Explore ways to make your home more resilient.
We’ve teamed up with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) to suggest upgrades that can help your home withstand natural disasters.
From quick fixes to larger renovations, check out some of your options.
For more help, consult your building professional or explore our disaster advice library.
Quick and low-cost fixes
Install metal screens over vents that open to the outdoors, including those in attics, crawlspaces or enclosures under decks. If you already have screens, make sure their openings are less than one-quarter inch wide.
For chimneys, install a cover made from welded or woven wire mesh, known as a spark arrestor. This lowers the risk of embers entering the home and sparking a fire.
Choose gutters and downspouts made from materials like galvanized steel, copper or aluminum. You can also install metal mesh screens or hoods, often called leaf guards, which fit into the gutters.
This lowers the risk of embers igniting leaves and debris in the gutter. Regularly check your leaf guards to make sure they're secure and free of debris.
Soffits are the underside of a home’s eaves and overhangs. Cover exposed soffits with fire-resistant materials. Or you can replace your current eave and soffit covers with fire-resistant ones.
Another option is to cover soffits made from flammable materials like plywood with a noncombustible material, such as fiber cement board.
Soffits can fail if they’re installed or attached poorly. To help secure them, you can install wood backing or supports as an attachment point for the soffits. Or you can secure the soffit at 1-foot intervals using an adhesive or other method.
You also want to keep soffit covers in place, since they can significantly reduce the amount of water that blows into the attic.
Upgrades with some effort and investment
A gable-end wall is the section of wall that supports 2 sides of a sloping roof. You can hire a professional to brace any gable-end walls taller than 4 feet.
This distributes the loads on the walls over multiple roof trusses or rafters to help prevent a roof collapse.
Make sure any structure attached to your home, like a carport or porch roof, can’t blow away or collapse in severe weather.
You can attach the roofs of these structures to columns anchored to your home’s foundation. This helps prevent the structures from damaging your home.
Replace any nonmetal ridge vents or wall louvers with metal vents. Vents that aren't metal could melt or ignite, allowing embers or flames to enter your house from outside.
When exterior siding or wall coverings are combustible, they can melt or transmit heat. You can replace this type of material with panels or siding made from fiber cement.
Or use wood siding treated with fire retardant. You can also add concrete, stucco and masonry to your home's exterior to reduce the risk of it igniting from wildfire heat.
Replace your garage door with one that’s rated to withstand high winds. You can also fit an existing garage door with a bracing kit from the manufacturer.
Or use an aftermarket kit to brace a door at its mid- and quarter-points. A strong garage door helps prevent a roof collapse from internal pressurization inside your home.
Renovations with significant effort and investment
If you're replacing your roof, use Class A fire-resistant roof coverings with a high-wind rating. Coverings can be tiles, shingles or metal.
These lower the risk of the home catching fire if embers or burning debris land on the roof. They also help prevent the roof coverings from blowing off during a hurricane or storm.
Help protect your home from flying storm debris and wind-driven rain with:
- Permanently mounted hurricane shutters.
- Temporary panels made from metal or other materials.
- Products to protect windows and entry doors.
Look for products rated for high impact and wind pressure. These can help stop internal pressurization inside the home that can cause your roof to collapse during a storm.
Roof decking, or sheathing, is the wood nailed to your home's frame that supports the rest of your roof. If you're installing a new roof, the roofer can help make sure it’s attached securely.
They can add new nails or upgrade your nails to meet the current codes for high-wind areas. This lowers the risk of your roof decking blowing off.
When you're getting a new roof, ask your roofer to seal your roof deck to create an additional barrier against water entering the home. To do this, they can:
- Install flashing tape over the joints between the decking.
- Cover the roof with a self-adhesive membrane.
- Apply 2 layers of a wind-resistant underlayment using high-density, capped nails.
If you're not replacing your roof, you may be able to seal your roof deck from your attic. A polyurethane spray foam adhesive can be applied over the joints on the underside of the roof decking.
Interior fire sprinklers can help protect your home during wildfires or housefires. The sprinkler systems for single-family homes:
- Come in several styles and colors.
- Are smaller than commercial sprinkler systems.
- Can be mounted flush with the ceiling or hidden under covers.