Hurricane preparedness for those living inland/not in flood zones

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by lovesdogz10103

Before even buying a house in Fishhawk I knew I'd be getting a generator of some variety although I'm still weighing the pros and cons of whole home vs portable.

The windows are what I'm torn over. Is it safe to say that *most* people that live inland are still using some sort of protection over their windows or have impact glass? I'm trying to decide how much of a concern this is going to be.

I would say that most are using some sort of protection. I can tell you that my neighbor recently installed hurricane rated windows in a single story, 2500 sf home, and it cost him north of $25,000 using New South, I believe.

That would buy a lot of plywood or clear poly panels....

RM

[kbrkr]

Originally Posted by lovesdogz10103

Before even buying a house in Fishhawk I knew I'd be getting a generator of some variety although I'm still weighing the pros and cons of whole home vs portable.

The windows are what I'm torn over. Is it safe to say that *most* people that live inland are still using some sort of protection over their windows or have impact glass? I'm trying to decide how much of a concern this is going to be.

Don't listen to the naysayers. You are absolutely taking the correct approach to your residency in Florida. I experienced Hurricane Andrew in Miami and most recently Irma and Michael. You cannot be too prepared. Don't forget about your garage doors; they should be hurricane rated. Also your front door needs proper anchoring. Kiss your pool cage goodbye and ensure your Lanai is protected with sandbags if you have a pool as we will probably get 12-20 inches of rain. I would also consider flood insurance even if your in a "X" rated flood plain. Instead of getting new windows as others have recommended, invest in some shutters and you will have them for years and years just in case. Of of this is Insurance that we / you won't get hit and like all insurance its great when you have it and absolutely sucks if you don't!!!!

[marc3565]

For the main window in our condo we are lucky that it is a bit recessed.

I custom cut a 5/8 pressure treated plywood sheet that fits in that recess.
I drilled 4 small holes into the brick.
There are 4 gate latch type bolts mounted to the wood that slide into those holes.
We have bushes that allow me to keep the panel directly below the window for storage.
If a big storm comes i can pop it in and nothing is getting through that window

Was pretty cheap to do. You can have the sheet cut to size if you buy it at lowes or home depot if you want.

[Ft Laud Guy]

Originally Posted by lovesdogz10103

I've lived in the northern part of the country my entire life and have recently made the plunge and purchased a home in the Fishhawk area. I've been doing some reading about hurricane impact windows and shutters but a lot of what I've been reading has been pertinent to the more coastal areas. Our house was built in 2006, and has double paned glass, but does not indicate anywhere that it is impact resistant.

I've never been in a hurricane or any extreme weather event and I admit it makes me nervous, and I'd like to feel as safe and prepared as possible. Is it worth the cost/trouble of replacing windows and doors with impact resistant ones, or getting hurricane shutters? Or is it generally not something that I should be that worried about, living as far inland as I will be?

On the map, the Fishhawk area is about 10 miles from the bay. If another Hurricane Charley-like storm comes up from the southwest over the warm waters of the bay like the eye of Charley did in 2004 over Charlotte Harbor to our south (which caused the small hurricane to continue to intensify), you could have a major problem on your hands with a borderline category 5 hurricane on your doorstep and it's not going to lose much punch in 10 miles.

This is 10 miles inland after a category 5 (albeit even more powerful than Charley was, but Charley may have gotten there if it had a few more hours over open water): https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/...441464193.html

You can never have too much protection from these storms.

[ycastane]

I cant speak for Fishhawk or anywhere in Tampa since I am currently in Miami and hopefully will be in your neck of the woods summer next year. I can tell you my experience from living in Miami for 21 years is that a whole house generator is a must if funds are available and like Morton said, you will be glad to have one once the power has been gone for a day or more.

As far as the windows go I support you in wanting to be safe but I would just get shutters, the accordion ones instead of the roll down, fairly decent price and most likely are able to install yourself. Always remember when it comes to hurricanes and windows, the only time you are in risk or unsafe is flying debris, you can do a cat 3 or 4 maybe even higher and not have a window brake including your sliding doors. All depends on wind speeds, gusts and direction is hitting you and for how long. Now if your windows were never installed correctly the air will blow them away from the frame and the same goes for an impact window if hit with a high velocity flying projectile.

Shutters if hit are a lot cheaper to replace then windows are. Just my .02 cents.

Again spending money on your safety and peace of mind is something we should all do, i can say that in the past few months ive looked at over 200 homes online and none have stated either hurricane windows nor shutters which until this post made me assume Tampa and Orlando doesn't get hit as bad as we do down here.