Although we can see in New Orleans that absolute protection is just not possible, there are some things we can do to mitigate the damage. You may have looked into protecting your home and thought it would be too hard for you to do, or maybe too expensive, or maybe you think you just don't have the space to store the materials. I have solutions that may help you with these problems.
There are a wide variety of products that we can use to protect ourselves, our homes and possessions. They range from relatively inexpensive to wallet busting. I try to pick the solution that best fits your needs. In my opinion, there is no reason to protect a $200 window with a product that costs $1,000 when a $25 piece of plywood will work nearly as well. That is not to say that the $1,000 product should not be used, but we could tell in the aftermath of Katrina, a house secured with $1,000 window protection products would have been destroyed. My point is, more expensive is not always better.
I have encountered customers who are worried that protecting their homes would be too hard for them to do. In 2004, I was put into a position where I felt I had to protect my home in a very short time. I came up with a solution that was quick and easy to install, and relatively inexpensive. I feel this solution works well for almost every window and can be custom prepared for your home for $100-$200 per window.
Sliding glass doors are also primary concerns for home owners in the path of hurricanes. There are affordable solutions that provide reasonable protection and require minimum physical preparation. This would be ideal for those who were not physically able to install heavy or complicated products or who are not here year round to install on demand.
I hope I can be helpful to you and give you some peace of mind when a storm is approaching.
Thank you,
Todd