LESLIE: Jeff in Georgia needs some help window shopping. What can we do for you?
JEFF: What I wanted to know is if there are some products out on the market – doors and windows – that are impact-resistant; perhaps if you lived in tornado-prone areas or areas where high winds could be a real problem. Are there some affordable products out there that you could put into your home to safeguard you against flying objects and high winds?
TOM: Absolutely. They definitely have impact-resistant glass. It’s made very similar to auto glass in the sense that there’s a laminate system where there’s a laminate in between layers of glass. Now what that does is that stops the glass from shattering but it won’t stop it from cracking; just understand that. So it’s designed for safety.
Now if you want to protect the glass from shattering, what you need to do is to have storm shutters made. Now there are storm shutters that are sort of like louvers that unroll and sort of close down over the outside windows and that will stop – you know, catch basically anything that’s being thrown through the air in a storm.
JEFF: Got you. And is it if you do not allow your house to breathe during a tornado situation, that it could create a roof blow-off? Is that why you need to at least have your windows cracked maybe or what is – is that just a myth?
TOM: Nah. Well, I mean pressurization causes a lot of problems but if you have that home constructed correctly – I mean if you’re building a house from scratch, you would use a hip roof instead of a gable roof because it’s got less for the wind to sort of grab onto. If you have the roof structure all reinforced with hurricane ties, which securely ties the roof down to the walls and then the walls down to the foundation, I mean that’s the way you build a house that’s reasonably storm-resistant.
JEFF: Right, that sounds common sense.
TOM: Yeah, occasionally we do make sense. (Leslie and Jeff chuckle)
JEFF: Yeah, you guys are great. Man, we really appreciate what you do for us out there and just hope that you continue to do it.
TOM: Alright, Jeff, thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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