Be sure to store it in a dry area, such as the rafters of a garage. Paint or varnish can also give plywood a longer life.
By JUDY STARK
Published September 17, 2004
Just as there are proper ways to install plywood over your windows as a hurricane is approaching, there are steps you should follow to take it down correctly.
Remove the fasteners and patch the holes with stucco, grout patching or wood putty, depending on the exterior of your home, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes in Tallahassee recommends. Then touch up the paint.
Some people install their plywood on masonry homes with a permanent anchor, epoxying a sleeve in place and then attaching the plywood with a permanent bolt or screw. If that's what you did, just leave it in place, the Institute for Business and Home Safety in Tampa says. (Your fasteners should be rated for 490 pounds pullout strength. The label will tell you this.)
If you used masonry screws (one popular brand is Tapcons), you can back them out, remove the plywood and reinstall the screws. If you don't like the blue color of Tapcons, you can paint them to match your house.
If you're contemplating leaving it up for the rest of this active hurricane season, consider this from Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Bill Wade:
"Fire Rescue looks at these boards (of plywood) like burglar bars," Wade said Thursday. "Windows are designed so that someone can get through them in an emergency. If the boards are up, you can't get out. And we can't get in there to help you."
Wade said he understands residents are weary from the barrage of hurricane threats, but said it's not a good idea "to just leave the plywood up until November," when hurricane season ends. "It would be a wise thing to at least take off one or two of the boards so that if a fire starts at 2 a.m., you have an escape route," he said.
Other concerns: a boarded-up home can give the indication no one is living there, perhaps attracting burglars. Plywood can also attract termites, said Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president of FLASH, an alliance of the insurance industry, business and nonprofit groups.
If you want to save your plywood in case it's needed again, you should keep it in a dry area. Lots of people put it up in the rafters of their garage so it won't absorb dampness standing on the floor. Some people also paint or varnish their plywood to give it a longer life. If it gets really soaked, plywood will eventually delaminate.
As for the next time a storm threatens, we should probably back up and explain the correct way to attach plywood. Clip and save this for next time.
First, the Florida Building Code recommends at a minimum 7/16-inch-thick, exterior-grade plywood.
If your home is masonry, "we recommend you use at least 21/2-inch masonry screws," said Chapman-Henderson. "We do not recommend masonry nails."
Some of those masonry screws come with sleeves; some don't. Use them if you've got them. FLASH also recommends using washers with the screws.
If your home is wood, FLASH recomments using 10-penny common nails, 12-penny box nails, or 21/2-inch wood screws.
Wendy Fontaine, a spokeswoman for the IBHS, says you can leave wood screws in place in a wood home. If you used nails or you don't want to leave screws in place, a two-part epoxy-like putty filler is available in the paint sections of home improvement and hardware stores. Knead the two parts together and plug the holes. The plug will harden, and next time around you can redrill your hole there.
How many fasteners do you need?
FLASH says: "If the shortest dimension of the window or door is 4 feet or less, space fasteners at 6 inches on center. If the shortest dimension of the window or door is more than 4 feet and less than or equal to 6 feet, space fasteners at 4 inches on center. Plywood should not be used where the shortest dimension of the window or door exceeds 8 feet."
Times staff writer Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler contributed to this report.
