it’s still a good idea to make sure all doors and windows are closed. The storm could change course, exposing your home to less powerful winds than originally expected — closing those doors could still make a huge difference!
If you live in a coastal area, are you going to be adding this to your to-do list? Let us know in the comments at Facebook and be sure to like and share!
