Turning Our Home into a Castle: Shutters & Boarding

In this series of articles, my plan is to discuss ways of fortifying our homes to improve our security posture.  Most of us are not in a financial position to have a separate location to flee to in times of trouble and may have to stay where we’re at.  Or, you may have a location you want to evacuate to, and some of these tips will apply to that and your normal residence. In this article, we’re going to discuss the concept of shutters. 

I’ve spent the last twenty years in the Southeast.  That time was split between North Carolina and Tennessee.  While living in NC, I learned about hurricanes.  One of the biggest take-aways I learned was boarding up windows.  In Tennessee, we have strong winds and tornadoes and the ability to shield fragile glass is vital to protecting our homes.  This concept doesn’t just apply to Mother Nature but can apply to social unrest as well.   

My home right now has decorative shutters.  Every home in my neighborhood has decorative shutters.  With a quick trip the hardware store, buying some hinges and some hasp, will allow me to modify my decorative shutters.  Now I have shields that I can apply to my windows.  In times of trouble, both Mother Nature and civil unrest, I can protect the integrity of my home quickly and easily.  Another vulnerability my home has, speaking of glass, is that my back patio has French doors.  Two sheets of ¾ inch plywood and some screws can fortify this weakness.   

For your home, look at the glass.  Look at the windows, do you have the ability of modifying existing shutters?  If not, think about precutting sheets of plywood and 2x4s to secure them in place and have them standing by.  Just like my friends in NC and other southern coastal states, it is better to have these things sitting in your garage, ready to secure your home.  You don’t want to be like everyone else running around trying to buy them. (Like toilet paper).   

The key to turning our home into a castle is thinking defensively.  Our purpose in doing window treatments is to secure vulnerability.  Shutters and boarding are things that we are going to put up in an emergency to help increase the security of our homes.  A little bit of thought and preparation now, will make our lives easier when the time comes.

Chris