Bob joins Scott Renfroe from Great Southern Windows for the installation of nine foot by eight foot sliding patio doors. Like the windows throughout the house, these are WinGuard impact-resistant glass doors from PGT Industries. The door opening, like the window bucks, has a pre-cast concrete lip that will prevent the door from blowing in and give it a firm seat for installation. An installer is laying a bed of mud or concrete mortar on the door sill to make a bed for the door frame. Renfroe explains that this helps set the door and also gives a soft bed to help level it. Once the frame has been set in the wet mortar and adjusted for level, temporary screws are installed in the frame so that Renfroe can check for plumb and begin to shim the gaps. He installs set screws, places the shims, drills through them, checks for plumb, then pre-drills and drives the permanent screws into the concrete walls. The frame will sit for at least a day while the mortar sets up because installing the heavy glass panels would compact the mud and disturb the level.

Replacing torn or damaged screens in an aluminum or wooden window or door is an easy project.

Doors and windows are vulnerable components of your homes protective shell or envelope because they are easily penetrated by wind-borne debris often generated by the high winds of storms like hurricanes. If that envelope is breached during a storm because of the failure of windows and doors, wind, wind-driven rain and debris can enter your home causing considerable damage to its interior and your property. A more critical issue develops when the envelope is breached -- high winds can enter your home and exert high pressure on your walls and roof. These internal pressures combined with the external pressure of wind blowing over your home can lead to catastrophic damage. You can protect your home's openings by installing impact-resistant windows and doors or installing impact resistant coverings, such as shutters over windows and doors. Impact resistant glass and shutters are specifically designed to meet a combination of impact and continuous pressure from the wind. Always use products that have been tested to one of these standards and have been designated as such through a recognized product approval system or evaluation report. Ratings SBCCI SSTD 12 ASTM E 1886 and ASTM E 1996 Miami-Dade Protocols PA 201, PA 202, and PA 203. Impact resistant windows usually consist of a clear plastic-like film sandwiched between two specially-treated pieces of glass, giving the window greater strength than glass alone. Equally important as the strength of the glass is the strength of the window's frame. An impact resistant window is tested as a unit that includes the glass, the frame, as well as the attachment hardware and the installation method. Impact resistant windows should always be installed following the manufacturer's recommendations. Exterior doors should also be wind and impact resistant or protected with an impact resistant covering. Garage Doors Garage doors are particularly vulnerable to high winds, because of the long span of opening they cover and the relatively lightweight material they are made of. Two options are available for strengthening garage doors. Replace the door and track with a system that is designed to withstand high winds and wind-borne debris. The second option is to protect the garage door with a tested and approved impact resistant covering.

Once the roof is in place, the windows and sliding patio door in the back can be installed. The windows are from a new fiberglass window line from Pella, which includes low-emissivity glass for greater efficiency. The fiberglass frames make them more resistant to extreme weather. The windows will not warp or rot in the heat or cold. Duane Putz of Pella reviews the features of the windows and glass patio door. The Pella Impervia door is made from Duracast, a fiberglass composite, and is very durable, and resistant to impact and scratches. All of the hardware is color matched to the product so it blends very nicely. It's also available in other finishes such as brass, satin nickel, and bronze. Both the upper and lower sash can be raised or lowered, providing natural ventilation. The sashes tilt inwards making it possible to clean the exterior face of the glass from the interior of the home. Pella Impervia windows are Energy Star rated in all 50 states and save the average homeowner 24 percent over single-pane wood windows. The powder coat finish over the fiberglass means there is no need to add a stain or finish to the window.

If your home is not protected by impact-resistant windows and doors; or impact resistant shutters or panels; consider building your own temporary emergency panels. Step One: Plan the Project. Count and measure each window and door that has glass including French doors, sliding glass doors as well as skylights. You might also want to include roof and gable end vents or any opening that if damaged would allow wind to enter your home. Measure each opening horizontally inside the exterior trim and vertically from the sill to the bottom of the top trim. Add eight inches to both the height and width to provide a four-inch overlap on all sides. When measuring a window with an extended sill measure from the top of the sill to the top of the window and add four inches instead of eight. Sheets of plywood are generally 4 feet by 8 feet. This will help determine how many sheets to buy. Be sure to purchase plywood that is 5/8 inch or greater, exterior grade (CDX). Step Two: Assemble Your Tools and Hardware. You will need a circular saw, drill and drill bits, hammer and wrench, work gloves and safety goggles for this project. You will also need an assortment of hardware including bolts, wood or masonry anchors, nuts and large washers. A range of bolts may be used because different bolts will be needed for wood frame versus masonry homes. Wood Homes use lag screws and plastic coated permanent anchors Masonry Homes use expansion bolts and galvanized permanent expansion anchors Step Three: Get Started Having someone help you with this project will make things a lot easier. First drill holes in the same diameter as the bolts or screws, 2-inches in from the edges of the plywood at each corner and at 12-inch intervals around the panel. Next hold the plywood firmly in place over the opening to mark where to drill mounting holes. If the window sill is flush to the wall, secure the plywood on all four sides. If the window sill extends out at the bottom, secure the plywood on the top and sides. For windows 3 feet by 4 feet or smaller installed on a wood frame house, use 1/4-inch lag screws and plastic coated permanent anchors. The lag screws should penetrate the wall and frame surrounding the window at least 1 3/4 inches. For larger windows, use 3/8-inch lag screws that penetrate the wall and frame surrounding the window at least 2 1/2 inches. For windows 3 feet by 4 feet or smaller installed on a masonry house, use 1/4 inch expansion bolts and galvanized permanent expansion anchors. The expansion bolts should penetrate the wall at least 1 1/2 inches. For larger windows, use 3/8-inch expansion bolts that penetrate the wall at least 1 1/2 inches. If a window or door is larger than a sheet of plywood, you will need to join the panels with 2X4 bracing along the entire seam. Attach the 2X4s to the outside of the plywood panel with 10 gauge, 2 inch long galvanized screws (exterior deck screws) spaced every 4 inches. Use the widest side of the 2X4 to run the length of the entire seam. When youre done, mark each panel with the name of the opening so you will quickly know where to install it when a storm is approaching. Store the panels, washers and nuts together in a location away from the elements. Consider waterproofing the panels with paint or a sealant.

