Installing plywood shutters

Andrew Mendez and Jerry McConnell put up plywood shutters at the Casablanca Hotel/Cafe and Bogarts, along Duvall Street in Key West, as the effects of Tropical Storm Fay are felt. ((Sun-Sentinel/ Mike Stocker) )

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- If you don't have aluminum shutters, there are other options for protecting your home, including the use of plywood.

There are two methods of installing plywood over your windows:

1. Leave 3 to 4 inches around your entire window to cut plywood size. Then use concrete fasteners -- place them one inch from edge of plywood, three inches from each edge of the window opening.
   
   
2. Have plywood cut within the jamb of the window. Using a slide-lever, drill holes into jamb of the window opening and slide bolts into the opening.
   

Remember that the structural integrity of your window does not protect from large missle impact.

You should only use plywood as a last resort. We strongly encourage the use of aluminum shutters to protect your windows during a hurricane.