What is Wind Mitigation (+ Top Options)

If you look up hurricane resistance topics like the My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) program or other government-sponsored programs meant to help homeowners prepare for the impacts of hurricane season, you’ll quickly come across the term “Wind Mitigation.” 

What is wind mitigation? What forms does it take? Which one is the best for your home?

What Is Wind Mitigation?

Put simply, wind mitigation is the term for a wide variety of measures meant to protect homes from high-speed winds and the various forms of damage they can cause. They strengthen the home against the pressure exerted by high-speed winds like the ones generated by hurricanes.

In short, it’s a way of protecting your home from the consequences of major hurricanes.

However, this term can cover a broad range of different home upgrades. 

What Kinds of Wind Mitigation Upgrades Are Available?

There are a great many ways to protect your home from the effects severe wind:

Roof Replacement/Redesign

If you have money to burn and want a roof that’s less susceptible to being torn off as soon as wind speeds exceed 90 mph, redesigning your roof with more modern wind resistance features can be a good idea.

For example, older homes commonly have “Gable” roofs. This is the traditional “A” shaped roof with two angled planes joining at the top of the roof. More recently-made homes compliant with modern Florida Building Code standards have a hip roof instead, which is more like a pyramid in shape.

The issue with the traditional gable roof is that it’s more prone to catching the wind on both if its flat sides, which puts more stress on your home’s structure, increasing the risk of collapse. A hip roof has angles on all four sides, meaning there’s less wind resistance, so wind passes over your home more easily regardless of which side of the home it hits.

If you have an older roof design, modifying it could be worthwhile, but such a major roof tear-out and redesign is going to be a hideously expensive process that takes a lot of time and money.

Roof Deck Attachment and Roof-to-Wall Connections

Another roof-centric upgrade, but one that’s nominally less expensive and time-consuming than a roof geometry redesign, is reinforcing the connections between your roof and your walls or building frame.

Securing your roof to the wall, then each floor of your walls to the one below all the way to the foundation, creates a continuous load path for force acting on the roof to be redistributed throughout your home. This spreads out the stress, which makes it less likely that strong winds will tear the roof off your home.

So, this can be an excellent wind mitigation measure.

Enhanced Opening Protection

Modern homes built in wind borne debris regions of Florida need to have opening protection of some kind to be compliant with the Florida Building Code (FBC). 

Long-term opening protection can take two primary forms: Impact windows and hurricane shutters.

Each of these protection methods have their pros:

• Hurricane Shutters. These are fixtures installed over the window that can be deployed over the window on short notice to cover it and protect the window glass from damage caused by high winds and flying debris. Can be made out of a variety of materials and is relatively simple to replace if the shutter becomes heavily damaged during a storm, but may be prone to mechanical failures if not properly maintained. External mounting may also render them vulnerable to tampering and they may impair the visual appeal of the home.
• Impact Windows. These are high-strength windows that replace existing windows and are designed with durability and fail states in mind. They provide an extreme level of protection without being obvious at a distance. They often look just like normal windows at first glance, despite having heavier construction, reinforced safety glass with laminate interlayers, and other innovations that increase resilience against strong winds and driving rain. The best part is that they do this without harming your home’s appearance. Many impact windows, thanks to their multilayered construction, are also extremely good at dampening sounds. This makes them excellent choices for homeowners living in areas where loud noises are a persistent problem.

Impact windows are the superior option for permanent protection, as they provide invisible protection 24/7 without the need for anyone to go around the building deploying barriers. Instead, they can be left shut and provide their full protective benefits that way.

Installation Matters for Wind Mitigation Measures

For your wind mitigation methods, regardless of type, it’s important to work with a company that specializes in that form of protection.

When it comes to impact windows (and doors), Karoly Windows & Doors is your top choice in Tampa Bay!

Karoly Windows is a Certified Specialty Contractor licensed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) with special qualifications for Glass & Glazing Specialty. 

This marks Karoly as a company that has undergone extensive testing and vetting to verify that our installers know what they’re doing. And, unlike some so-called ‘window installers,’ Karoly Windows only uses our own team of in-house installation pros. Ones trained by our senior installers to meet our high professional standards.

Many other installation companies simply use outsourced labor to handle installations to save time and money, lending out their license to often-unlicensed contractors who don’t know the ins and outs of impact window installation.

That lets them install a lot of windows, but all too often, the subcontractors do a poor job of it, since their priority is to install as many windows as possible as cheaply as possible. This often leads to cut corners in installation work, which compromises the integrity of the installed windows. 

In a worst case scenario, poor installation can lead to windows literally falling out of the window opening if they aren’t properly secured. We’ve actually been called in to do a window replacement for a home where the previous installation went so poorly that a window actually fell out. 

Get Expert Installation from Tampa’s Top Installers!

Now that you know what wind mitigation is, get some of the best wind mitigation protection for your home by reaching out to Karoly Windows & Doors. We have over 25 years of experience installing impact windows, consistently going above and beyond the bare minimum required by the FBC to ensure that the windows we put in will last a lifetime.

It’s reflected in the Karoly Lifetime Labor Warranty. For 25 years after the installation date for Simonton impact windows, we’ll provide the labor for the warranty service at no additional cost to you. As long as it’s a warranty repair, you won’t have to worry about the cost of labor for the service!

Reach out today to get started with a free in-home consultation!