Weatherstripping is an easy way to block cold or hot air from entering the home around doors, windows and electrical plates.

Bob points out that one huge aspect of affordability is doors, windows, and trim stock. He is joined by Lou Trottier of Martin Namco at one of the Mashpee, Massachusetts, affordable homes. Trottier explains the construction and benefits of a Jeld-Wen molded wood-fiber pre-hung door. This door comes pre-hung, pre-trimmed, and ready to install right out of the box. It is made completely from reclaimed wood fibers that are molded into skins to form the two faces of the door. Wood blocks behind the panels and a wood perimeter give it stablility. Jeld-Wen produces both hollow-core and solid-core molded wood-fiber doors. The solid-core version reduces sound transmission by 50 percent. The trim on these doors is primed, finger-jointed wood. The hollow-core Jeld-Wen door sells for about $85 including the lockset.

New custom Pella windows give a view onto the yard from the dining room. The windows are trimmed out in custom millwork that was created from a profile of the original trim in the house. The crown molding in the room complements the period architecture. General Contractor Tim Berky explains how the profile from the original woodwork was revealed, copied, and reproduced for around $2,000. He then shows Bob how he installs the trim pieces, first by filling the gaps at the door edges with expanding foam, then gluing and nailing the trim boards around the sides. Reproduction rosettes trim out the corners of each window and door. Bob looks at the four-panel cherry pocket door that has been installed between the mudroom and kitchen space. Berky nails the trim around the pocket door, being careful not to drive any nails into the door enclosure. On the deck, Bob looks at the deck bench with radial back that is an architectural solution for a tricky corner railing situation.

Homeowner and contractor Nick Beasley walks Bob through the progress to date in the master and kids bath, including leveling the floors, building partition walls, and installing cementitious board for the wall and floor tiles. Beasley explains how they discovered inadequate framing for the windows when they removed the wallboard on the exterior wall. They reframed the wall with a header, making it structurally sound, and prepared to install matching windows. Beasley shows how to open up the building wrap and prepare a watertight window installation. He begins by cutting the building wrap down the middle, to the two bottom corners, then across the top. He staples the paper back and trims the excess away. He then uses Pella's waterproof self-adhesive tape along the bottom sill and up six inches on each side. He doubles up the bottom pieces and lets the exterior section extend 1/2 inch so that water will flow to the exterior and away from the house. He explains that it's important to work from the bottom up when waterproofing a window so that any water that gets in will run down and away, not getting caught behind any flap as it runs. Beasley opens up the nailing flange and roughs in the window before checking it for level and plumb. They shim the window at the bottom, middle, and top before checking again for level and plumb, and nailing it into place. They finish the installation with low-expansion insulation foam to fill the voids around the window. Beasley stresses that it's important to use low-expansion foam so that it won't expand too much and push te window out of plumb or cause difficulty for window operation. Cordell Burton is then back with Bob to review the Pella Architect Series windows the Beasleys selected for their 1895 home. These two-over-one wood interior and aluminum-clad exterior windows are Energy Star rated for high efficiency and feature replica-style hardware. They are constructed of double-pane low-e glass and are argon-filled for maximum energy efficiency.

Ted Gower from Armor Screen is installing the hurricane-protection fabric that will make the lanai a hurricane shelter in case of a storm. There are bolts and clips at the top with clips along the side. The sides are locked down along the sides and bottom to resist the enormous wind pressure during a storm. This geosynthetic fabric serves in stead of plywood or other storm protection coverings. The fabric reduces 100 mile per hour (mph) winds to 3 mph and reduces it to 0 mph if rain sheets on the fabric, causing a complete wind barrier. This fabric stands up to winds and wind-borne debris, making the enclosed lanai a hurricane-safe shelter by code and by design. Armor Screen can be used on any door, window, or porch openings to protect homes from damaging winds and flying debris.