Hurricane season in Florida runs from June 1 through November 30 — but experienced Florida homeowners know that preparation shouldn’t wait until June. The time to assess your doors and windows, address any vulnerabilities, and confirm that your storm protection is in place is before the first named storm of the season is already in the Gulf.
Doors and windows are the most vulnerable points in a home’s envelope during a hurricane. When a window or door fails under wind pressure or windborne debris impact, the interior of the home is suddenly exposed to the full force of the storm. Pressure dynamics change instantly — wind and rain enter the structure, roof uplift forces increase dramatically, and the risk of catastrophic structural failure rises significantly. Keeping the building envelope intact is one of the most important principles of hurricane-resistant construction, and it starts with your doors and windows.
This guide covers what Florida homeowners need to know about protecting doors and windows before storm season — from assessing what you have to understanding your options and getting everything in order before a storm is on the forecast.
Understanding Florida’s Wind-Load Requirements
Florida has some of the most stringent building codes for wind resistance in the country — a direct result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which exposed serious deficiencies in the construction standards of the time. The Florida Building Code requires windows and doors in wind-borne debris regions to either be impact-rated or protected by an approved storm protection system.
Most of Central Florida falls within a wind-borne debris region, which means this requirement applies to the vast majority of homeowners in the St. Cloud, Orlando, and Kissimmee area. Homes built or permitted after the code updates following Andrew are more likely to already have compliant windows and doors — but homes built before the mid-1990s, and some built after where original windows and doors were never replaced, may still have products that don’t meet current standards.
Knowing whether your doors and windows meet current wind-load requirements is the starting point for any storm preparation assessment.
Option 1: Impact-Resistant Windows and Doors
Impact-resistant windows and doors — commonly called hurricane windows and doors — are the gold standard for storm protection in Florida. They are constructed with laminated glass that consists of two or more panes bonded together with a polyvinyl butyral or similar interlayer. When struck by windborne debris, the glass may crack but the interlayer holds the pieces in place, maintaining the integrity of the opening and preventing wind and rain from entering the structure.
Impact windows and doors are tested and rated to withstand specific wind speeds and debris impact loads. Products installed in Florida must meet the requirements of the Florida Building Code and carry a Notice of Acceptance from Miami-Dade County or a Florida Product Approval — the two approval pathways that demonstrate compliance with state wind-load standards.
The advantages of impact windows and doors go beyond storm protection. They provide year-round security benefits — impact glass is significantly more difficult to break than standard glass, making it a deterrent to forced entry. They reduce outside noise transmission meaningfully, which is noticeable in any home near a busy road. They block a high percentage of UV radiation, reducing fading of interior furnishings and flooring. And they eliminate the need to install and remove storm shutters every season — a significant labor and storage consideration for many homeowners.
The primary disadvantage is cost. Impact windows and doors carry a higher upfront cost than non-impact products plus shutters. However, many Florida insurance companies offer premium discounts for homes with impact-rated openings, which offsets some of the cost over time. The elimination of shutter installation labor and storage is an additional ongoing savings.
Option 2: Storm Shutters and Panels
For homes with non-impact windows and doors, approved storm shutters or panels provide the required protection during a storm event. There are several types, each with different characteristics in terms of cost, protection level, ease of deployment, and storage requirements.
Accordion Shutters
Accordion shutters are permanently mounted on tracks beside the window or door opening and fold out to cover the opening when a storm approaches. They are the most convenient storm shutter option because deployment requires no lifting, carrying, or hardware installation — the shutters simply unfold and latch in place. They are also among the most durable options, with a long service life when properly maintained.
The trade-off is upfront cost, which is higher than panel systems, and the permanent visual presence of the shutter tracks and housings on the exterior of the home even when the shutters are open.
Roll-Down Shutters
Roll-down shutters operate similarly to accordion shutters but roll up into a housing above the opening rather than folding to the side. They can be manual or motorized. Motorized roll-down shutters are among the most convenient storm protection options available — deploying the entire home’s shutters can be accomplished in minutes from inside the house.
Roll-down shutters provide excellent protection and are visually clean when deployed, but they represent a significant investment, particularly for motorized systems on larger homes.
Panel Systems
Storm panels — made from aluminum, steel, or polycarbonate — are the most affordable shutter option. They are stored when not in use and installed over window and door openings when a storm approaches, secured with bolts or tracks permanently mounted to the exterior wall.
The disadvantage of panel systems is the labor and time required to install them before a storm. Panels must be retrieved from storage, transported to each opening, lifted into place, and secured — a process that can take several hours for a full home and requires physical ability to manage the panels safely. For homeowners with limited mobility or who travel frequently during storm season, panel systems present practical challenges.
Polycarbonate clear panels offer the same protection as aluminum panels while allowing light into the home when installed — an advantage during a storm event that may last several days.
