In our last article on installing plywood Hurricane shutters we highlighted the APA guide and that we liked the fact that it mentions how to install plywood shutters over multiple kinds of housing materials such as stucco, wood, concrete, or something else. The material of your home of business structure that surrounds your window and door openings will dictate what kinds of fastening devices 
you’ll use to install your plywood Hurricane Shutters. As I mentioned in my article I liked the APA guide but also found it a bit complex as a layperson.
This may seem like a ho-hum subject but we can assure you that when it comes to protecting your home from Hurricane force winds that it isn’t. Most every article you’ll read on installing plywood Hurricane shutters will make the point that your protection is only as good as the weakest link in your installation. Is the wood around your windows rotten? You can sink the perfect fastener into that wood but the chances of it holding are going to be compromised by the rotten wood. In fact, it’s common for improperly installed plywood to become a dreaded large missile as a Hurricane’s big winds tear the plywood from homes and send them hurtling through your neighborhood. The problem could easily be the kind of fasteners you use since there are such a dizzying array of choices. Don’t let this be you.
I came across an article published by the St. Petersburg Times titled Get the proper hardware for plywood protection. The article is easy to read and is packed with useful information on different types of screws, bolts, anchors and nails. A few minutes spent reading the article should help make that trip to Home Depot a lot less confusing and your plywood Hurricane shutters a lot more attached to your home. Don’t forget to use the right number of fasteners as well. In an article published by Hurricane Protection Magazine they wrote:
“After the storm, several members of the IHPA looked at plywood applications that both stayed in place and some that had failed and found that nearly all plywood installations were attached with the incorrect number of fasteners. In addition to the inadequate fasteners the thickness of the plywood was insufficient to stop a large wind-borne missile.”
Here’s a great page showing what a lot of the fasteners actually look like.
4 comments ↓
[…] Batten down the hatches! But what with Captain?Need help in installing plywood hurricane shutters? Here’s just the ticket. […]
I am considering making plywood shutters for my home. I would expect to install them with the four inch overlap on each window. My question concerns the hardware for attachment. I remember seeing a television documentary a few years back that gave suggestions for helping to hurican-proof your home. With respect to wood panel shutters, the hardware suggested was some type of permenant threaded female screw that was installed around each window. These hollow threaded screws were then capped with removable caps. When a storm was approaching you would remove the caps, put up your precut plywood, and insert bolts through the predrilled holes in the plywood, which bolts would screw into the threads of the permanently installed hardware first mentioned. After the storm, the bolts and plywood could be removed, and then the caps placed in the hardware around each window. I would like to know what this hardware is called and where I can get them. Thanks for your consideration. I hope you understand my explanation. Also, if you could direct me to that documentary, I would like to review the other hurricane precautions it had suggested.
Hi D.,
I don’t have the name of the specific attachment method you have in mind but there are very similar types that are popular with steel shutters. This is good because they’re readily available at Home Depot, Lowe’s and other local hardware stores. This popular method that I see used repeatedly on steel shutters inserts a permanent threaded female anchor in your house exterior. You then screw a threaded, male bolt into the female anchor. These bolts are just left in the wall anchors until they’re needed, at which point you unscrew them, put up the shutters (be they plywood or steel) and screw the bolts back in. They’re tougher to mount your plywood on than other permanent mounting methods like like the TapconSG, which leaves a male bolt protruding from your house. The TapcanSG hardware (or alternatives) makes it easier to hang the plywood than what you described since the plywood can rest on the protruding bolts while you get the nuts put on. On the down side they stick out when not in use which means at some point someone may inadvertently snag their clothing (or worse, an arm or other appendage) on the protruding bolt as they walk by. If you haven’t already done so, make sure to click on the link in our story that goes here: http://www.interstate-screw.com/p4.html . You can see some of the hardware that we’re discussing on this page. I have not seen the documentary you mentioned so I can’t help you there. Hope this helps and good luck. Stop back by and let us know which method you decide on.
Hi
I am the webmaster at Interstate Screw (thanks for the link). I’d like to also mention that we have on the left menu bar several other useful Hurricane related pages and you should check them out as well. Of course we sell all the various hardware too (insert shameless plug here).
Thanks!
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