Shutters, Plywood, or Impact Glass: Protecting Windows From Hurricane Debris

A hurricane rarely destroys a house by pushing the walls down. It destroys the house by breaking an opening. Once wind enters through a broken window or a failed garage door, internal pressure rises sharply and pushes outward against the roof and walls at the same moment the wind outside is pulling them. That combination is what removes roofs. Protecting openings is the single highest-value structural investment a coastal homeowner can make.

The options, compared

Impact-resistant windows

Laminated glass with an interlayer bonded between two panes. Debris cracks the glass but the interlayer holds the fragments in place, keeping the building envelope sealed.

• Cost: highest — typically several hundred to over a thousand dollars per window installed.
• Effort at storm time: none. This is their real advantage.
• Other benefits: daily noise reduction, UV blocking, improved security, and in many states a meaningful windstorm insurance discount that recovers part of the cost over time.
• Watch for: product approval numbers. Look for Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, which certify large- and small-missile impact testing.

Accordion and roll-down shutters

Permanently mounted aluminum systems that close over the opening.

• Cost: moderate to high, roughly $20-$50 per square foot installed for accordions and more for motorized roll-downs.
• Effort at storm time: minutes. One person can close a whole house.
• Best for: people who cannot physically handle panels, second homes, and anyone who has ever installed plywood in 40 mph wind.
• Watch for: motorized units need a manual override for use during a power outage. Lubricate tracks annually or they seize.

Corrugated metal or polycarbonate panels

Removable panels that bolt into permanently installed tracks or wing-nut studs around each opening.

• Cost: the best protection per dollar, generally $7-$15 per square foot.
• Effort at storm time: significant. Expect a full day for a whole house, and the panels are heavy, sharp-edged, and awkward on a ladder. Polycarbonate is lighter and lets light through, at a higher price.
• Practical requirement: label every panel to the window it fits and store them where you can reach them without moving the whole garage.

Plywood

The budget option, and an acceptable one when done correctly.

• Specification: 5/8 inch minimum exterior-grade plywood, cut to overlap the opening by at least four inches on each side.
• Fastening: this is where most people fail. Nails into siding are worthless. Use 2.5 inch or longer wood screws into the frame at 12-18 inch spacing, or install permanent anchors in masonry. Cut, drill, label, and pre-fit the panels before hurricane season, not the day before landfall when the lumber yard is empty.
• Limitations: heavy, degrades in storage, and provides less impact resistance than rated systems.

Fabric storm panels

Engineered geotextile screens that attach with grommets and anchors.

• Cost: mid-range.
• Advantages: light, roll up into a small storage bag, one person can install them, and they let daylight through.
• Watch for: only buy tested and approved products. Untested fabric is decoration.

What does not work

Taping windows. Tape does not strengthen glass and does not stop a breach. It changes small glass fragments into large dangerous ones. This myth persists across every hurricane season; ignore it.

Cracking a window "to equalize pressure." This actively causes the internal pressurization you are trying to prevent. Keep everything sealed.

Standard security film. Films sold for burglary resistance are not rated for windborne debris. Only impact-rated film systems installed with a structural attachment to the frame provide meaningful protection, and they cost close to real shutters.

Do not forget the garage door

The garage door is the largest opening in most houses and the most common catastrophic failure point. A double-wide door that buckles admits an enormous volume of air at once. Options are a wind-rated replacement door or a bracing kit that installs vertical posts into floor and header brackets before a storm. Retrofit bracing kits are inexpensive relative to what a lost roof costs.

Entry doors and skylights

Double entry doors need heavy-duty deadbolts and slide bolts into the header and threshold. Skylights should be protected with rated covers. Attic vents and soffits allow wind-driven rain into the roof space; soffit failure is one of the most common sources of interior water damage in moderate storms.

Priority order on a limited budget

1. Brace or replace the garage door
2. Protect the large glass on the side of the house facing prevailing storm winds
3. Protect remaining ground-floor openings
4. Protect upper-floor openings
5. Reinforce entry doors

Check whether your state has a mitigation grant program — several coastal states fund a substantial share of opening protection and roof strengthening for qualifying homeowners, and insurers frequently discount premiums for documented, approved installations.

Want a full picture of your home's vulnerabilities? Take the readiness assessment.