Hurricane prep in Kissimmee gets skipped in quiet years, and this is a quiet year. Two named storms, no hurricanes, and a below normal forecast. Peak season is still mid September through October, and every roof we have ever seen come off started somewhere else.
Three things you can check this weekend.
Your garage door. It is the largest opening in your house and most people never look at it. Testing by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety shows track and roller failure is a common cause of door collapse. When that door buckles, pressure builds inside and pushes up on your roof from underneath. Look for a wind rating label. Check that the track anchors are tight and not rusted through.
Your shutter anchors. If you drill fresh holes in the wall every single storm, you are weakening the exact connection you are counting on. Permanent fasteners installed now mean panels go up in an hour instead of a weekend.
Your caulk lines. Press the sealant around every window and exterior door frame. Florida sun makes it brittle in a few years. Wind driven rain does not need a broken window, it only needs a gap. That is the ceiling stain nobody sees coming, and the one an insurer will call wear instead of storm damage.
We see this every week on jobs across Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Park, and after 20 plus years the pattern does not change. The homes that do fine are the ones that got ready in September, not the ones that ran to the store when the cone showed up.
