Why Prepare Your Doors for a Hurricane Matters More Than People Think
Wind doesn’t just push on a house. When it gets inside it builds and pushes out on the roof and walls from inside. That's why one bad opening can turn into much worse damage.
The windows have shutters. Usually the doors are left with whatever hardware the builder installed, which is usually a deadbolt held by half-inch screws biting into thin trim.
That is the weak point. Not the lock itself, the screws.
The Cheapest Fix on the List
Swapping the short screws in your strike plate for three-inch screws that reach the framing behind the door jamb costs very little and takes minutes per door.
Short screws hold the strike plate to a piece of trim. Long screws anchor it into the structural stud. Under wind pressure, and for that matter under a shoulder, that is the entire difference.
If you do one thing on this list, do that. We carry the screws and can handle it while we are there for anything else.
Check Every Exterior Door Now
Walk the house and try each one. You are looking for a few things.
- Does the deadbolt throw fully? If it needs a shove or catches partway, the bolt is not seating properly in the strike.
- Does the door need force to latch? That usually means the frame has shifted or the door has swollen, and it will be worse after a wet season.
- Is there daylight around the frame? Gaps mean water gets in, and it also means the door is not sitting square.
- Is the hardware corroded? Salt air near the coast eats cylinders faster than most people expect.
Anything on that list is worth handling before a storm is named, not after.
Sliding Doors Need Their Own Attention
The factory latch on a slider stops the panel drifting open. That is all it does.
A slider can be lifted off its track, and under storm conditions a panel that is not properly secured can flex and separate. A pin lock through the frame and an anti lift kit in the upper track solve both problems and cost far less than most people assume.
Also clear the track. Sand and salt build up until the door will not close fully, and a door that does not close fully is not locked and not sealed.
The Garage Entry Door
The door between your garage and your house is often the weakest lock on the property, and it is protecting the same house as your front door.
Builders treat it as an interior door and fit interior hardware. If the overhead door fails during a storm, that entry becomes an exterior door in every sense except the lock on it.
A proper deadbolt there is a small job and it is one of the more sensible things you can do before a storm.
Spare House Keys for Storm Season
This is the part people forget entirely.
Keep a spare set off the property. With a family member, at work, wherever. If an evacuation happens quickly and your keys are inside, you want another way in when you come back.
Make sure everyone who might need access has a key that works. Adult kids, a neighbor checking on the house, whoever helps with cleanup.
Consider a keypad lock. A code cannot be left behind in a hurry, and you can give it to someone helping with the property without handing over a physical key you may not get back.
After the Storm
Doors move during heavy weather, and the damage is not always obvious.
Wind pressure shifts frames. Water swells wood. A door that closed cleanly last week now needs a push, and the bolt is catching the edge of the strike instead of seating. From the street it looks locked. It is not.
Check every exterior door and slider once things settle. If any of them need force to latch, the lock is not engaging properly and the house is less secure than it looks.
What We Can Do Before a Storm
Most of the work is one visit. All exterior doors can be checked, short screws replaced with proper anchors, strikes can be fixed, corroded hardware can be replaced, and pin locks and anti-lift kits can be installed on sliders.
We can also cut spare keys on site, so you have a set to leave somewhere safe, or we can fit a keypad lock if you would rather not have to deal with keys at all.