To Board or Not to Board..

[phdphay]

Thank you! I'll pick one up the next time I visit.

Still thinking about what would be easier than plywood...

OK, if heavy duty plastic wrap is not sufficient, what about the rubber type of stuff they put down on play grounds to cushion kids' falls or the rubber stuff they put under basketball courts? Maybe so that the flying 2 x 4' s bounce off the stuff instead of penetrating? Seems like whoever figures it out could make a mint!

P.S. I did not mean literal Saran wrap but some kind of heavy duty stuff they use to shrink wrap pallets of stuff that gets shipped...but sounds like that would not be resistant enough.

Yes, I know what you mean. The stuff that they wrapped the condos above Beach Java in for both Ivan and Dennis. What the heck is that?

And Camp Creek Kid, we're about to come to the same conclusion as you. It will take an architect to do some redesign, and it will cost a boatload of money, but it'll probably add ten years to our lives to not have to worry about boarding up.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I think hurricane shutters will be a big seller down here. If anyone needs and idea for a business . . . There are just a few companies that do them, they are really backed up, and shutters are expensive. However, after going through this for the second time in 10 months, I think shutters are the way to go. The expense is well worth avoiding the stress and physical exhaustion of boarding up with plywood.

Kid, I think you are dead on regarding the shutters. After enough storms, people will soon remember that convenience is often more important than asthetics. Who cares if Hurr. Shutters are ugly, it is a beach house.

The rubber windows has great potential, Dusty. Get on it.

 

[dusty]

Just to be clear, Smiling Joe, it's rubber window covers, not rubber windows.

On the heavy duty plastic wrap idea: maybe you wouldn't wrap the whole house, but just around the midsection where the windows are... maybe that would avoid the toxicity thing. You aren't trying to keep air out, just trying to protect the glass. Now all we need is a wind tunnel to test it out!

Please be safe. 125mph is giving me the heebie jeebies!

 

[Everytime]

Grand Isle condos (above Beach Java & Cowgirl Kitchen) have hurricane screen curtains that hang from ceiling hooks and are secured with floor hooks. They withstand 135-150 mph winds. I am not sure if they withstand water (such as that from a storm surge) but they are probably a safe bet for buildings off the beach. They can be stored much like you would store a large blanket.

The stuff that they wrapped the condos above Beach Java in for both Ivan and Dennis. What the heck is that?

 

[phdphay]

Grand Isle condos (above Beach Java & Cowgirl Kitchen) have hurricane screen curtains that hang from ceiling hooks and are secured with floor hooks. They withstand 135-150 mph winds. I am not sure if they withstand water (such as that from a storm surge) but they are probably a safe bet for buildings off the beach. They can be stored much like you would store a large blanket.

Thanks for the info. Nothing can withstand water, I assume. But if these screens are placed right in front of a window (as opposed to several feet from a window, like on a balconies at Grand Isle), my guess is they wouldn't help much due to there being no buffer between the screen and the window. Is that correct?

 

[Everytime]

The ones at Grand Isle hang on the outer perimeter of the balconies. You can actually go sit on the balcony when the hurricane curtains are up, since they are not directly in front of the windows, but out a few feet. If you don't have a covered porch/balcony, they would likely be of new use.

 

[southof30A]

Here's a good one... Apparently our "management company" closed our oceanfront hurricane shutters, but left the furniture on the patio and better yet did not close the shutters on any of the east side windows.

 

[phdphay]

Here's a good one... Apparently our "management company" closed our oceanfront hurricane shutters, but left the furniture on the patio and better yet did not close the shutters on any of the east side windows.

Somehow that doesn't surprise me. I'd be really ticked off at them! And thanks, Everytime, for the info about the screens.

 

[JustBeachy]

Sorry if this is a stupid question...but has anyone tried wrapping their house in plastic? Or at least just around the windows? I could envision a huge roll of Saran wrap...and winding it around and around the house, covering up the windows. Maybe I have been hanging out in Costco too long, seeing all the shrink wrapped pallets.

Bubble wrap!!!

 

[dusty]

One of the news stations interviewed a woman riding out the storm beachfront in Destin in a building with kevlar screens. Said they withstood winds up to 150 mph...and the bottom of the building had a garage made of concrete with breakaway windows so the storm surge can flow right through.