Plywood
Plywood is not an approved storm protection system under the Florida Building Code and does not qualify for insurance purposes as a compliant shutter system. It is a last-resort measure for homeowners caught without proper protection when a storm is imminent. It provides some degree of protection against windborne debris but offers significantly less than any of the approved alternatives.
If your current storm plan relies on plywood, this storm season is the time to upgrade to an approved system.
Assessing Your Doors
Doors — particularly entry doors, sliding glass doors, and garage doors — are among the most vulnerable points in a home during a hurricane.
Entry Doors
A solid-core, impact-rated entry door is significantly more resistant to wind and debris than a standard door. Beyond the door itself, the frame and surrounding installation are critical — an impact-rated door installed in a compromised frame provides less protection than its rating suggests. Door frames should be properly anchored to the surrounding structural framing, and the gap between the door frame and the rough opening should be properly filled and sealed.
Deadbolt locks on entry doors should engage deeply into the door frame — a minimum of one inch of bolt throw into a reinforced strike plate is the standard recommendation. Long-throw deadbolts with reinforced strike plates and three-inch screws that reach the structural framing significantly increase resistance to forced entry and wind pressure.
Sliding Glass Doors
Sliding glass doors are a particular vulnerability in Florida homes. Standard sliding glass doors are not impact-rated and are vulnerable to both windborne debris and the pressure differential created by hurricane-force winds. If your home has non-impact sliding glass doors, they require an approved shutter system for storm protection.
Beyond storm protection, sliding glass door frames should be checked for proper operation — doors that are difficult to slide, that don’t latch firmly, or that have visible gaps when closed are not providing adequate security or weather protection. The bottom track should be clean and free of debris, and the door should sit properly in its track without lifting or rocking.
Garage Doors
Garage doors are statistically one of the most common failure points in residential structures during hurricanes. A standard residential garage door is not designed to withstand hurricane-force winds — when a garage door fails, the sudden pressure change inside the garage can contribute to roof failure. This is why bracing or replacing the garage door is one of the most impactful storm-preparation investments a Florida homeowner can make.
Garage doors in wind-borne debris regions must be either impact-rated or protected by an approved bracing system. Many older garage doors can be retrofitted with a bracing kit — a system of horizontal braces that significantly increases the door’s resistance to wind pressure. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has an approved product list for garage door bracing systems.
If your garage door is more than 15 to 20 years old and has never been assessed for wind resistance, this is a priority item before storm season.
Pre-Season Inspection Checklist for Doors and Windows
Before storm season, work through this checklist for every door and window in your home.
Confirm that all windows and doors are either impact-rated or have an approved shutter or panel system in place and ready to deploy. If any openings lack compliant protection, address them before June.
Inspect all window and door frames for rot, damage, or deterioration. A window or door in a compromised frame provides less protection than its rating suggests, even if the glass or panel itself is impact-rated.
Test all storm shutters and panels. Deploy accordion or roll-down shutters to confirm they operate smoothly and latch securely. Check panel systems to confirm all panels, tracks, and hardware are present, undamaged, and accessible. Motorized systems should be tested and any mechanical issues serviced before storm season.
Check all window and door seals and weatherstripping. Storm-driven rain finds any gap in a window or door seal. Replace deteriorated weatherstripping and re-caulk any gaps around frames before storm season.
Confirm garage door wind resistance. Have the garage door assessed if its wind rating is unknown or if it is not braced for wind resistance.
Test all door locks and hardware. Deadbolts should operate smoothly and engage fully. Sliding glass door latches should lock firmly without play. Any hardware that is corroded, stiff, or not functioning correctly should be serviced or replaced.
Check the condition of door thresholds and bottom seals. The seal at the bottom of entry and sliding glass doors is the first line of defense against storm-driven rain. Worn or compressed threshold seals allow water to enter even when the door is properly closed.
The Role of Professional Assessment
Some of these checklist items are easy for a homeowner to evaluate and address independently. Others — particularly assessing whether existing windows and doors meet current wind-load requirements, identifying frame deterioration that isn’t visible from the surface, and confirming that shutter systems are correctly installed and rated — benefit from a professional assessment.
Our Door & Window Service includes pre-season inspections, weatherstripping and seal replacement, hardware servicing, frame repair, and coordination of window and door replacement when upgrade to impact-rated products is the right decision. We can assess your home’s current storm protection status honestly and help you prioritize what needs to be done before storm season arrives.
The Bottom Line
Your doors and windows are your home’s first line of defense during a hurricane. Addressing vulnerabilities before storm season — rather than scrambling when a storm is on the forecast — gives you time to make the right decisions, source the right products, and complete the work properly. In Florida, storm preparation is not optional maintenance. It is one of the most important things a homeowner does every year.
Ready to get your doors and windows storm-ready before hurricane season? Contact Jitterbug Home Services today for a pre-season assessment. We serve homeowners throughout St. Cloud, Orlando, Kissimmee, and all of Central Florida.